#138 Spice it up

Continuing on yesterday's topic, eating chili is a great way of releasing endorphins and getting that amazing natural pain relieving effect.

An ancient natural cure, chili peppers and their effective substance capsaicin have been used in new drugs that are hailed as a breakthrough in pain-relief and may even be able to block pain at the source. They also have natural anti-inflammatory effect.

Luckily you don't need pills or cream to benefit from this, simply spice up your diet with some of the hot stuff that is chili pepper. Mix and match, buy them fresh, dried or grow your own. Here's my recipe for a home made salsa that is sure to make your taste buds pop and your endorphins kick in perfectly:

• 1 (14.5 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, drained
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 - 1 red jalapeno pepper, seeded (depending on preference and taste bud sensitivity..)
• 1/2 - 1 green jalapeno pepper, seeded
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons of minced fresh cilantro
• Juice of one lime
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

In a food processor, combine all ingredients; cover and process until chunky. Transfer to a small bowl and serve fresh.

As the strength of chilies vary a lot, a trick when cooking with them is to taste a small slice cut from the middle of the chili pepper before adding to your recipe. The tip always tastes less than the rest of the fruit, so tasting that won't give you an accurate idea of how much to use. Place it briefly on your tongue and see how much it stings, if it really stings you should only use a tiny bit, if you can bite into it without it stinging you can add the whole thing (or more).