I have been cooking and baking for most of my life, my mom always cooked and I usually helped. So I learned the basics of cooking when I was young. When Jon and I got engaged we started cooking together, we went out and bought a cookbook and made dinner together about twice a week. That was in November of 2005, so I have been a "serious" home-cook for about 3 and a half years. I now make dinner at home almost every night (not mac 'n cheese... real stuff!) I love to cook and bake. I have made many mistakes in the kitchen and many errors that turned out to be better than the original recipe.
That being said, I have been a home cook long enough to know that you need to treat jalapenos as weapons of mass destruction. One of the first meals Jon and I made together had jalapenos in it. We watched videos on the proper handling of the pepper, but we were curious of course. So we cut it open without wearing gloves and then licked our fingers to see what would happen. We also rubbed our faces and just under our eyes to see if it would actually sting. It did! If you don't think you have any cuts on your hands, cut a jalapeno with bare hands and you will discover any tiny cuts you didn't know existed. We also each ate a seed to see just how hot they are... we can both handle hot and spicy stuff well (better than most whiteys) hehe :p but the spiciness that comes from a jalapeno seed is a different story.
That brings us to tonight. I made a shrimp fried rice with pineapple, red bell pepper and jalapeno. I cut and seeded the jalapeno with bare hands. I then licked my fingers, which wasn't too bad. Then I washed my hands once, and before drying them I splashed some water on my nose and mouth. Let me just say: Thank Goodness I didn't splash the water on my eyes! My nose and around my mouth immediately started burning, and my nose started running. It has been about 20 minutes since this happened and my nose is now numb!! I have washed my hands two more times since, but have been careful to not touch my face yet.
So, wear gloves when you handle jalapenos!!
