Hot Peppers

I am now beginning to get excited about my friend Ruihua coming back from China at the end of this week. She will have been gone over a month, and I've been house sitting, but now words we exchanged before she left may bear fruit if she brings back some pepper. Plus, I miss her; and she always is so happy after being with her parents and sister that I feel happy for her too... and sad I guess since tears come when one has to go to the airport. One more argument to fund research on transporters, I say.


But pepper! From Sichuan! Yes, yes, yesss! That is what I asked for when she wanted to know what she could bring back for me from China. Just simple pepper from her home town. And salt...yes I did ask for that too. She thought I was nuts. But the Chinese have been drilling for salt using very deep holes in the ground to bring up the saline water for a long time and Sichuan is supposed to have awesome salt. I guess it is just, um, dirty. That is supposed to be what the flavor comes from: impurities. Salt and pepper. I tried to make it easy because she was adamant she must bring some gift back for me. But I have worried; what if I have caused her to run around in a now-changed Sichuan that no longer has easily bought salt and pepper? What if the airport people or customs people make trouble about it?


If so, I have a fall back position. If she brings me some funky mushroom things or dried fishes or black bean spicy paste with stern looking woman's portrait on the label, or a book about Pandas I will reassure myself that I can get peppers from Melindas. Not Sichuan, sadly. But still, amazing stuff; the XXXXtra reserve and the chipolte are beyond belief good. And after all, central America was the source of the other hot peppers (not Sichuan) long long ago when trade was in effect via pre-Columbian boats between Mexico, et al and China, et al.