Tough Love Chocolates

I was cleaning my fridge yesterday when I found a pack of Thai Chilli Peppers in the freezer. I bought this in attempt of beating the guy who ate the Carolina Reaper for one of @papa-pepper's contest. I did not pursue joining it after finding out how spicy hot the Carolina Reaper was. I will have to eat 23 of these in order to beat the guy. I thought that would be damn torture.

However, my curiousity made me do an experiment. A thought hit me - what if I make a chocolate coated and filled Thai Chilli Pepper? Would it be edible ? Would it be bearable? Hub asked, "Honey, when God distributed curiousity, where you standing in the front line with a bucket?" I smiled - he has always been supportive with me even with my weirdest idea.

I've been to Thailand with hub and there we saw people who eat Thai Chilli Peppers as if they were candies. I wasn't shocked compared to the other tourists who saw it. I happen to grow up in Bicol. I have lived there for 10 years with my grandparents. That's where I grew up and that countryside is well known for the dish Bicol Express. It's a meat dish (normally pork) with much Thai Chilli Peppers cooked in small shrimps and coconut milk. It is freaking delicious, I am salivating at just the thought of it. I miss it. Most of the food in Bicol are cooked in coconut milk and are more or less spicy.

A guy from Bicol - he bagged the title "Chilli Pepper King in The World" by eating 350 of them in one seating..

In many parts of my country and Asia, many people eat Thai Chilli Pepper as if they were candies. And before you judge us that we are saddists or cruel to ourselves or have loose screws, perhaps it's better to understand that - most of our food preferrence is just a product of culture influence. Perhaps you'd agree if it's a beautiful woman who'd tell you that - here's 2016 Miss International's winning answer. Drag the cursor to 0:55.

Though I came from Bicol, my family(extended) do not eat that much of a spicy food. We have had Thai Chilli Pepper in our viands back then but I don't remember eating too much of a spicy food. So this would be my first.

I thought of doing it because today, I went out in the garden and I thought, I will be needing something that would provide heat in my system. I thought perhaps these Thai Chilis would be friendlier now since they have been frozen for some time. Perhaps, they won't be able to sting my tongue. Last night, I let them thaw wrapped in a kitchen towel for today.

So, off I went cutting them in half, deseeded each which took 5 minutes and soaked them in one orange - juice for hours. I was hoping that the spicy hot property of these Thai Chilli peppers would be transferred to the juice and I thought of drinking the juice while I was in the garden. I needed to remove the old leaves of the strawberry plants. They can't shred them off themselves, they need me for that. It's not much to do but it's too cold outside I really need something that would warm me up.

So, I thought - I'd sugar coat them Thai Chilli Peppers with chocolates and perhaps they'd be bearable. I also added chopped almonds in the filling.

Coated them in chocolates and let them dry up on oven sheets. I went back to them when they were done in the afternoon.

The verdict - "Dit is niet te doen!" that's what we say in Dutch. It stings my lips - I had one small bite and I warned hub not to eat it. No, I love hub that much though I often experiment eating something with him - not those kind that would hurt him or harm him. Never. He is my better half - I love him as I love myself and if I won't bear eating them chocolated coated and filled Thai Chilli Peppers, I won't let hub go through the same torture I experienced in my lips. So, I told him scrape the chocs off - they taste orangey - chocolate with a mild spicy hot tease but bearable.

I chewed it - coated and all and my tongue burned I spat it right away. I thought, how on earth could those who candied it - plain and naked could do that? What is their secret? I wonder.

I dipped my pinky on the orange juice and it was spicy but not the type that hurts. I brought it out to the garden and took a sip every now and then without letting it touch my lips. It worked! It felt really warm and because of that I could work in the garden for a long time. I got to finish my task without feeling my fingers frozen. It felt so warm, I actually sweat. I liked it.

So, what to do with the rest of the chocolate coated and filled - Thai Chilli Peppers? Hmm.. I'm sending them to Glasgow to @meesterboom and the other half to his twin @papa-pepper :D. Okay that one's a joke. Peace people. I stock them in the fridge but will not be eating the chilli's flesh. The coat and the filling give that spicy tease but chewing on the Thai Chilli Pepper flesh is torture.

So, why tough love chocolates?

I thought of giving it this title because it reminds me of nana. I used to curse a lot when I was just four. I must have picked it up from one of our adult neighbors who does. My nana was a disciplinarian - and please don't judge her she wasn't a saddist. Unfortunately, my nana didn't go to the university nor got the same orientation that you and I now have.

Tough love never works - cut the spanking works crap people!

Back then, they used to discipline kids in my country with "tough love". My nana had never laid her hands on me nor nagged nor scolded me in front of other people. However, one day, I pushed her button and cursed at one of our house visitor - who asked and insulted her whether I am growing a brat and not being disciplined. I saw nana's face grew grim that time and I knew I was in trouble.

I was never punished in front of other people but when they leave - I get litanies of discipline. That day was different, maybe her ego was hit, she plucked one Thai Chilli Pepper off the plant (they just grow everywhere back then) and took the tip off. I ran to my gramps who was - of course team with my nana and buried my face on his chest. Back then, nana was still stronger than I am. Before that event, she asked me to promise to never curse again or I'd get a taste of the tip of the Thai Chilli Pepper. That day, right after our visitor left - I did.

I cried even though it wasn't too much of a heat. I cried because I was punished and it was the very first time I was punished. I didn't understand why my nana had to choose taking the visitor's side over me. When nana, turn her back after dipping the tip of the Thai Chilli Pepper on my lip, I saw her shoulders shaking. She was also crying - I understood that it hurt her, too and maybe she regretted doing that.

I still curse to this day and so people, I'm sorry "Tough Love" doesn't work.

If there's a will there's a way - find a better way to disciplining your children other than spanking!

Back when I still wanted to have a child, I swore I will never lay my hands on my kid.

These days, I sometimes see kids get scolded in public - it tears my heart. Can't they wait till they get home to scold the kid? I never meddle because I know - if I do - and when they get home - the kid would be punished the more. A kid is a kid, vulnerable and helpless. I don't think tough love is a freaking best way to discipline them.

After that incident, I only remember experiencing tough love from nana when she hit me with two coconut leaves' stem. That also leaves a mark on the skin - why? I was being a hard headed brat I wanted something they couldn't afford, I rolled on the ground on my white top school uniform refusing to go to school being so unbearably annoying.

After that - I only have funny and happy memories of Mamay (that's what we actually call her) dancing in front of us, singing us to sleep, the first to go panicky when we were sick, always the earliest to wake up to make us breakfast and tucking us all four(my three cousins) under the blanket in sleep and telling us funny stories - which she starts laughing first that drives us all laughing because she laughs so hard she couldn't finish the story - we laughed at how she laughed and coming home from school knowing exactly where to find her to kiss her hands since she has always worked in the garden all day long - I remember her barely took a sit. I guess, had my nana been given the same chance to go to the University, have the same orientation as you and I maybe have - she wouldn't have let me experience "Tough Love".

This is why this story is titled "Tough Love Chocolate". No, I didn't long for the pain I felt nor that sad memory - I just got reminded of it while I was doing this experiment. I thought - why not share here? But would I recommend making this - NO - like I won't recommend giving anyone "tough love".

I prefer pure love - what's that? 1 Corinthians 13:4-13

However, I am curious, would you dare trying one of these "Tough Love Chocolates" out? As for disciplining your kids - do you also do "Tough love"?

Written in loving memory of Mamay.

disclaimer: This recipe is a product of an experiment not a recommendation to warm one's self up in winter.

I usually blog about cooking, gardening and photography and if you happen to be interested in all of those, too .

Except for the ones, I sourced, I took each picture with my Samsung Galaxy A3 2016 edition and screenshot after putting stickers on each pic from Kakao Story.

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