Pepper Man in kitchen!

Why is it that even though men are, oddly, the most renowned  chefs, few show up in any useful way in the kitchen? Pinching ass and tasting soup, while marginally entertaining, don't count. However, I am pleased to report that my retired man is a chef in his fiery

soul, and here he is on a rainy Monday, mid-way into a four-hour labor of love, cooking salsa to can and perfecting serrano sauce to freeze. It is a beautiful thing. Two recipes going at the same time! Could he have imagined having so much fun in retirement?
Both recipes are heavily dependent on fresh peppers, the cultivation of which is his passion and the processing of which has become his obsession. Not that he's complaining.
To the left, a pic of serrano peppers hanging to dry in the solarium. Most often you'll see green serranos in produce aisles, but ohmigod red ripe serranos are so much better. The salsa ingredients are the typical tomatoes, onions, mild green peppers and jalapenos, which are still holding on our back porch. The canned salsa is thick and provides a great taste of garden throughout the winter. But the serrano sauce—the clearest red and most fiery best—is my favorite pepper sauce by far. Here are a couple pepper-lover recipes.