Hot pepper leaves instead of grape leaves

Summary for those who don't want to read this whole article: Super-hot pepper leaves taste good and have caused no ill effects for me.

All the details 

I reported in August last year that I invented a new taste treat: microwaved egg with grape leaves and chili crisp. I am happy to report that I'm still very fond of this treat and it is a daily part of my breakfast. However, once winter started, I lost my source of grape leaves. I only got by for a few weeks with frozen grape leaves. (We have a limited freezer space.) Until a few weeks ago, I was getting by with either spinach or slices of roasted eggplant. Both of which taste fine, but have to be purchased with actual money. 

So I'm very happy that the grape vines are once again bountifully providing new leaves.

Still, I couldn't help noticing that the pepper plants have nice, broad leaves that look very edible.

One thing about having a reputation for liking hot spice is that people tend to give you hot spicy things.

The most remarkable of kindly given hot spicy things I've received have been the potted pepper plants that our across-the-street neighbour has taken to giving me.

This year, he has given me a scorpion pepper, a ghost pepper and a Carolina reaper. Last year, it was a scorpion, a ghost and a habanero. (This goes beyond me living a charmed life, I don't even have to look after the plants. The lovely Manon does everything for them like making sure they get enough water. Even though she doesn't even eat mild peppers like cayennes.)

The plants from my neighbour are all varieties of Capsicum chinense and they are ridiculously hot. Even for me. When the peppers are ripe, I make a sambal oelek that I put in little jars. I put about a third of a teaspoon of the sambal oelek every day on my lunch burrito. The burning sensation in my mouth afterwards is not at all pleasant, so I am careful to have a few things to eat afterwards to remove the hot stuff.

Olin Wade who wrote: Can you eat pepper leaves Raw? says:

The most poisonous pepper is the Carolina Reaper, and due to its extreme heat, it is advised not to consume this pepper in any form.

Other peppers that can be poisonous when consumed in large enough quantities include the Habanero, Bengal, Ghost, and Naga peppers. All of these peppers have a heat rating of over 500,000 Scoville Heat Units, and should be consumed by only those who are well-versed in very hot peppers.

Consuming any pepper in large quantities can cause intense side effects, such as stomach discomfort, heartburn, and even dehydration. Consuming peppers that are too hot can cause further complications, including inflammation of the esophagus and an intense burning sensation in the mouth.

It is best to always err on the side of caution when consuming peppers, and to never consume it in large enough quantities to cause any potential harm. 

I don't think I've ever experienced stomach discomfort, heartburn or dehydration from these peppers but I can corroborate that an "intense burning sensation in the mouth" is a distinct possibility.

Why do I eat this stuff? I think it's good for me and good for my mental health. And I like my food better when it's got some hot spice.

Back to the leaves...

The internet was not super-helpful on the question of whether I could safely eat these leaves.

I found articles about the Capsicum chinense peppers, but none addressed whether their leaves are edible or dangerous. 

I did find articles that say various other pepper varieties have edible leaves, like Capsicum annuum [Source: Can You Eat Pepper Leaves?] or the generic "chili pepper" [Source: Chili Pepper Leaves Edible – A Delicious & Nutritious Garden Secret]. 

Olin Wade says: "Jalapeno leaves themselves are not poisonous, but they can contain compounds that might be dangerous if the leaves are ingested in large amounts. The leaves may contain the compound capsaicin, which is responsible for the heat and spicy sensation of jalapenos."

This makes no sense to me. Every other site says that pepper leaves do not contain capsaicin. And I would say that jalapenos are particularly mild. Milder than cayennes. Julie Howell who wrote Can You Eat Pepper Leaves? specifically says that jalapeno leaves are safe.

My conclusion on toxicity: The Capsicum chinense  leaves should be safe. It might be worth being a little cautious by steaming them before microwaving, not eating them every day, and avoiding a "large amount" by only having two to four leaves with my breakfast.  

For preparation, some sites say they must be cooked, others say they can be eaten raw. 

My conclusion on raw versus cooked: I am confident that either way is safe and is a matter of personal or cultural preference.

I'm going with steamed and then microwaved because it suits me. 

Fieldwork

I removed two nice big leaves from the bottom of the scorpion pepper plant with bare hands. I had no burning sensation afterwards on my fingertips even after tearing off a little piece that was less than a square inch in size. 

I chewed the little piece. It tasted okay, not particularly flavourful, sort of what you might expect a raw leaf to taste like.

I steamed the two leaves with a bunch of grape leaves in the Instant Pot one a one-minute steam with "Keep Warm" turned off. Refrigerated them over night and ate them with my breakfast the next morning.

The pepper leaves tasted fine. My breakfast was delicious as always and I have had no problems of any kind.

I decided that with the thousands and thousands of grape leaves currently outside, it didn't make sense to harvest any more of the pepper leaves before the peppers are harvested. 

But guess what? The lovely Manon did some research of her own and determined that some of the lower leaves should be removed to promote growth of the peppers. She picked a bunch of leaves that I've now been eating for several days. Manon reported that she had a bit of a burning or tingling feeling where she had touched the leaves. It could be that I didn't get this because I only picked two leaves and she picked about ten. Or, I have a tolerance where she has a sensitivity. Or maybe she was doing something else in her garden where she should have been wearing gloves. 

With the new leaves, my breakfasts continue to be delicious and I have suffered no ill effects.

Possible follow-up 

If I get really ambitious, I might try making hot pepper leaf dolmades.

I will not be steaming jasmine leaves. The lovely Manon was visibly displeased when I mentioned that her jasmine plant had the broad sort of leaves that I was looking for. But then she was visibly relieved when I reported that in Jasmine Flower Edible: Which Species Are Safe to Eat? we learn that while some jasmine plants have edible flowers, their leaves should not be eaten:  

Are jasmine leaves or stems edible?

No. Leaves and stems of edible jasmine species contain higher concentrations of iridoid glycosides (e.g., aucubin) with potential laxative or hepatotoxic effects at high doses. Only use fully opened, white flowers—never green parts.

I will report any further follow-up on the pepper leaves. 

And apparently, there are some maple tree leaves that can be eaten. I'm not sure that we have any of the right species nearby. In the '90s, I had a Norway maple, but it had to be cut down before it destroyed the house.

Great news! The Stick Library is back!

It's a sure sign of Spring that the Stick Library is back.

We made an all new sign that we hope will stand up better to the elements and at least be easier to replace if it does not.

The QR-code leads to the Google Maps link for the Stick Library. We were very pleased with last year's ratings.

People who have followed this blog for a very long time might recognize the canine pictured on the sign. That is My Cancer Sniffin' Doggie from almost exactly 20 years ago. 

You'll notice that the sticks currently in the lending area are a variety of lengths and some are fairly grody. The Stick Librarian has noted that the patrons often prefer particularly fragrant sticks and some of them seem to prefer a length that lets them take up the whole width of the sidewalk.

These sticks were mostly collected from the north side of Gladstone Avenue between Rochester and Preston two weeks ago. 

You might notice that the Stick Librarian has reopened more than a month before last year's opening date. But several humans who accompany dogs expressed their companions' strong desire to have the library reopen as soon as possible. 

 

Coconut cream pi!

Even though Google Calendar alerted me a month ago that Pi Day was coming up, I forgot about it until this morning when people on Mastodon were showing off their creations. (Pi Day = March 14 — 3.14, get it?)

Imagine how happy I was when I asked the lovely Manon if there was any chance of us making a pie this afternoon, specifically a coconut cream pie, and she said: "Yes." 

All we needed was some milk. I promised that I would help. And I did. For example, I pulled numerous things out of the pantry, measured the instructed quantities of sugar and flour, washed things that had become dirty (including a number of measuring spoons that I found to be higher than I would have expected) and did a bit of stirring. 

However, I must acknowledge that it was the lovely Manon who really made the pie(s).

Here she is with the full-size pie.

 And here is me eating one of the two miniature ones she made for me.

The pie is fantastic!

The basic pie filling recipe came from The Joy of Cooking, Rombauer and Rombauer Becker, 1975.

For the meringue topping, Manon used Better Homes and Gardens: Pies and Cakes, 1966 

An upgrade to the squid jars

Way back in 2008, I filled a big jar with mineral oil for the lovely Manon and put a candelabra light bulb in it with other stuff so it looked like a giant squid. A number of years later, I did a smaller version. 

They both looked pretty cool when well lit, but there was something missing.

Recently it came to me. 

I had some cheap LED lights that didn't work any more, but when I got out my soldering iron and wire strippers, I managed to get them working again with an old transformer (don't let anyone tell you to get rid of those things). 

An old tuna can worked perfectly as the base for the smaller jar and a biscuit tin from Dollarama perfectly fit the larger jar. 

The squids now go very nicely with the lava lamps on top of the piano.

A question about all the compliments on my new glasses

 

Me with a new haircut and the new glasses

Back in October, I decided to take a chance and order a new pair of glasses online. I figured it might save me some money and at least two in-person shopping visits. (I am, let's say, "frugal" and I avoid in-person things because I am somewhat immuno-compromised.)

I went to an online eyeglass store and they offered a wide selection of frames. I picked ones that are blue because they were only $10 (have I mentioned that I'm "frugal"?) Also, they would be obviously different from my red-framed computer glasses.

When I got the glasses, I was shocked to discover that the light blue trim was much more prominent than I'd noticed in the image on the vendor's website. 

Had I realized, I probably would have paid five or ten dollars more for a more discreet pair of glasses. 

But when the lovely Manon saw the new glasses, she sincerely told me that she really liked them.

And it keeps happening. Even my mother complimented them.

What the frames looked like on the vendor site

It's kind of freaking me out. 

Two weeks ago, as part of my ongoing health journey, I was at an Ottawa Hospital appointment. The reception desk attendant who was clearly one of those hard-bitten no-nonsense types, looked up at me and said "I really like your blue glasses!" We proceeded to have a very friendly conversation about eyeglass frames in which I told her that I wasn't at all bothered by her saying that the frames went well with my gray hair because, let's face it, my hair is indeed gray. (Okay, she could also have mentioned my dreamy blue eyes, but I wasn't going to push it.)

Then on Monday, a friend who has been living out of town dropped by to borrow my car. Her first words were: "I really like your new glasses!"

"You know what?" I told her: "I've received more compliments on these glasses than on any pair of glasses in my entire life and I do not see many people these days."

The next day, I had one of my rare outings where I picked up some reserved books at the Rosemount Branch of the Ottawa Public Library. A young man was waiting at the bottom of the staircase as I was leaving. He looked up at me and smiled. "I really like your blue glasses!"

"Thank you," I replied.

So here is my question, my barber, the lovely Manon, says she would be happy to add a blue colouring to my hair. She says it will really go with my eyes and the new glasses. Should I have her do it? 

 

 

  

Kitchen Test: Christmas tree devilled eggs

I don't know if doing a single trial counts as doing our own research, but for our New Year's Eve supper, the lovely Manon agreed to my request that we try making four Christmas tree devilled eggs.

Manon had spotted someone making them on Instagram without any information on ingredients.

So I figured that a ripe avocado would be good for getting the green colour and adding enough volume to get tree height, bits of a yellow pepper would work for the star on top and hot pepper flakes would make the tree decorations.

Here is Manon with our four prototypes.

She did well with the piping, but it would have gone better if I'd done a better job of smashing the avocado.

Ingredients:

• 2 boiled eggs
• 1 small avocado
• 2 teaspoons of mayonnaise
• a few bit of yellow sweet pepper
• a bunch of hot pepper flakes

Outcome:

You know what? They were fine. However, regular devilled eggs don't look so fancy, but they taste better. Let's face it. Devilled eggs are awesome. 

This appears to be another lesson that confirms you shouldn't mess with perfection.  

I'm using a nasal spray and a nasal rinse - you might want to also

I don't do my own research, but I like to do a good literature review now and then.¹ 

Back in the fall, an old friend who is now a retired physician, told us that she has started using nasal sprays and nasal rinses to prevent COVID-19 and other respiratory infections like flu and RSV.

The idea of spraying or rinsing my nose made me shudder but I thought I should check it out and now I am a convert.

Literature Review

There are more papers on this topic than you or I can keep track of. But all of the ones I've seen conclude that nasal sprays and nasal rinses can dramatically lower the chance of someone getting COVID-19 and other infections and that nasal rinses can also reduce the severity of an infection that has started. Furthermore, there are no apparent harms caused by the sprays or rinses they are testing.

Nasal spray with Iota-Carageenan (I-C):  A 2021 pilot study concluded "a nasal spray with I-C showed significant efficacy in preventing COVID-19 in health care workers managing patients with COVID-19 disease."

Nasal spray with azelastine: An 8-week trial in Germany concluded that "SARS-CoV-2 [or COVID-19] infections was significantly lower with application of azelastine nasal spray compared with placebo treatment."

Nasal spray with other ingredients: An article from OneDayMD titled 8 Best Anti-COVID Nasal Sprays (2024) lists Povidone Iodine Nasal Spray as their #1 choice.²

Nasal rinse (or irrigation): A 2024 paper from China recommends "that saline nasal irrigation is an effective, safe and convenient strategy to prevent the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 [or COVID-19] and alleviate the symptoms of URTI [upper respiratory tract infections] across various age groups."  

To spray or to rinse

I follow the lead of my doctor friend. Before I am encountering other people, I use my nasal spray. It's one quick spritz in each nostril and a quick wipe with my handkerchief. When the encounter is over, I spritz again.

The nasal spray is fast and easy and not at all uncomfortable. In fact, with the dry winter air, it kind of feels good.

If I have a big day with lots of in-person encounters, I also do a nasal rinse in the evening. It's not as bad as I thought it was going to be, and it does feel like it was a good thing to do, but I have to acknowledge that it is kind of unpleasant and requires more fussing around. 

To rinse, you squeeze the bottle of saline solution so that half of it goes up one nostril and drains through the other one. Then you switch nostrils for the second half of the bottle. Yes. It is kind of gross. But you do it all alone, over the sink in the bathroom with the door closed. And it's really not so bad. Not like that time you snorted cream soda up your nose because someone made you laugh.  

For more information on this topic, you might want to read Nasal Rinse vs. Nasal Spray: What’s the Difference? at allergyxrinse.com. 

My nasal spray choice: Salinex Protect

I've gone with Salinex Protect. It has Iota-Carageenan, it's not too expensive and it's carried at the ubiquitous Shoppers Drug Mart. (It's probably carried at other places like IDA and Rexall drugstores, but they have really bad search engines on their websites.) 

I would really like to use a nasal spray with azelastine. It's got strong research behind it and there have been articles saying that it's an approved over-the-counter thing in Canada, but I cannot find it anywhere. It's not just a really-bad-search-engine problem, I've gone to various pharmacies and checked the ingredients on all their nasal sprays.³

I have a hunch that just about any saline nasal spray would be a good idea, but I'm not ready to start using one of the allergy-relief ones that have cortico-steroids.

My nasal rinse choice: Life Brand Nasal Rinse & Squeeze Bottle System

A lot of people use a neti pot for nasal irrigation. The lovely Manon suggested to me that the fuss of cleaning a Neti Pot made it not worth its reusability and this made a lot of sense to me.

I have invested in the Life Brand Nasal Rinse & Squeeze Bottle System from Shoppers. As mentioned, it requires a bit of fussing around, but not much really. And it's a little unpleasant to do, but not very. I bet I'll get used to it.

Conclusion

It's December 2025, I haven't had COVID-19 and I will continue to make efforts to keep it that way.