Author: Scott Roberts

Yes, I have been truckin’ along on my weight loss/fat loss journey using the Atkins method. I have been on it since Monday, February 3rd; and although it’s been extremely difficult at times, it has proven to be very successful.

I’ve since lost another 6 lbs. since my last report, allowing me to hot the “magic” 170-pound mark, and enabling me to wear a pants size below the one I had currently been weighing.

I’m always having to refer to my list of national food days that I have on this site, and I found out that today is National Chili Day! While October is “officially” National Chili Month and the first week of that month is National Chili Week, the fourth Thursday in February has been deemed to give the spicy meat stew it’s own special day!

And of course by “chili”, I am indeed referring to that delicious blend of spiced meat stew, and not chile peppers themselves. (The proper spelling of what we call capsicum peppers is an argument for another day.) So celebrate with a big bowl of Texas Red, or a tasty concoction of beef & beans, and enjoy one of the premier dishes in all of chiledom, chili!

While I’ve never posted my personal recipe for my ultimate chili…

Toooo Hot! Hot Sauce Meme Photo. This emoting tortilla chip apparently can’t take the heat of Marie Sharp’s Habanero Hot Sauce.

Hot Sauce Ingredients Escalation with Blair’s Death Sauces – Hot Sauce Meme

It’s all of our duties as chileheads to make each other aware of other chile pepper and hot sauce happenings around the globe, in the media as a whole and in social networking, but this one was unbeknownst to me up until a half hour ago.

I had received a game invite from someone on my Facebook friends list who isn’t even a chilehead. Now, I don’t even play games on Facebook – I never have and never will. Yet this one interests me, as it has a multiple of chile peppers as its main focus: Pepper Panic Saga. I know zilch about this particular app, but what Pepper Panic Saga has on it’s main Facebook app page for its description is this…

I interrupt any regular spicy food coverage for something that’s a bit more personal, but at least it is still food-related.  I’ve gone on a diet.

You may be asking yourself, “why, Scott? You’re not the least bit obese.” Correct on that. Although I’ve been really fit and muscular at times of my life both from a better eating regimen and from exercise, I’ve certainly succumb to gaining a few pounds a few times in my adulthood.

The primary reason is in solidarity of my significant other. We have both agreed to start this fat-loss journey nine days ago, with all of the regular Atkins rules (low/no carbs, cutting out breads, crackers, cookies, sweets and fruits, and focus on eating proteins and fats like meats. fish, eggs, and butter, plus many non-starchy vegetables throw in).

Using my bathroom scale and wearing only shorts, my weigh-in on the morning of day one had me clocked in at a decent 185 lbs. I then, with all will power a-blazin’, dived head first at eating Atkins-approved meals both at work and at home.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 28^th,  2014 

Guinness Book of Records –  Smokin Ed’s Carolina Reaper Challenge

New York’s own High River Sauces proudly presents the 2^nd Annual New York City Hot Sauce Expo on March 29^th and 30^th . This year’s Expo will host only the best artisanal sauce companies in the United States. Last year’s Expo proved to be a capsaicin rush for all who attended including ticket holders and vendors a like. This year organizers are turning up the heat with spicy drinks, craft beers from Laginitas Brewery, insane eating challenges, hot sauce tastings and the prestigious Screaming Mi Mi Award Show.

One of the highlights of the Expo is on Sunday, March 30th at 4 PM EST. The Puckerbutt Pepper Company “Presents the Smokin’ Ed’s Carolina Reaper Eating Challenge” which the Guinness Book of Records will be on hand to judge and declare the winner with the World Record for eating the most Smokin’ Ed’s Carolina Reaper Peppers in 60 seconds. This eating challenge will be one of the most anticipated events in fiery foods and professional eating industries combined. Many will enter but only one will survive the wrath.

“Of all the shows we have scheduled for the year, the…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January, 21^st 2013

Screaming Mi Mi Awards – NYC Hot Sauce Expo

If You Make The Best…..Then Win The Best. The 2^nd Annual New York City Hot Sauce Expo presented by High River Sauces sets the stage for one of the most pristine honors to achieve within the Hot Sauce Industry, the mighty Screaming Mi Mi Awards. There is a total of 13 categories to enter including by popular demand the addition of Salsa, Wing and BBQ Sauce. The entries are blind tasted and judged by the brightest names in the NYC food industry. The esteemed panel of judges consists of celebrity TV Chefs, food critics from newspapers & magazines, cookbook editor, food bloggers and some promising new chefs in some of the finest restaurants New York City has to offer. This year’s Screaming Mi Mi Award winners will get their winning sauce picked up by Peppers, one of the largest hot sauce distributors in the country. “We have seen from…

The following is a comprehensive list of all the winners of ZestFest 2014 Fiery Food Challenge, AKA the “Golden Chiles”. Congrats to all the winners!

A gargantuan thanks to John “CaJohn” Hard for sending the list and for the photo at the last minute!

Once again, here is the multi-blog joint effort to get you the best deals on fiery sauces, seasonings and more for the upcoming Super Bowl weekend.  Don’t delay! Order yours online today from some very excellent product makers below.

Seems like I’ve been doing this blogging thing for so long that this is the third or fourth time I’ve gone through a “busy”/”personal” period.

First, I’d like to preface all this by saying that things are generally great. There are no huge crisis that I’m wading through. I’m not planning to quit the blogging game or reviewing products in the foreseeable future.

It’s just that I’m generally busy. No, correction…make that absolutely buried. Between holding down two jobs and being a full-time single dad, it’s not easy finding a lot of time to grill, cook, taste new products, let alone write and podcast about them. A good portion of my daily meals are of the super-simple/quickie/fast food variety. I sort of envy those in the fiery foods blogging community with far fewer responsibilities, affording them to have a more prolific output. Don’t get me wrong; I’m more than happy for the terrific coverage they provide, but the (friendly) competitive nature in me wants to keep up, and it’s killing me to keep my spicy food projects on the back burner!

January 17, 2014
WRITER: Justin Bannister, (575) 646-5981, jbannist@nmsu.edu
CONTACT: Danise Coon, 575-646-3028, hotchile@nmsu.edu

The 2014 New Mexico Chile Conference will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 4, at the Hotel Encanto de Las Cruces. The annual conference is hosted by New Mexico State University’s Chile Pepper Institute and features practical solutions for chile growers, processors and producers.

“The New Mexico Chile Conference is a wonderful opportunity to learn about the new discoveries in chile pepper research,” said Paul Bosland, Chile Pepper Institute director and chair of the conference. “The New Mexico Chile Conference is the world’s largest conference dedicated to chile peppers, and we are pleased to showcase NMSU’s research discoveries to the world.”