A New Use for Our Coffee Bean Grinder

There has been a bowl of cayenne peppers sitting on our kitchen counter for months and today was the day I finally took action. I harvested the peppers in August from our garden and supplemented them with ones from our CSA box from Foxhollow Farm. Since then, I've simply left them to dry.

This morning, I cut off the tops and popped the peppers, along with their seeds, in our coffee bean grinder and hit the "grind" button. What came out was fresh and fiery cayenne pepper powder. I could see the peppers' heat rising out of the grinder and had to be careful not to breathe the vapors.

Now, if I can just figure out how to get our coffee bean grinder totally free of cayenne pepper specks. Otherwise, tomorrow morning's coffee will have an added kick!

Did you know...

• Cayenne is a very good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, Vitamin K and manganese.
• Capsaicin is a powerful anti-inflammatory.
• Cayenne is said to relieve arthritic and rheumatic pain and inflammation.
• Cayenne is thought to reduce cholesterol levels in the blood and therefore reduce the risk of all forms of cardiovascular disease.
• Cayenne can be a useful cold, congestion and cough remedy.
• Cayenne is thought to boost the body's immunity system and prevent infection and illness.
• Contrary to popular belief, cayenne prevents the formation of stomach ulcers rather than actually causing them.
• Hot spices such as cayenne can speed up a person's metabolism and help burn off calories much quicker.
• Cayenne lowers the body's internal temperature, helping inhabitants of hot countries to cope with the intense heat and hot weather.
• Cayenne prevents blood clots forming and keeps the blood thin, which is useful in the prevention of strokes and cardiovascular disease.
• Cayenne is useful for diabetics, as it is thought to reduce blood sugar levels.
• Cayenne is a popular stimulant, tonic and energizer -- even known to be an aphrodisiac!
• Cayenne can be made into creams and ointments to be applied to the body externally in order to help heal bruises and muscle aches and pains.
• Cayenne is an effective stimulant to the circulation, used to treat sufferers of poor circulation, cold hands and feet and chilblains.
• One article I read said a cup of hot cayenne tea can even be used to treat a heart attack!  I can't imagine that I would be thinking straight enough to brew a cup of cayenne tea if someone was in the midst of an attack. Wish me luck.