FridgeFridays: Show Us Your Hots!

After a little time away, I’m resurrecting FridgeFridays, but over on the actual FridgeFridays.com blog! Read more below or head on over there…

I really think it’s critical (and enlightening) to examine the food we keep in our fridge. And, in a wonderful turn of events, you think so too!

When I was taking photos earlier, I was investigating the door of my fridge and realized, “Wow, it’s a mess!” Do we ever clean out our fridge doors? My last cleaning of the often overlooked spot had to be… years ago. So, cleaning ensued.

My “wow” #2 (like Oprah’s “a ha” moments) hit me when I remembered, “Boy, I love hot sauce!” I gathered them onto a shelf and counted 1, 2, 3 … 7 different bottles that add heat to my meals, along with a bottle of liquid smoke and a pile of fresh ginger. (Okay, hickory seasoning isn’t really heat, but it’s such a cute bottle, right? And there are count ‘em two (!) bottles of Tapatio Salsa Picante, but that’s how much we love it, so there!)

I decided to check if my love for hot sauce was a lone activity and, of course, Flickr produced thousands and thousands of hot sauce photos. I love finding out the Web can link me with all the other crazies who love the hots. How about you? Do you like it hot too? Share your fridge and hot sauce photos on your blog and link to them from the comments here, and/or tag photo uploads with #FridgeFridays on Twitter!

So what’s my favorite of all these bottles? That’s super easy. A few years ago, I discovered Chachi Voodoo at my local Flatbread Company restaurant. It’s made by the same folks who make those fab Maine Root all-natural sodas. I couldn’t find a website dedicated to the hot sauce, but there should be a huge fan site for the stuff because it’s delicious – hot, bright, sweet, delicious and organic. There’s nothing wrong with that!

Oh, lest you think I’m just bottle crazy, I also love hot produce of all types and, in fact, have a secret stash of habaneros on hand all the time (how else do you heat up your chili?!) and a huge pile of ginger (when you need a different kind of heat). I drink big pots of steaming hot ginger and lemon tea most nights. I guess it helps with digestion, but I love how it soothes me, a spicy lullaby that preps me for peaceful dreaming.

What’s in my tea? It’s too easy! Boil some water and toss in a small pile of sliced up ginger, a couple wedges of lemon and, if you want some sweetness, a touch of honey. Sometimes I alter up the recipe by adding a couple mint leaves or some maple syrup instead of honey.

What do you do with your ginger? Any favorite hot sauces out there? Take a photo and share in the comments below, or tag it #FridgeFridays on Twitter.