Pepper Your Garden With Hot Peppers

By Phran Novelli

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - That's HOT. There are so many little peppers you can grow that pack a big punch in everything from salsa and guacamole to pizza, pasta and curries. Jalapenos are mild compared to Serano chiles, and can't compare to the heat of Habaneros and Scotch Bonnets that hit blisteringly high numbers on the Scoville scale that measures pepper intensity.

My brother-in-law Jim has a collection of hot sauces and an on-going contest with his brother to see who can swallow the hottest peppers and he's growing some pretty peppers in a pot this summer. But even if you never take it to the extremes of torture testing your taste buds, just one plant on your patio can produce enough hot peppers to help you add a lot of spice to your food with just a slice.

Enjoy lots of hot peppers while they're fresh, then save the rest - either clean, cut up and then freeze your hot peppers, or go the other way and dry them to store them with other spices - so you can add them to sauces, soups, stir-fries and other spicy recipes all year long.