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Sometimes you need to set your own boundaries, know your limitations.  That’s especially the case with chilis.

They may merely add flavor to cooking or set your mouth ablaze in a manner that will send you running for the icewater (and have other repercussions, too, if you know what I mean.)

I was in New Mexico a couple of weeks ago where chilis–red and green–are in just about everything you eat.  Fall is the height of chili season there and you’ll find them piled in farmers’ markets and smell them roasting, “New Mexico aromatherapy,” at the market or on the roadside. You’ll find them in restaurants any time of year.  When ordering, your server may ask, “Red or green?”  By that she means the color of chilis you want.  If the answer in both, it’s common to say “Christmas.”

Some chilis hot, some not.   In some cases it’s like playing roulette–one in ten is hot, you just don’t know until you eat it.  Either way, they’re beautiful to look at.