Melt Yer Face With This Way Hot, Made From Scratch, Local Salsa

An army veteran and El Paso native has found a tasty ... and way spicy ... way to spend his time and ease his mind.

Welcome to Vigil's Veggies. That's pronounced Vee-Heels Veh-jeez if you ain't from 'round here.

Driven in part by the events of 9/11, Ryan Vigil enlisted in the Army National Guard in 2003 and wound up part of the 3rd BN 133 Field Artillery unit here at Fort Bliss.

After further training at Ft. Hood, his next stops were Kuwait and Iraq in 2005.

Unfortunately, PTSD reared its ugly head and Ryan found himself fighting an entirely unforeseen battle.

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In 2018, he took up gardening as a form of therapy and found that it not only helped both physically and mentally but he really, really liked it. He started with a few grapes, cucumbers, pumpkins and peppers. (The grapes come back around later...)

Gradually, his interest in the hot peppers took center stage. From jalapenos, he "branched" out to Cayenne and Tabasco peppers, then ghost peppers and, ultimately, Carolina Reapers.

Here are a few of his crops, all grown organically at his home

He admits to killing a few at first but has since gotten pretty good at growing them. Naturally, the next step is doing something with them.

I've been very successful with both of those now and have enjoyed growing those and either trying a challenge for myself or giving them to friends. I do freeze a lot though, since not everyone wants the hot ones, but, since freezing, I've decided to give hot sauces a shot. Tabasco was my first sauce, and was told it was really good. - ___ Vigil