Drop By On Christmas Eve

Hey all,

Since Christmas  falls on a Sunday this year, Christmas Eve will be Saturday and we are going to be open regular hours. Since we know everyone will be in the holiday spirit, we are going to have a lot of goodies and snacks here in the store that afternoon.  So, if you happen to be in downtown Friday Harbor to look at the lights and capture the feeling of our small town, drop by the Hot Shop and check out our ghost fudge (yep, it will have the ghost pepper in it) and some other treats we are planning.  Don't think that everything in our store is over the top with heat because if you know us, you know that it's more about the flavor than it is the heat.  Of course we have extreme heat products, but we love changing peoples minds who come in and say "I just can't eat hot stuff".  Once we educate people to let them know about the health benefits, they get hooked.  We've converted a lot of people who swear they hate the hot stuff and they are now some of our Chilihead followers.  We have dessert hot sauces as well.  Toad Sweat has a chocolate orange, lemon vanilla, cranberry and key lime flavors. Yummy on a good vanilla bean ice cream.

Anyway, keep us in mind if you happen to be in downtown Friday Harbor on Christmas Eve.  Drop by in the afternoon and share the holidays with us and try some of the goodies! If we aren't fortunate enough to see you, we wish you all a safe and magical holiday with families and friends.

Christmas Ideas!

Happy early December everyone from Gilligan's Island North,

Just wanted to send out a reminder that even though you may not be able get to the shop to do your Christmas shopping, we have some great ideas on our website.  Our custom label program has gone nuts and we're having so much fun creating personalized labels for every occasion.   We have done some comical labels from grandkids to grandparents and for people giving customized bottles instead of Christmas cards alone, they send them a custom bottle as their card and gift all in one. You can send us a high quaility .jpg and think of a caption. We'll make up a proof and e-mail it back to you. We work with you to get the label just the way you want it. You can do 1 or 2 bottles at a time, or inquire on quantity discounts.
We also have our Hot Sauce of the Month Club which is very popular with people all across the country. Each month we send out 2 bottles of hot sauce (hand picked by Ed of course) and we include recipe ideas. We mix it up every once in a while and include a rub or other product we think our customers need to know about.  All the details of both of these programs are available on our website or feel free to shoot us an e-mail or give us a call.

Wishing you and yours a very happy and stress free holiday season.

Thanksgiving Wishes

As we close in on one of our favorite holidays, we wish you all a safe, warm, and relaxing holiday with family and friends.  It's this time of year we are able to re-stock our souls with the feelings about the ones we love in our lives.  Life seems to slow a bit, the days are shorter (and colder). This year, we want to thank all of our customers and guests to let us take this little shop to where it is today. We have the best Chiliheads in the world and we wish you all the very best.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Eddie & Genie Williams

Pre-Thanksgiving Greatings from The Island

Hi All,

Hope this finds everyone getting into the fall season and ready to enjoy some time with family, friends and those people that mean the most to you.  Just wanted to share our latest achievement with our favorite Chiliheads as last Thursday evening we were honored with the "Buzz" Creative Marketing award by the San Juan Chamber of Commerce. We are truly blessed to live and be allowed to live our dream in the San Juan Islands.  (Don't ya' just love Ed's shirt?) Pepper Dude!

Don't know if you've been noticing lately but as we watch the Food Network (a lot) and the Cooking Channel (a lot) we can't help but notice the increased introduction of peppers and fresh spice ingredients these premier chefs are using. We are constantly having to tell people "it's not all about the heat, it's about the flavor".  But that's OK, our message is getting through. More and more people are chosing the healthy benefits of peppers and incorporating them into their meals. 

Of course we still offer the extreme heat sauces (the ones with flavor that is) and it's always fun to have a group of people walk in and ask us "what's the hottest one ya' got?"  Meet Your Maker from Heavenly Heat out of Tacoma is our hottest at 5 million Scoville Heat Units. Believe me, it's a one toothpick at a time additive.  And we still have our hot favorite "Z, Nothing Beyond" at 4 Millions Scoville Heat Units.  "Z" has a wonderful flavor and both of these sauces, used correctly of course, offer a great meal experience.  With Meet Your Maker, we use a 1 toothpick dip into a chili or stew for a fantastic flavor. It's got the Ghost Pepper, Ghost Pepper Extract and Ghost Pepper powder to earn its reputation. Fantastic packaging too in a black collectors coffin with a wax seal on the bottle. Nice presentation. Great flavor used sparingly. 

"Z, Nothing Beyond" is the 4 Million Scoville Heat Sauce and is made from the Red Savina Habanero that fools you. It starts off slowly with the banana, papaya, guava juice and passion fruit base, then the pepper takes you on a ride. It takes a full minute to build and we've even had guys hand the car keys to the wives and tell them "you're driving hon" from the euphoric effect they get. We never get tired of witnessing that!  

As you know, we sample our products every day and look forward to seeing you all when you make it to the island. We are currently researching the new products (and of cours the Butch T Scorpion is one on our list) so keep us on your watch list.  Can't wait for Spring and Summer to see our favorite Chiliheads and show off the new products!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you and your families. Without you, we wouldn't be here! We are truly thankful for all you guys and we will be celebrating with a beer can Turkey.

Thank you everyone!
Eddie & Genie Williams

Cow and Pig "Zombie" Update

Steve and Laurie sent us this picture of the Cow and Pig on Halloween night. They are resurrected as Zombies of course! Yay, they're baaaaaaack! Love these guys.

Happy Halloween! Cheesecake Bites This Weekend With Your Choice of Topping!

Hi All,

Well the Cow and Pig are at it again. (We should say Steve and Laurie are at it again).  When we drove by and saw the cow and pig buried with all hooves in the air, we just about ran off the road. So cute. And no, it's not the end of the Cow and Pig adventures.

Happy Halloween everyone.  If you're on the island this weekend, stop by to taste yummy mini cheesecakes with your choice of topping! (Cherry Pomegranate, Hot Pepper Raspberry Chipotle, Anna Mae's Smoky Sweet Chipotle Sauce, Peach Mango Habanero Sauce, Pineapple Habanero Sauce just to mention a few. We won't even get into the pepper jelly's.).  Yummy stuff.

Have a safe Halloween!

Eddie & Genie

Happy Fall!

Hi Everyone,

Sorry for the long delay since the last post. A lot has been going on this summer. Genie got to take a week off to visit the kids in So. Cal., and Ed is in Nevada visiting the kids there as well. Summer was fantastic and while the economy proves to be worrysome, we did eek out a slight increase in sales this year. Bottom line, we are happy! Thanks to all of our loyal customers and newbies we had the great chance to meet and see again this summer.

Last week we hosted the monthly Chamber of Commerce general meeting and we thought we would like to start sharing some of our favoritie recipes with you.  Especially since it's now comfort food season and we're getting ready for the holidays.  The first installment in this series will be the pulled pork sandwiches on mini sliders we did. It was a huge hit and the feedback was great. (next will be the mini cheesecakes with a Cherry Pomagranite topping) Here we go ~~

4-5 lbs. pork boneless butt roast (yes it's fatty but we'll show you how to make it work).
1/4 cup canola oil (veggie oil works too)
4 cups beef broth (it's o.k. to us bullion in water here too. Costco has the best beef boullion base).
1 white onion, diced
3 cloves garlic minced
1 bottle Lizano Salsa (guess where you can get that???) plus a little water.
Habbyflakes to taste ( a little goes a long way so start small and add until your desired heat level, yep we have those too! .  I suggest starting out with 1 tsp. (We use about 2 tbsp. however)
Mini slider buns (now available at most supermarkets)

Directions: 

In a large crock pot, add beef broth or boullion and start to heat. Heat oil in large skillet. Brown pork butt roast on all sides searing in the juices. (I like a nice brown color on all sides).  Remove roast and place in crock pot with beef stock/boullion.  In remaining saute juices, add onion and garlic and cook until limp.  Add mixture to crock pot. Cover and cook approx. 4-5 hours on med heat until pork roast shreds.  You may need to add more water to keep roast hydrated during cooking. At the end of this process, you don't want a lot of liquid left over. 

When pork is shredded, place pork on cookie sheet and cook in 400-425 degree oven until the pork starts to crisp. If you like carnitas, this is a great way to do that as well.  Turn moist pork often getting a crisping action for the entire roast.  Don't overdo it though.  When pork is done to desired crispness, return to empty crock pot and add 1 large bottle of Lizano Salsa with a little water and Habbyflakes to taste. (My suggestion, start small with the Habbyflakes. You can always add, but you can't remove the heat). Cook uncovered until pork roast absorbs all the Lizano liquid. (If there is a little liquid left over, that's OK. Use Wondra to thicken mixture as a gravy). 

Keep pork warm in crock pot, serve with mini slider buns and watch your guests rave! I usually serve this with some mixed vegetables and either hummus or ranch dressing. In the future, we'll share with you our hummus recipe that has a kick and is great with raw veggies. 

Don't forget, we are compiling our cook book and we want your recipes to include.  Of course you will get the credit so be sure to include your name and home town.

Thanks for allowing this business to continue to be a labor of love for both of us. We believe in our products and love sharing the health benefits and introducing new producers to you.  We think of you all as family and hope we can continue to educate, grow and be a major force in this wonderful industry.  Without you, we wouldn't exist.

Sincere Thanks,
Eddie & Genie

Wow, what a summer

Hi All,

Sorry it's been so long since the last post. This summer season was nuts! In a good way of course. We had the privelege of meeting a lot of our fellow Chiliheads and were busy bringing in some really great new products. There are a lot of new producers and new products from our favorite producers. It's hard to put it all into 1 post so bear with us, we'll be talking about them throughout the fall season. 

First off, we have to re-post the pic of the Orca that spyhopped into a group of kayakers recently off Henry Island (north of Roche Harbor).  They said J34 Orca popped up, said hello and retreated back into the sea without creating much of a wake for the boaters. Wow, what an experience. Thanks to local Capt. Jim Maya for this great picture. No, it's not Photoshop. It really happened. Wow, we wish we could have experienced this. They are such beautiful creatures, we never get tired of seeing them. Although summer may be almost over, the fall is the most wonderful time to visit the islands.  Hope to see you all soon. Also a note to our loyal and favorite customers, we will be coming out with a special program soon. If you're signed up on our website, you'll be the first to learn about it. Great discounts! We'll keep you posted on the details and be ready to pick up some of your favorite products at really great prices. It's our way of saying thank you for a great first 4 years!
All the best to you and your families during this fall season and thank you for such a wonderful summer!
~~Eddie & Genie~~

Ahhh Summer finally has arrived

Greetings All,

Sorry it's been a while since we last posted anything but we've been busy bringing in all sorts of new products which means we've been doing a lot of research on products.  A couple of new items of note are Frog Balls, which is a pickled spiced brussel sprout which is FANTASTIC in a bloody mary or anything you would use pickled artichokes in.  Great on a pastrami sandwich too! The Toad Sweat products are also back in stock with some new flavors added. These are fantastic dessert sauces which are very sweet and have an intersting kick of flavors.  There is Lemon Vanilla, Chocolate Orange, Key Lime and Cranberry. Great for mixing in a Margarita or even drizzled over a good quality vanilla bean ice cream. Yow!
We hope as the weather gets better you will plan a trip
to the island to visit. We love seeing our favorite chiliheads
and meeting new ones as well.  The J,K and L Orca pods
are back and showing off their new babies and the seal pup
season has started. Baby animals are so cute!
Well that's all for now, Ed's gotta get back to what he does
best and that's slingin' sauce. We have so much fun and
we hope you will plan a trip to see us soon!

Eddie & Genie

May Day, May Day!

Greetings all. Another April zipped by and now we're on to May. With all the wacky weather the country has experienced, our hearts go out to the ravaged mid-west. I was inclined to whine about our wet weather but we will decline that option.  Actually, we feel blessed to live in the part of the world we do.  The Royal wedding was a great event to watch and even if it was just for a few hours, it was a feel good event which the world needs right now. It has been reported that the newlyweds are planning a visit to Canada and then on to California.  Boy it would be nice if they would pop over to the islands, but we doubt that will happen.

The past week we have received huge shipments of product and the shelves are filling nicely.  We hope people get out this season and visit the islands. The Orca's have returned and although we are struggling to get out of the 50's and into the 60's, we expect a great summer.  This year the San Juan Islands have received numerous accolades. Check out  National Geographic Traveler magazine  . And don't forget New York Times Article.

We have begun to see some of our annual favorite Chili Head visitors already and it's been fun. The Canadian's are starting to get active on the water and have been visiting as well.  We love our Canadian visitors.  They are always so fun and such nice people.  Don't forget we take Canadian currency and for the past 2 years we have been able to take it at par value so that's another convenience for our guests.  Check out the website for new products we have brought in.  By the end of May, we'll be bringing in a large selection of Men's resort wear shirts and the funny t-shirts too!  My favorite is:
Don't get me wrong, we like cat's but you gotta have a sense of humor.

Hope to see you all this summer and wishing all good things to the
people in the midwest. You are in our thoughts and prayers.

Great New Products This Season!

Hey Everyone,

Just a quick note to let you know that by the end of April, our store will be FULL of new stuff.  Ghost Chili Organic Chocolate, new stuff from Danny Cash (including a Bloody Mary mix we are so excited about) and Z&Z World Famous Honey Co., (there is talk of Danny and the McCanless family visiting in July Yowza!) New BBQ Sauce from the 2010 Scovie award winner Outta The Park, Wicked Cactus sauces, The Old Spice Company and a whole bunch of new stuff.  This season is gonna be a good one so check us out on your vacation to Friday Harbor, San Juan Island, Washington. WooHoo! Don't forget we sample products every day. Try 'em before you buy 'em. Muuuuuaaaaahhhhh!

Where Has March Gone

Wicked Cactus Logo

Wow, what a wild month March has been.  Sorry it's been so long since the last blog but we're busy shopping and placing orders for the upcoming season and boy have we got some great new products coming.  We're stocking up on the Z and Z World Famous Honey Company products of course plus Danny Cash's product line which has grown bigger too! There is a whole new product line from "Wicked Cactus" we're bringing in. They sent us samples and these are fantastic sauces. Great labels too! If your a member of the Hot Sauce of the Month Club, you can be sure we'll be sending these out in the coming months.

For those of you who enjoy our silly T-Shirts, we're ordering those too! We love this time of year when we can stock our shelves in anticipation of our summer Chilihead visitors.   As you all know, we sample our sauces every day and can't wait to see our tried and true visitors and the new victims we'll convert into Chiliheads.  Our Chilihead wall of pictures is growing!

As we head into April, we wish you all warmer weather and all the beauty Spring brings. 

On to March!

Tiki torch waiting for Spring!

Happy End to February All,

It seems this fall/winter season has lasted forever this year. Even though we had a lot more sunny days at the end of January and beginning of February, it was cold and boy are we paying the price now with all the snow. We're coming out of the deep freeze however the news still shows snow in some of the lowlands. It's been fun but we are ready for Spring and seeing the tourists again. It's always so much fun in the shop when it's busy and we get people taste testing.  Foot traffic is starting to increase which is a sign of the fun to come. Hope you all get a chance to visit this season as we love to see our favorite Chiliheads and look forward to recruiting a new group too! There will be a lot of new products this year and of course our favorite producers have been working on new concoctions over the winter months. Stinger X from the Z and Z Honey Company is one of our favorite new products and Danny Cash has been busy in the kitchen as well.  On to March and dreams of warm boating weather!

Happy Valentines Day!

Our Favorite Pig & Cow on Roche Harbor Road. Thanks Steve and Laurie. We always love to see what you come up with.

Yes, that's the pig and cow on Roche Harbor Road. Steve and Laurie have done it again with another fantastic and funny display with the kids.  Had to share it. And with Valentines day right around the corner (and Eddie and Genie's 15th anniversary on the 17th) we just wanted to remind you about all the cool stuff you can get your favorite chilihead.   The days are getting longer and only 42 days until the official start of Spring. Get the grill going for that special someone!  HAPPY VALENTINES DAY ALL!

On to February

Greetings All,

As January comes to a close we start looking towards Spring. After all it is only 50 days away. Yesterday's chilly sunshine gave us that glimmer of another warm season to come full of tourists and visitors to the islands. It just seems this winter season has lasted so darned long that we are chomping at the bit for summer and all it brings. Next Sunday is Superbowl Sunday and the Mariner's are checking into their spring camp. Buds on the trees have started sprouting as well as a few of our bulbs in the garden.  Sam and Tina McCanless checked in from Zest Fest this weekend and they've taken home 3 new awards for their wonderful sauces. See, we told you Stinger was a hit!!! And you told them too. Tina even made a "flaming dress" to go along with her hubby's flame suit. Check out the pic of Sam, Tina and Danny Cash  (to the left of Tina). We are so happy for them. Time to start placing orders and gearing up to fill the shop with new products. Danny Cash has a bunch of new products we can't wait to bring in and we were contacted by a guy on the East Coast who has developed a new unique product. It's a peanut that is coated in potato and deep fried and then flavored in a dusting of different coatings. There is a Jalapeno Cheddar, Nuclear, Bloody Mary, Crab Flavored (which is Old Bay Seasoning) and a few others. He sent us a sampling and they are great.  And we have to talk about the mom who poured hot sauce down her son's throat as a punishment. What was she thinking? It looked like Tapatio to us but it was just wrong. You WANT your kids to eat hot sauce, not view it as a punishment. I'd love it if he jumped up and asked for more! Seriously though, I just don't get parents these days. You can't smack their behinds anymore but you can pour hot sauce down their throats??? Seriously??? TIME OUT!!!   Wishing you all warm thoughts as we move towards Spring and we can't wait to see you all again this year.

January Greetings

Check Out Zipsanjuan.com and tell Pat and Stella Ed & Genie Sent ya!

As of the writing of this, there are only 61 days left until Spring officially arrives. We are so excited. It's been a rather wet and chilly winter but that's what we love about the great PNW. We have 4 seasons and there is constant change. As we head into the thoughts of warmer weather, clear skies and slight winds for the perfect boat adventure, we have done a lot of research during the off season and promise a lot of new products this year.  We are excited about Danny Cash's line of products, of course the World Famous Z and Z Honey Company has spent time creating new products and there are a lot of new West Coast producers we want to introduce you to.  In addition we will be bringing in a lot more apparel and housewares just to mix it up a little.  Recently, the San Juan Islands were voted by the New York Times, the #2 destination spot in 2011 out of a total of 41.  We are so proud of that honor and if you've never been to the San Juans, you gotta check it out. Also new this year is a new outfit called Zip San Juans. They open officially on April 1 and the locals are getting together to take a test zip. We can't wait. There is so much to do here and it's the perfect getaway to kayak, whale watch, hike, beachcomb, take a zip trip or just hang out and enjoy a picnic supper on the beach and watch the beautiful wildlife.  Be sure to drop by and say hello if you come to the island and remember we sample every day!  We look forward to seeing ya'll soon!