Thanks for the chuckle Shane... who's that on the face of the bill?... the pic is a little blurry. 
Great pod shots brother...I think all the scorpions have a nice sweet fruity base, and when taken in moderation those notes can be allowed to come out. That's why they make a decent tasting sauce or powder...because you sprinkle it on and its not too overbearing. Most of the 7s are the same. Chocolates being the exception in both cases. Large huevos or not...the right way to sample for flavor is just as you're doing. When eaten whole the flavor is so overpowered by the cap oil that after the first few seconds...taste is out the window. I still sample pods with meals when I really want to get a sense of their flavor I will take a nice chunk of the pod and chew it for a while before eating anything else to get a sample like you do, then navigate the rest of the pod with the meal...and sometimes even leave quite a bit of pod on the plate. The object being to ENJOY the pod AND the meal. I really like the idea of crackers or bagels with a complimentary spread of some sort that will not mask the flavor but dull the heat a bit.
True, that... Cheese and crackers are my method of choice for dulling the heat a bit when I'm overwhelmed... a half a tsp of sugar or a hard candy if I'm really overwhelmed, but both mask the flavors in their own way, so I try to avoid them if I can when doing a review.
The Pancas were pretty quick to produce for me last year...the flavor wasn't all that great though, and are really kind of a pigeon hole pod...used for that paste. Powdered they'd be OK...grilled and used sort of as a Numex would be used they're alright...but they don't shine in either of those aspects either, and aren't nearly as good as a true Numex IMHO. They should grow and ripen for you pretty quickly though...so don't give up yet. Maybe not fully ripe by first frost, but probably close enough to get the general idea.
Thanks for the info Chief... I know what the dried pods of the Aji Panca taste like since I bought a package of them at a local Bodega... (Yes, we have them in Massachusetts too... Lol) figuring they would be good to have on hand when the family comes to visit. My wife and my kid sister and her family are the only ones who can take some heat. The rest are typical Yankees that think even garlic is too strong. Do you know if the AP chiles can take a light freeze like the Manzanos? If so, that would push the "must act" date back to around Columbus Day weekend.
You did yourself proud with the Manzano brotha! Looking lush and green...that one is WORTH the wait. Overwintering would be a good bet...but starting some REAL early if you can get some seeds to pop may be better if space is an issue??? Hmmm...maybe cut that one back and prep it to OW while starting about 200 seeds...if some pop you could toss the old girl!!! The trick with them is to have them in full bloom mode when the night time temps are in the 58-65 degree range and daytime temps in the 75-80 range. Keeping them a little on the rootbound side until they're blooming helps too. As long as the roots and plant have room to grow...that's all they want to do. I learned that last year when I had a 6' tall tree with no pods, but went to the nursery and bought 3 plants in 6" containers with pods on them. I put them into 5# nurserys and they continued to produce the rest of the season.
I know my wife's not gonna be happy with my OW plans since money is so tight here, but I think I'll point out that while she got a dental implant and took a week and a half of paid vacation to see her Mom up in Canada, I've been scrounging for work, and the solar panels will help underwrite the cost of lighting the plants through the winter. We won't be going up to my MIL's place this Christmas, and if I have OW plants down cellar anyway, maybe starting some Manzano plants from this year's seeds after Thanksgiving would be do-able. Will have to see.
Sorry for the book brotha...wait, speaking of books. 101 pages??? Wow man! I thought I was an over achiever!!!
Never a problem big guy... I can talk the hind leg off a Donkey myself... 
Great stuff as always Rickster...always a fun time over here!!!
Shane
Cheers!
... what a long, strange trip it's been!
thing was trying to do ink work on my tongue and throat! As a precaution, I'd set out some sharp cheddar cheese and a sleeve of crackers before I got started, and I was glad I did! There's no way in #@%$ I'm ever gonna put one of these in a pot of food! Sauces and powders only, and then sparingly. 
