I was sitting on the cool earthen floor of a traditional home in the northernmost desert of Uganda. The family cow trying to find refuge from the heat had stuck her head through the window and you could tell she was annoyed that I had taken her spot on the floor. Outside, the mirage was so thick you couldn’t distinguish the horizon. The rainy season was about to begin, and the heat was truly a force of nature as everyone begged the rain to begin.

This week I decided to make a batch of habanero hot sauce with some of the habaneros I have sitting in the freezer from last season. I use this master hot sauce recipe as a guideline to make almost all of my hot sauces because I believe it creates the perfect base for you to create your hot sauce masterpiece.