Ooooh anybody have a rec for the most idiot-proof hot thing to try to grow?
These things: https://seedsbeeblooming.com/shop/ols/products/rainbow-tabas...
Can't vouch for that merchant though
https://scottsmiraclegro.com/en-us/aerogarden.html
They cost a bit but they are idiot proof. The company also sells materials at an Okay price to grow whatever seeds you want, and you can use standard hydroponic supplements rather than their name brand ones.
I got a kit with Basil and it grew more Basil by accident than I could use. I was ripping off leaves and throwing them into store brand pasta sauce. I had a single plant in one of the $100 growers.
Their "salsa" kit is cherry tomatoes and Jalapenos so maybe it won't work so well on other peppers, but they have a Banana pepper kit. Pepper growers might have nutrient and growing recommendations to better manage flavor and spice profiles.
My preferences in cooking are like software: high level is fun (cooking dishes), low level is annoying (growing or producing ingredients).
I also like making cocktails. A brief try with homemade coffee licqueurs was disappointing - knowing a couple of good brands, I can buy and enjoy them, no hassle. Closest to preparing ingredients I do is occasionally doing batches of "super juice", where you squeeze a bunch of limes and add some conservatives and enhancers (and water), that increase the yield, flavor and shelf life by a lot. Then it's really practical to just use the juice like a normal ingredient, versus having the cytrus available having to squeeze them and having more stuff to clean.
Definitely wear gloves when chopping chillis!