New Mexico Chile: Red or Green? Or: Why My Life is More Complete

So, yes, it is the beginning of the chile season in New Mexico and I was happily able to pack my suitcase with both the red and green versions on my recent visit this month for consumption back here in Boston.  Late summer kicks the green chile roasting season off, and most supermarket and farmer’s market parking lots have their gas barrel roasters in full swing, filling the air with an intoxicating aroma.  Like most New Mexicans, I would grab my 30 pound bag of fresh green chile to be roasted to last me through the winter.  There is much that can be-and has been-written on the subject, and many ardent chile enthusiasts in my adopted home of New Mexico who have serious opinions on the matter.  So, rather than offend any one of them, or short-sheet my explanation of this very important topic,  check out the detailed description for yourself.  Admittedly, it’s kind of a hokey site, design-wise, but it’s got some serious cred regarding facts, history and solid traditional recipes.

I don’t know what my life would be like without chile.  At one point during my first six years living in New Mexico as a native New England girl, I actually couldn’t believe that I had lived so long without it, or without tortillas, for that matter.  I mean, a world without tortillas?  Are you kidding me?  It’s all rather addictive, and I’m cool with that.

The green chile sauce I made for our yummy dinner on Sunday at Natalie’s house consisted of fresh roasted green chile (the Anaheim variety), seeded, peeled and chopped, a butter-based rue, chicken stock, garlic and sea salt.  Very easy, very delicious.  We dipped blue corn tortilla chips for a simple appetizer, but it is more commonly used on eggs of any style for breakfast or on rolled or stacked enchiladas.  Red chile, on the other hand, is the entire chile pod dried and ground into a powder which is then reconstituted with water or broth ( I just use water), with the same butter rue base, garlic, salt and the addition of Mexican oregano.  I brought some of this over for dinner, too, and we added it to the cavatelli with our pesto and roastie conconction.  Delish!  We are not afraid to experiment on the outer edges of fusion cooking, are we?

Sunday Supper – Cavatelli with Roasties, Pesto, & Tessah’s Red Chile Sauce

Tess just returned from a week long visit to her much-loved New Mexican towns, Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Apparently ’tis green chile season in NM and lucky for us she brought back a package of freshly roasted chiles safely tucked in her suitcase.

Tess, can you please explain a bit about the NM chile roasting scene and your recipe for that special smokey sauce?

Cake Wrecks

Thank you, Mcmanistan, for this.

Celebrity Pickler in Town This Weekend

Slow Food Boston is bringing Rick Field of Rick’s Picks to Haley House this Friday as a guest teacher for a three-hour combination lecture and hands-on workshop on pickling techniques using locally grown veggies.

I first became acquainted with Rick’s Picks when my good pal Rita sent me four jars for my birthday: Slices of Life (sliced dill pickles), GT 100s (curried green tomato pickles), Smokra (picked okra with smoked paprika), and Phat Beets (pickled beets). Leave it to Rita to know that a gift of condiments is a sure fire way to make my day.

Unfortunately the Haley House event is already sold out, but there is a waiting list. I’m also looking forward to the remaining two workshops in this series—apparently sessions focusing on fermenting/dehydrating foods and tomato sauce preparation are still to come!

Roxbury Sour Cherry Sorbet

In early July, Earthworks‘ City Fruit program announced they were looking for volunteers to help pick and pit sour cherries from Boston’s urban orchards. One of the picking sites was our own Southwest Corridor Community Garden which is host to two glorious cherry trees. Unfortunately I couldn’t help with the hard work, but I did get to reap the benefits– a pint of Roxbury Sour Cherry sorbet bought from the JP Licks on Centre Street. The sorbet is a beautiful ruby color with bits of cherry pulp and a tangy sweet and sour punch. I am told that this is a limited edition batch so be sure to seek out a sample before it’s too late.