Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Hot color!

This is not your typical fall color... Traveling from Tucson, Arizona, to Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, we went right through the chili capital of the world…Hatch, NM. We were a little late for their Chili Festival (held every Labor Day weekend) but there were still many a store with colorful displays like this (look there are even bags on the roof!). And the smell! As soon as we stepped out of the car it was intoxicating, the air was full of the scent of hot peppers. I briefly toyed with the idea of purchasing one of the chili ristras, but then realized it would be competing with plants for space in our luggage or shipping. No contest there…Agave 1, Chili 0. Later when we were in Albuquerque we spotted a contraption that looked something like perforated metal barrel in a supermarket parking lot. There was one guy turning it and another guy chatting him up. I realized right away he was roasting peppers but I didn’t have the where-with-all to take a picture or stop and buy a few (even though the husband offered to turn around) I wish I had. You just don't see many pepper roasters, or have a chance to eat fresh roasted peppers, up in this part of the country!

7 comments:

  1. That beautiful color warms me right up!

    You might want to check first but if you need a pepper fix, I have seen a pepper roaster at the downtown PSU Park Blocks Saturday Farmer's Market.

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  2. Cool! Or should I say hot ;-)

    What a riot of colour!

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  3. It's like a celebration on a string. No wonder they have so many fiestas in the land of chilis.

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  4. MulchMaid. ah! Good to know...I'd gotten in the habit of visiting the Wednesday market (less people) but now that the season is over maybe I'll need to venture downtown on Saturday.

    Adam D, hot it is! (I think?)

    ricki, "celebration on a string"...did you used to write copy for a catalogue?

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  5. Now *that* would be something to see! Amazing..

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  6. I love ristras! They are so festive and remind me of several Thanksgivings spent in Santa Fe. You see a few in Austin but nothing like in New Mexico. We do, however, roast Hatch green chiles in September. There's nothing like the sound and smell (and heat!) of chiles roasting over a gas flame, though I always pity the poor sap who has to stand next to the heat and turn the cylinder they roast them in. Boy, are they tasty in enchiladas, sauces, and anything else you can think of!

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