We have had a lot going on since our flight out from Ireland. After arriving we have had to unpack, paint the inside of our house, visit with family, start back up in homeschooling and get the house prepped for living in like stocking it with food. I didn't' even list it all. It's been quite exhausting.
As I have mentioned in previous blogs, my father's health has gotten worse since we first went to Ireland. He has needed help doing regular everyday things. We were able to take him out for a drive several days ago. The weather has been amazing and I had forgotten just how beautiful the fall is here.
We drove through one of my favorite places, Corrales. It has a similar feel to the place I grew up in. My aunt and uncle lived there when I was a kid and we would often go there for visits. We would go visit them several times a year. Christmas and the Fourth of July are full of some of my fondest memories.
While there we stopped off at Wagner's Farm. I was excited to see that they were still selling chile. Every Autumn we by a large bag of green chile in September. Then we go home and bag and freeze it. I thought we were too late and all the chile in New Mexico had been sold. Apparently it was a good year because there was still plenty available.
When we arrived the first thing we saw were red chile ristras and pumpkins. The perfect thing to trigger my childhood memories.
While inside, our little Tater-Tot had a lot of fun looking at all of the fall produce. Her favorite was the apples. She sure loves to eat them. Our family goes through a tremendous amount of apples all year long. It's not unusual for each of us to eat 2 apples every day. That can equal out to 10 apples a day! I think we need to invest in some apple trees, don't you?
After choosing how hot we want our chile we then go and pay for it; then it's time to get it roasted. One of the signs of fall is the smell of the chile being roasted. Out of all the places in the world we have been, we have never smelled anything like roasted New Mexico green chile.
As the chile roasts you can hear the seeds popping out from the chile pods, the smell gets much more intense and the heat radiating from the roaster reminds you to stay clear of it.
Was it coincidental that the man roasting our chile is wearing a hat with flames?
Once the chile is done they put it in a bag and tie it closed. We then take it to the car with smiles on our faces. I like to leave it in the bag, in our kitchen, for several hours to let it steam. It makes it much easier to peel the skin off right before adding to meals.
Here is what the chile looks like as I open the bag.
This is after I have bagged the chile. I prefer to leave the skin and stems on the chile when I freeze it. It seems to have a better flavor when I do that. Plus ,it's a lot of work to bag it so I would rather do the peeling of the skin when I prepare a meal.
I was able to get 32 quart size bags from the one large bag. Normally you would get about 15 or 16 but I only fill mine half way. I prefer to do it that way. I can always thaw 2 bags if I want more but I can't refreeze it once it's been thawed.
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