Anybody still like strawberries?

Las frescas? If we can get enough sunshine for a few days (here at the ranch we got nearly seven inches of rain in two days! ay yi!), we’ll be picking strawberries within a week to ten days.

And that means strawberries with whipped cream … strawberry muffins … pancakes or waffles with crushed strawberries on top … strawberry smoothies … strawberry milkshakes … strawberry jelly and jam and syrup for ice cream or frozen yogurt …

aaahhh.

The only thing better than a fresh-picked, ripe, sweet strawberry – is TWO of them!

We hope to see you soon at the Dixie Chile Ranch U-Pick Patch (remember to call ahead so we reserve your row for you!) or at the Martin Farmers Market on Saturdays, 8 am to noon.

Su amigo,
Diego

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Just the facts, ma’am

Well, here are some more chile facts you can casually mention over your next plate of tamales y frijoles:

Scientists think Central American farmers first cultivated, cooked and ate chile peppers in 7500 BC.

The chile pepper got to South Asia some time in the 1500s. Christopher Columbus, who tried to get to Asia in the 1500s, brought the chile pepper home to Europe.

Worldwide in 2014, over 32 metric tons of green chile peppers were grown! (Glad I don’t have to wrangle near that many.) Half of these were grown in China.

Elephants don’t like the smell of chile as it’s growing, and farmers have found they can grow rows of chile around their other crops to deter the pachyderms.

There you are – enjoy your chile facts as well as your chile – spice up your conversation as well as your supper!

Su amigo,
Diego

Is this chile good to eat?

“Someone rescue mi pobre primo!” (my poor cousin)  “Luego, get out of there before you’re lunch. Or toast. That cat looks really hungry!”

 

Kaboom! There goes the power

Wow, thunderstorms can also disrupt blog postings. They sure did yesterday. Caramba!

Anyway, here’s a great method for roasting green Hatch chile on your grill from FoodieCrush.com
Have fun and – yum! Su amigo, Diego

Preheat your grill on high for about 10 minutes. Place the peppers on the grill grates and close the lid. Turn the peppers every 5 minutes or so until the skin is lightly charred all over. The total process should take about 15-20 minutes. Don’t let the peppers burn however, or the skin won’t want to release from the flesh as it will be “cooked on” the flesh.

Remove the peppers from the grill and place in a heavy duty freezer bag. Allow the peppers to sweat in the freezer bag for about 15 minutes.

Remove the peppers and one by one, peel the charred skin off with your GLOVED fingers. For skinny peppers like Hatch or jalapeños, cut the top of the pepper off just below where the seed cluster is. For larger peppers, pull the stem out with the seed cluster and clean out the remaining seeds with your GLOVED fingers or a paring knife. You could rinse the peppers under water to get rid of extra seeds, but it may take away from the smoky flavor.

Here’s what your end results should look like :

You can store roasted, peeled chile in the refrigerator for 3-5 days or in the freezer up to six months.