The Chile Roaster!

I finally have some chile roasting pictures! Yesterday, Tammy and Stephen came back over to help Jason and I again!! Tammy and I roasted 320 lbs. of chile and we were able to get some pictures. Now mind you that we mostly roast green chile, but after we were done we decided that we would pick some red and try it out.



(the pictures are out of order) This is the final product. Red chiles are so sweet and flavorful! More so than the green.









We threw in a green pod just for fun!









This is the roaster in action.






You very slowly turn the roaster (by hand with this one) and let the flames blister the skin.








Close up of the chile while it is cooking.








The idea is to blister the skin but not over cook the flesh. It usually takes only 3 minutes to roast 20 lbs. So why does it take all day to do 320 lbs?!? It's the process afterwards of stopping the cooking by cooling the chili down with water.




This is right out of the roaster.







Thanks again to Tammy and Stephen! It's wonderful to have friends that you can call in a pinch and they will be there. We are looking forward to be able to help you out on the ranch in the next couple of weeks!

AAHHH.....Monday

Yes, I'm actually happy to see Monday and a start of a new week. We survived last week and the weekend! We picked 10 loads of chile, 5 loads of pumpkins, and I have lost track how many bags of chile, well over 100.

God has blessed us with such great friends and family, and we utilized them this week! On Thursday night, Tyler came over and he and I picked up bales out of the field while Jason finished baling. On Friday, Tammy and Stephen came over and she helped me roast chile all morning and we're not exactly sure what Jason and Stephen did.....drove around maybe?? No, they did keep very busy, but it sure felt like Tammy and I were doing all the hard work! ;) But talk about a wonderful friend because she brought with her breakfast burritos and sandwiches so that I did not have to worry about anything extra. Plus she sent all the extras with us on our unexpected trip to New Mexico! Thank You, Thank You, Tammy!!

So to top off a very LONG week, on Friday at 4pm we headed to Roswell, NM to take care of some unexpected business. Long story, long trip! But we made it to Alamogordo, NM around 11pm and could not find a room. Dream works production was in town filming the new transformer movie, they were having a hot air balloon festival on Saturday and Sunday, and a bike rally in Ruidoso. We finally got a room at the third hotel that we stopped at and we we got the very last room there! We had a hay rake on a trailer and we were asked if it was a transformer! I told Jason that we could probably sell it for lots of money!

We made it back home the next day around 7pm and Jason baled hay until 11:30pm. So on Sunday we slept in, he raked more hay, we napped, and then we picked up more bales until around 8pm last night.

Just a little side note, we are now down to just 2 dogs. Cash bit one of our biggest fresh chile customers on Wednesday, so now we just have Cody and Milo. It's really strange not to have Mimi's dog, Coco, or Cash around anymore!

Power of Prayer

This morning my sister-in-law, Jodie, and my niece, Brooke (4 years old), came over to pick up some roasted chile. Brooke needed to use the bathroom so we came into the house and while Jodie and I were visiting Brooke went into the bathroom 4 different times. So Jodie went in to check on her and told her that they were fixing to leave and that she would stop and pick up some medicine for her. Brooke told her not to worry about it because she had already prayed!

Have you prayed today? ;)

No Rest for the Wicked?

Reading other blogs inspired me to write about our "not" so restful weekend. And for once we did not have any rain! Wow....who would have thought that out here in the desert?

Let's begin with Friday.....that morning "we" picked 3 semi loads of chile, 100 bags of chile, I roasted 160 lbs. of chile, and shipped 2 semi loads of hay. I also finished cleaning and putting back together my disastrous guest bedroom. Then we loaded up a trailer with hay and headed towards Wet Stone to deliver more chile and hay. With 8 ton bales of alfalfa hay pulled by a gas pickup.....the going was slow!! Those hills around Benson are tough! But we finally made it and we were able to see Travis and Nicolette's house that they are going to be moving into soon. We had dinner with them, and got home pretty late.

Saturday I started out by roasting another 160 lbs. of chile, plus I am having problems with my big roaster with the motor on it, so I had to switch to my little roaster (which I just picked up a few days before that) and hand turn the it.....little more work involved with that, and we were only able to pick 1 semi load of chile because our crew was small. I did some more cleaning on the house and then looked into my Green Chile Bible for some good recipes. Then Jason calls.....

Jason: What's for lunch?
Me: Oh, I've made buttermilk chile cornbread and pollo ranchero!
Jason: Wow! Something new and we aren't even having company over!

When I called him to let him know that lunch was ready, he asked if Nicolette was there. So we ended up having company for lunch! We both had a great time with them and the kids, and I really enjoyed rocking Heidi most of the afternoon! ;) After they had left I roasted 120 lbs. of chile and we took them to Elfrida. We ended up getting home late again that night.

Sunday, we slept in!! Papa called and needed Jason to help get a ram out of the pen of ewes. When he came back we ate breakfast and then he went out to rake hay and I started some more house cleaning ( I know, I know, we should have gone to church!). I hung a new blind in the guest bedroom, washed that window, and then I shampooed the carpets in that bedroom and the office. I also made these really good sugar free peanut butter oatmeal cookies. After Jason finished raking the hay, we left to go the the mountains to have picnic with my family. We ended up in Turkey Creek and the water is running and the grass is so high that you can barely see the cattle! BEAUTIFUL!!!!

On the way home, we had to stop at a Border Patrol check point which they were in the process of setting up. Anyway...people we everywhere and here is how the conversation went between Jason and the agent.

BP: Good evening. US Border Patrol. Where are you heading?
Me: (oh no!! How's he going to answer?)
Jason: Home.
Me: (whew)
BP: Where's home?
Me: (Oh NO, he just had to ask!)
Jason: Cochise.
Me: (whew)
BP: Where are you coming from?
Me: (OK, here we go....)
Jason: Turkey Creek.
Me: (oh...THANK YOU, LORD!)
BP: Have a nice evening.

as we drive away.........
Jason: I don't like to be questioned.
Me: No kidding.

Fun times this weekend! This week looks to be our busiest of the season. This morning Jason already has an order for 90 bags of chile, and, hopefully, we will have a big enough crew for 2 semi loads as well. We start shipping pumpkins on Wednesday, I have chile orders to take to Tucson on Wednesday, and out of 240 acres of alfalfa - 180 acres have been cut and will need to be raked and baled probably by this weekend. Oh well, looks like next weekend we won't be doing much resting either!

I Love The Fall

I really do love September and October. It brings back good memories of county fair (showed horses so I was able to stay out of the politics!) and of corn harvest. One of my most favorite memories of growing up as a "farm kid" was spending time with my dad on the combine harvesting corn. Love It!! Love the smells, the sights and the sounds.....I highly recommend trying it! ;)

These days I'm no longer showing horses, my dad now has his corn custom harvested, and we don't go corn but I still love the fall! We started picking chile last Friday and things have been crazy. And the crazier things get, the happier Jason gets.....yes, I said "happier". I do count my blessings!! And I have fired up the roaster and have gotten a few bags roasted. I had a couple yesterday come and get 80lbs. of roasted chile and they told me that it was the best chile that they have ever had! Last year they canned some of it and gave it away as Christmas gifts and everyone asked where they had gotten the chile. They told them that it did NOT come from Hatch, NM! I just love it when people finally realize that chile doesn't just come from Hatch, and that it's actually better from Cochise, AZ!

We will start picking pumpkins next Wednesday. This year has been so odd! This is the latest start to chile that we have ever had, and the earliest start to pumpkins that we have ever had! I'll get some pictures of chile/pumpkin harvest, and of my chile roaster.

Oh yes...I mustn't forget....along with the chile and pumpkin harvest we are still putting up hay. Well, we are trying, but it won't seem to stop raining. They say that as soon as you plant hay then the rain will start, well.....they are RIGHT! But as my new favorite quote says, "Life is not about learning how to survive the storm, it's about learning how to dance in the rain!"

So if you'll excuse me, I have some dancing lessons to attend to! And, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JENNIFER!!