Welcome to Southern New Mexico! You have ventured upon the hottest spot in the U.S.A. I’m not talkin’ solar heat. I’m talkin’ chile fire.

Chile peppers are the Land of Enchanters’ mysterious and highly addictive vegetable that may cause brows to sweat, noses to run, eyes to tear, and alas, guttural hiccups upon overdose. It’s a painfully pleasant experience we welcome many times daily.

Not only do we devour the hot little number but we chile chat ceaselessly. The noble chile plant has played a passionate role in New Mexico’s culture and cuisine since the early 1600s when the Spanish first planted along the fertile Rio Grande valley. Hundreds of years later, the powerfully pungent pod remains dear to New Mexicans. Although chile is now grown worldwide, New Mexicans self-assuredly declare “our pods are peerless.”

When I arrived from native Michigan to this chile kingdom a decade ago, the only pepper with which I was acquainted was the sweet, but no heat, red and green Bell. Little did I know that Bell’s next of kin would offer such savage euphoria. I now use the mojo in just about every dish I prepare. Indeed, as I key in these words, I savor popcorn lavished in red chile powder. (And I don’t go the movies without it.)

I admit, I’m a slave to the chile knight whose colorful armor ranges from yellow to green to red and to black. Some are long, slender and no thicker than a swizzle stick while others are rotund and nearly spherical. They vary in length from 1/2 inch Lilliputian to a 12-inch whopper. Some chiles are spicier, and others are hotter – usually the smaller the chile, the fiercer its bite. A chile’s heat quotient can vary from tepid to tongue blistering hot.

Without dispute, Southern New Mexico offers the best and tastiest chile in the world. Just 30 miles northwest of Las Cruces is the village of Hatch, known as the Chile Capital of World. Hatch cultivates over 30,000 acres of the succulent pod and celebrates the harvest each Labor Day Weekend with a festival that includes chile roasting, chile contests, chile parades, and traditional chile dishes. Year round these savory victuals are listed on menus at many area restaurants. Once you sample these offerings, I think you’ll agree – there’s no place north of the border with better chile eats.

To help you on your culinary excursion and to familiarize you with our chile lingo and lore, I offer the following brief guide.

• Chile or chili? Debates on the correct spelling are heated. Chile is the Spanish adaptation of chili, the Aztec name for the pod. Chili, at least in New Mexico, refers to Texas soup, prepared with diced or ground beef and chili powder (or both).
• Chile powder vs. chili powder. Chile powder spelled with an “e” refers to pure ground, dried chile peppers. Chili powder spelled with an “i” is a powdered seasoning mix of dried chiles, garlic, oregano, cumin, coriander and cloves.
• Red or green sauce? Chile is usually served as a green or red sauce. Its heat level or “bite” can vary from easygoing (1) to fiery hot (10). Before ordering, be sure to ask your waiter which is the “hot of the day.” Red sauce is also known as enchilada sauce since it’s often found in that dish. Compared with green sauce, red sauce has a rich earthy flavor and adds an unusually sweet punch to most dishes.
• Chile painkiller. Dairy products like milk and yogurt – not water – dull the chile bite.
• Red chiles. Green chiles that ripen on the vine turn red. The fresh pods are often “braided” into a ristra (a string of pods) and hung to sun dry. Once dried, they’re either ground or crushed for seasonings and sauces.
• Green chiles. Before green chiles are used in cooking, they’re usually roasted in a wire mesh basket that rotates over a gas flame and then peeled. Green chiles are used in numerous recipes including relishes, sauces, stews and bread.
• Chile rellenos. These are plump green chiles packed with cheese, dipped in cornmeal and then deep-fried.
• Chorizo breakfast burrito. A flour tortilla rolled with scrambled egg bits, chopped onion, cubed potatoes, shredded cheese, red or green chile and chorizo, a spicy sausage.
• Enchilada. Rolled or flat corn tortillas either topped or stuffed with meat, cheese, onion, and smothered in red or green chile sauce.
• Tamales. Red chile pork wrapped in fresh masa (corn dough) and encased in a cornhusk. Tamales are also prepared as a sweet, a holiday tradition in Mexico. Sweet tamales are made with raisins, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, pecans and brown sugar.
• Huevos rancheros (ranch-style eggs). Best breakfast. Fried eggs lavished with green sauce and garnished with tomatoes and onions.
• Chilehead is an experienced chile chomper. The hotter the chile, the better the ‘head’.
• Hotluck. A potluck centered on chile dishes.
• Chile-fix. Chile is addictive. New Mexicans usually require a daily “fix.”
• Chile “flashes” or sweating at the brow may occur after eating a particularly “hot” chile-laced dish. Chile flashes are similar to hot flashes but they’re self-induced and are gender non-specific.
• Capsaisin [kap-SAY-ih-sihn] is what gives chiles their bite (and subsequent addictive qualities). The substance is localized around the stems, inner membranes and seeds.
• Chile Pepper Institute, The. The Institute, located in Las Cruces at New Mexico State University, is an international non-profit organization devoted to education, research and the promotion of chile peppers. The director, Agronomy and Horticulture Professor Paul Bosland, is considered one of the leading chile pepper breeders in the world.
• Hatch Chile Festival. The small village of Hatch, known as the Chile Capital of the World, cultivates over 30,000 acres of the succulent pod.
• Each Labor Day Weekend the town, just 30 miles northwest of Las Cruces, celebrates the chile harvest by hosting a festival that includes chile roasting, chile contests, chile parades, and traditional chile dishes.
• New Mexico State University Chile Teaching and Demonstration Garden. The garden is open daily and showcases more than 250 different varieties of exotic chiles. For more information, call 505-646-3405.
• New Mexico Wine and Chile Festival. Chile contests and chile eats and plenty of New Mexico wine draws thousands of folks to this Memorial Weekend event.
• Whole Enchilada Fiesta, The. Held the first weekend in October in downtown Las Cruces, the fiesta features parades, dances, Spanish music concerts and the making of the world’s largest enchilada, which is shared with more than 70,000 fiesta goers.

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Roasting chilies at the Hatch Chile Festival Photo by Carla DeMarco.

Just when the rest of New Mexico begins to cool at the dawn of autumn, Southern New Mexico begins to sizzle. The fiery happenings begin on Labor Day Weekend when the normally pacific village of Hatch is transformed into blissful pandemonium.

Hatch, known as the Chile Capital of the World, lies in the fertile Rio Grande valley, some 30 mostly-arid miles northwest of Las Cruces. The tiny town is the heart of New Mexico’s chile land; over 30,000 acres of the succulent pods are cultivated annually.

Chile pepper is Land of Enchanters’ mysterious and highly addictive vegetable that – depending on its heat level – may cause brows to sweat, noses to run, eyes to tear, and alas, guttural hiccups upon overdose. It’s a painfully pleasant experience New Mexicans welcome many times daily. Chefs use the chile both fresh and roasted – whole to stuff with cheese for rellenos, sliced to anoint burgers and steaks, and diced for sauces, salsa, stews, and other dishes that demand a pungent punch.

To usher in the chile season, Hatch hosts the Labor Day Chile Festival. The venue is split between downtown and the airstrip, two miles west on Highway 26.  The lively festival draws thousands of tourists from around the world and features a chili cook-off, arts and crafts galore, two-steppin’ music, sidewalk sales, chile eats and products, and a parade led by the newly crowned Ms. Chile.

The main purchase item is, of course, fresh picked chile portioned out in 40-pound burlap bags. Shuffling along with the big sacks, New Mexicans form queues at the roasting stations where the fleshy pods are toasted in giant metal baskets that rotate over a hissing propane flame. Sweet and delicious, a smoky aroma sweeps through the valley whetting appetites that beg for a chile fix – "now." Chile maniacs flock to the food carrels to devour pudgy burritos, two-fisted gorditas, cheese-laden rellenos or full to bursting sopaipillas . . . it’s a culinary adventure that both permanent and fleeting New Mexicans anticipate each harvest.

The Hatch Chile Festival is, indeed, a hot item on Labor Day weekend. And when the first batch of chile rolls off the roaster, celebrate the occasion by preparing Misty Weathers’ award winning green enchiladas (recipe below) for which she placed second in the 1988 Hatch Chile Cookoff.

Green Enchiladas

2 cans of creamy chicken mushroom soup
1 can water
2 dozen tortillas
1 pound grated cheese
Chopped onion
Garlic powder to taste
3 chopped roasted green chiles

Mix soup, water, garlic and chile. Cook soup for a few minutes. Warm tortillas. Roll small amounts of cheese and onions in tortillas and place in pan. Pour soup mix over tortillas and bake for 30-40 minutes.

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Technorati Tags: chile,festival,plantlife,Hatch,Dona Ana County

Chile is not going to come and go, like kiwi fruit. It’s going to stay, like rock’n'roll.
— Paul Bosland, "Mr. Chileman," New Mexico State University

Hatch, New Mexico calls itself the "Chile Capital of the World"

Chile is surely not going to go away in tiny Hatch, New Mexico. As a matter of fact, there’s a bit of a frenzy this time of year. It’s just the annual Chile Festival in Hatch, a forty-minute drive along the Rio Grande from Las Cruces. The madness happens on Labor Day weekend, with folks driving in from as far away as Tucson, Albuquerque and Fort Worth to load up their trunks with genuine Hatch chiles (that’s the New Mexico spelling as decreed by the state legislature).

To paraphrase Dallas guru Frank X. Tolbert, a chile festival is a kind of Brigadoon to aficionados. Upwards of 30,000 of them will take home this precious cargo – enough for enchiladas, chiles rellenos, caldillo and salsa for the next year.

 

 

Getting there

To join the multitude of chile fans, take Highway 185, a winding two-lane road that parallels the Rio Grande from Las Cruces through Radium Springs right into The Chile Capital of the World. You’ll see wisps of smoke alongside the road; roll down your windows and breathe in the heavenly scent of roasting chiles. Most of the houses will be festooned with ristras, strings of dried red chiles. Many of these are for sale, usually for less than those at the festival. Bring them home to hang on your porch, and when you’re through with them, you can grind them into chile powder. Note: If you’re in a hurry, just take I-25 north from Las Cruces and take the Hatch exit (about 30 miles).

After you get there

When you get to Hatch, be sure to check out the Hatch Chile Express at 622 Franklin, about three blocks off Hall Street, the main drag. Jim and Jo Lytle run this nifty little shop which features almost any variety of chile you could want, including habaneros, which are reputed to be the world’s hottest. Dried red chiles cover the roof – this is a good camera shot. You might even see Ted Turner and Jane Fonda, who own a nearby ranch. Fonda’s friends came for a housewarming a few years ago and cleaned out the Lytle’s stock of ristras. Prices run from $5 to$25.

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Where to eat For delicious restaurant chile, try Las Palmas at 104 Franklin Street. Here you can request the degree of hotness of your chile. Also, try B&E Burritos at 300 Franklin, just down from Chile Express. Their red and green burritos are a feast for chile lovers. Both restaurants are very moderately priced. Arriving at the festival The festival occurs at the Hatch Airport, just west of town on Highway 26. Just follow the signs or the bumper-to-bumper traffic. Admission is free, but there is a $3 per car parking fee. Browsing chiles at the Hatch Chile Festival. Inside the festival grounds you’ll find food booths featuring pungent chile dishes: burritos, enchiladas, gorditas, caldillo, chile verde con carne, tacos, chiles rellenos and chile-topped burgers. With the smell of chiles wafting toward you as you get out of your car, how can you not be tempted? Beer has been sold in the past, but no decision has yet been made whether or not to allow it this year. Many feel it destroys the family atmosphere, so you might have to do without. In the past, when beer was not sold, you could bring your own. Call to find out. Kids will find plenty to do inside the grounds. Carnival rides, pony rides, games of chance – all offer energy outlets for the little ones. Furthermore, there’s plenty of room for them to romp without getting lost. Temperatures are usually in the high 80s or low 90s, so be sure to wear a hat and put on sun screen. This applies to kids, too. The festival starts with a parade at 10 a.m. Saturday morning, and an old-time fiddling contest is tentatively scheduled for Saturday afternoon. There will be a big barn dance Saturday night at the airport from 9-1. You can buy chile in sack, roasted or unroasted.  Mind you, roasting doesn’t impart any special flavor to the chiles; it just makes them easy to peel. If you really want a delicious smokey flavor, bring them home and throw them in your smoker for 15 minutes. Use hardwood such as pecan, oak or mesquite. Peel and freeze the chiles in plastic bags to satisfy you craving all year. Caveat: Wear rubber gloves or coat your hands with oil before handling chiles. Keep your hands away from your eyes or you’ll be sorry. Remember this: Corn tassels signal harvest time, which peaks about Labor Day. So, if you can’t wait for the festival, just head to Hatch in mid-August. You’ll still find chiles, but not the hoopla.

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Every New Years Eve we promise ourselves not to overindulge in “spirits,” but alas, it does happen. So if you’re reading this article in bed with an ice pack on your head and Pepto Bismol on the nightstand, consider yourself a self-induced victim of a hangover, or as they say in Spanish, of el crudo.

No known cure for your misdeed exists, but the good news, say astute home chefs, is many recipes can dramatically ease the aftereffects of a hangover. One Internet Chilehead, J.D. “Doug” Scudds from Ecuador, swears by Campbell’s Chunky Style New England Clam Chowder “. . . just add chile.” Scudds also observes a fundamental truism: “At least with chile, the pain comes before the buzz.”

Dave DeWitt, co-author of The Healing Powers of Chiles, [Three Rivers Press 1998] says a classic Mexican cure for a hangover is a broth laden with chile peppers. A similar recipe, with which I haven’t treated a hangover, but sip on occasion for a pick me up, is habanero flakes or other dehydrated hot chile steeped in hot water. The more flakes, the more the jolt, which clears my cobwebs within minutes.

The most famous recipe in Mexico for the effects of alcohol overindulgence is, of course, menudo [meh-NOO-doh; meh-NOO-thoh]: a zealous, spicy, and faintly sweet soup made with tripe, calf’s or pig’s feet, green chile, hominy and seasonings. Menudo, DeWitt says is “called the ‘breakfast of champions’ because of its reputed ability to banish the demons of drink.”

Tripe, found in most local grocery stores, is the muscular lining of beef stomach. The most tender and prized variety, says Himilce Novas and Rosemary Silva, authors of Latin American Cooking Across the U.S.A. [Knopf 1997], is “honey-comb tripe that comes from the second stomach.” It can be purchased already cleaned, soaked, and partially cooked. Tripe itself is rather tasteless, but easily assimilates other flavors, which is why calf’s foot or pig’s foot is often added. The marrow and meat confer a delicious flavor hoist, while its gelatinous skin lends body to the broth. If calf’s foot or pig’s foot is either unavailable at your grocers, or it just doesn’t sound appealing to you, spareribs may be substituted.

The peppery pot is often served with lime wedges, chopped chiles, diced onion, and hot tortillas. I should note that menudo is served not only following the previous night’s whoop-de-do, but is also a revered dish, often reserved for breakfast on Sundays. Go ahead, give it a try.

MENUDO

For the soup:
2 pounds fresh beef tripe, rinsed, patted dry, and cut into 1-inch squares
1 calf’s or pig’s foot, cut into pieces, or substitute ½ pound spareribs
3 quarts water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 small yellow onion, peeled and minced
1 tablespoon mild ground dried red chile, or to taste
1 teaspoon dried powdered oregano (not crumbled)
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 ½ cups canned or cooked white or yellow hominy (also called posole), drained

For the garnish:
3 medium scallions, root ends removed and finely minced
2 limes, cut into wedges
½ cup finely minced fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons dried powdered oregano (not crumbled)
8 corn tortillas (optional)
Mexican hot sauce, your favorite brand

Put the tripe, the calf’s or pig’s foot, and the water in a large stockpot. Add the salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat for simmer, uncovered, skimming off any foam that rises to the surface, for 2 hours.

Transfer the calf’s or pig’s food to a cutting board and remove all the meat from the bones and cartilage. Discard the bones and cartilage. Cut the meat into small pieces and return to the stockpot. Add the spices and continue to simmer for 1½ hours. Add the hominy and bring the menudo to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer for another hour. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve garnishes in separate bowls and enjoy.

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A windsurfer at Caballo Lake, a favorite haunt for “wave riders” Photo by Ed Conley.

Is windsurfing a popular sport in this desert land of ours? Travel only as far as Caballo Lake on any breezy day and you can witness a dozen or more windsurfers (also known as boardsailors), sporting wide smiles on their wind-blown faces, as they glide seemingly effortlessly over the white capped waters.

Most of these sailors are members of the Southern New Mexico Windsurfing Club, a prestigious group of aging baby boomers who escape the pressures of work by heading to the lake for an afternoon of adrenaline mirth. You might even catch me there. Windsurfing, for those not in the know, is the solo sport of sailing while standing on a kind of surfboard while manipulating a sail attached to a pivoting mast. Windsurfing has been around since the 60s, the brainchild of two Southern Californians – one a sailor, the other a surfer. The duo patented the new hybrid sport, dubbing it windsurfing, and the board, a Windsurfer, which was the only equipment massed produced in the early 1970s. But by the late 70s, windsurfing was hot in Europe . . . one in every three households had a “sailboard” stashed in their garage. So turned on by the sport were Europeans, they began producing their own versions of the craft, which Americans then, as they do today, consider unmatched. The number of windsurfers grew enormously in the 80s, both in Europe and the United States. Today, windsurfing is well ensconced. Pros participate in the World Cup and in the Olympics.

I learned to windsurf from my later-to-be husband Ed, 16 years ago in my native Michigan. My first day on the water I felt like a four year old learning to ride a bike. My knees trembled uncontrollably, my teeth chattered, and my heart thumped in my ears. Worse, the threat of drowning loomed. I never much liked watersports. I wasn’t into getting wet, unless it was a bubble bath or a hot shower. But to impress my boyfriend, I said, “Yes” when he offered to teach me how to “ride the waters.”

Three hours of lessons that first day left me numb and exhausted. I spent a lot of time in the water – not on the board. Most of my fears were, however, misconceptions. First, I assumed that windsurfing would be hard to learn, but it’s not – certainly no more difficult than learning to ride a bike. After my second lesson, I was cruising. In two weeks I was freestyling – making turns and doing sail spins, albeit awkwardly. Today, I’m satisfied with cruisin’. I gladly leave slalom sailing (high-wind), bump-and-jump-sailing (high winds, choppy waters) and wavesailing (high winds and open swells) to the pros.

Second, I was convinced that you had to be strong, almost Herculean to master the sport. But that too is a fallacy. Rather, windsurfing requires finesse, not muscles. (And women possess more finesse than men do, as everyone knows.)

Third, although windsurfing may appear perilous, it’s not. It happens to be one of the safest activities around. In fact, windsurfing doesn’t even rank on the National Sporting Goods Association list of dangerous sports. Don a lifejacket and you’re ready to rip.

Fourth, you don’t need a graduate degree to learn how to “rig” (putting the sail, mast, boom and board together). A little practice is all it takes. Nevertheless, rigging is my least favorite part of windsurfing. Fortunately, Ed does it with finesse, which is one of the reasons I married him.

Yep, there’s no other sport quite like windsurfing. It’s fun; it’s exhilarating. It combines the titillation of surfing with the serenity of sailing. You can sail alone or amongst throngs of comrades. More important, you need not be daring, muscular or 20 to “do it.” Just ask me.

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“Back up, honey. No, a little bit more. If you step back a little bit, and to the left in front of the cactus, I’ll get a better shot,” I said to my husband, peering through my camera’s viewfinder. Just when I was ready to snap the photo, Ed let out a “Yow!” A jackrabbit, whose long ears poked regally through a creosote bush, suddenly leaped out. Startled by the commotion, the hare used his Herculean hind legs to scamper off leaving a dusty trail behind.

Dropping my camera I dashed to Ed’s side, who stood erect and motionless as if in shock “What’s wrong?” I asked, my adrenaline pumping. Face contorted, Ed only groaned before rotating his body to reveal the cause of his grief.

The Cholla cactus plant in front of which Ed stood had blitzed him. His back and behind were peppered by the hairy, innocent-looking needles that poked mischievously from his shorts and T-shirt. I choked back a giggle.

“I don’t even know how it happened. I didn’t even touch the thing,” he said, cautiously eyeing the offending plant as if it were about to jump out at him again. “Now what? How am I gonna get rid of these things?”

“I guess we’ll try tweezers when we get back home,” I answered, trying not to envision the unpleasant “plucking” session. The ride back to the hacienda was, for my husband, a definite “pain in the butt.” Having migrated only days before to The Land of Enchantment, the cactus encountering was our – well his – first dose of what life was gonna be like in the desert.

Alas, since then, I too have been poked, punctured and pricked by cacti. And it’s no guffaw affair. The Cholla, pronounced CHOY-yuh, is probably most often culpable. Referred to as the “jumping cacti,” Reg Manning, author, comedian, and publisher of “What Kinda Cactus Izzat?”[1941] writes “There is some debate whether this plant actually jumps on its victims; there is no debate at all about the victims jumping.”

The Cholla is blanketed with thistle-white needles that appear “downy soft” and innocuous but they’re cunning. Just a slight brush against the plant and you’re an instant victim. And don’t be alarmed if you unknowingly walk away with one of Cholla’s joints clinging to some part of your extremity. Although the joints appear to be comfortably bound to the plant, they aren’t. Rather, they loosely hang from the trunk. Just a slight touch you can unknowingly acquire an extra appendage . . . that is, until the pain sets in and you “jump” from the shock.

I didn’t genuinely appreciate cacti until my first spring in the desert when a backyard “keg” barrel cactus blossomed into a beautiful bouquet of colors. I was also awed by the flaming scarlet flowers that suddenly emerged from the tips of the spindly 20-foot-stems of the strange and beautiful ocotillo, also referred to as “monkey tail” that grows near the front entrance of my home. Mistakenly classified as a cactus, ocotillo is actually a “Fouquieriaceae, . . . whatever that means,” says Manning. “It’s what the ‘botany boys’ (in desperation) named because it’s not closely related to any other plant in the Southwest.”

The only cactus with which I was familiar when I moved here was the prickly pear, whose joints resemble a paddle or “hot water bottles,” observed Manning. Prickly pear grow quickly and in abundance but are short lived, surviving twenty years. In the spring, they too burst with large, colorful blossoms that appear in pink, red, yellow and purple. Oodles of the prickly pears grow wild in my backyard. So, you can imagine my surprise when I shopped at a local grocery store for the first time and found paddles in the produce section selling for $1.59 each. Puzzled, I spent the remaining afternoon researching the prickly pear, which this native Michigander soon learned was a Native American staple for centuries. Its flowers later ripen into a delicious red fruit, a common delicacy in Mexico that is sold in markets as “tuna.” The fruit can be made into tuna jelly.

The cactus’ “paddles,” also known as “nopales,” is commonly used in Mexican recipes. Although they can be eaten raw, they taste better if boiled for a few minutes and combined with other dishes such as soup, salads and scrambled eggs.

Readying a paddle for the pot is not a simple procedure. Each paddle must be cleaned individually, the spines and “eyes” must be removed with a kitchen peeler and the paddle edges trimmed. And since the prickly pear easily “bleeds,” that is, it exudes a sticky liquid, the pad must be washed several times before it’s used in a recipe. Purchasing a paddle already “undressed” and ready to go into a recipe was obviously the best choice for me. Besides, who needs another “pain in the butt” in the family?

Scrambled Eggs

1 or 2 cactus pads, chopped into bite-size pieces
8 eggs
1/4 pound cheddar cheese (or other favorite cheese) shredded
Salt and pepper to taste

Sauté pad bites in a small amount of butter for 5 minutes. Remove. Beat eggs in a mixing bowl and add shredded cheese and pads. Pour in heated skillet and scramble. Serve warm.

Prickly Pear Salad Dressing from Prickly Pear Sweets and Treats (from http://www.desertusa.com)

1/2 cup prickly pear puree (recipe below)
1/3 cup salad oil (not olive oil)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
3 to 4 tablespoons tarragon white wine vingegar

Shake all ingredients together in a covered jar. Makes about 1 cup. This pretty pink dressing is thin like oil and vinegar dressing, but lower in calories. Good on fruit salads and tossed green salads.

Prickly Pear Puree

Wash and peel ripe prickly pears. Cut in half with a knife and scoop out the seeds. Force the raw pulp through a medium to fine strainer. Freeze either fruti pulp or the puree. Simply pack into freezer containers and seal. Thaw before using.

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“It doesn’t matter who you are, or what you’ve done, or think you can do. There’s a confrontation with destiny awaiting you. Somewhere, there is a chile you cannot eat.” — Daniel Pinkwater, A Hot Time in Nairobi

The poor souls who suffer from allergies, whose symptoms range from a stuffy nose and itchy eyes to profound sneezing, often depend on over-the-counter potions for temporary relief. But not true-blue New Mexicans. Land of Enchantmenters grab our home grown hotheaded red or green chile pod to help clear the head. Why? A puissant chemical, capsaicin [kap-SAY-ih-sihn], which is found in most varieties of chile, is known for its nasal passage arousal and decongestant properties.

Up to 80 percent of capsaicin is found in the seeds and membranes of the chile pod. But not all peppers contain the fiery compound. Most paprika and bell pepper varieties, for example, fall at “0″ on the heat index which ranges from 1 to 10. In contrast, untamed versions, such as cayenne and habanero, produce readings from 7 and up.

Pure capsaicin powder is blonde in appearance and insoluble in cold water. That’s why drinking tumbler-size glasses of icy water, say scientists, won’t snuff out the chile irritant. But Susan Hazen-Hammond, author of Chile Fever: Mine’s Hotter Than Yours [Gramercy Books, 1996] writes, “. . . in Mexico, ancestral home of peppers, an old folk saying claims water is the best antidote. Someday scientists may discover why.”

Milk, especially whole milk, and yogurt, and a generous helping of Breyers French vanilla ice cream tames the pain for me. (Dairy products contain casein, a protein that helps desensitize the tissues by splitting the bond between the pain sensors and the capsaicin.) But other chile noshers swear by saltine crackers or a thimbleful of sugar or salt. The crystal granules, when rubbed on the tongue, are said to “sandpaper away” the pain. (Contact me if you have other surefire cures to share.)

Most chile cheechakos (chile novices) are tomorrow’s Chileheads, individuals who enjoy the cussing and sweating that occurs after downing a particularly ardent chile dish. After repeated doses of a mild variety like El Paso or Cherry, cheechakos inevitably demand a chile with a bit more bite. When I arrived in the fertile chileland ten years ago, for example, the gentle Big Jim was racy enough for me. Today, the hot Sandia peppers my homemade salsa and it’s my pepper of choice when I’m afflicted with allergies.

Alas, like thousands other, I suffer from seasonal rhinitis, a malady acquired only since relocating to this desert land. And when the nasty ailment hits, I retreat to my cozy abode, curl up on my cushy divan and savor a big bowl of Crockpot Firecracker Stew, which I share below.

2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken, shredded or cut into strips (I use chicken breasts)
1-1/2 medium white onion, thinly sliced
2 large garlic clove, minced
1/2 to 1 lb. fresh (as hot as you like) green chiles, roasted, peeled, chopped (for added punch, try canned jalapenos)
2 (15-oz) cans corn kernels, drained
1 cups long grain rice, uncooked or 4 to 8 oz. egg noodles, uncooked
4 cups water or chicken broth
1 red bell pepper, diced
1-1/2 tsp. salt, or to taste
1/2-1 tsp. pepper, or to taste

Dump ingredients into a crockpot. Turn on low and simmer for several hours. Tastes best when refrigerated overnight and reheated. Top with shredded extra sharp Cheddar cheese. Serve with warm corn tortillas

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Imagine this staggering grocery list: 750 pounds of stone ground corn, 175 gallons of vegetable oil, 75 gallons of red chile, 175 pounds of grated cheese, and 50 pounds of onion. Well, chile lovers, this is what it takes to conjure up the world’s largest enchilada, which you can watch being prepared and then devour at the culmination of The Whole Enchilada Festival (TWEF) on Sunday, October 3 in the Las Cruces Downtown Mall.

The festival is New Mexico’s 4th largest tourist event; it attracts more than 70,000 merry-makers. TWEF fun commences Friday, October 1, 1999 at 6 p.m. and runs through Sunday, October 3. This family affair includes a midway carnival, a parade, youth shows, boxing, live music – 20 bands and solo musicians, mariachis, a roving magician, street dancers, and countless vendors – arts and crafts, apparel, and authentic Mexican foods – more enchiladas, gorditas, tacos, flautas, and sopaipillas. It’s your chance to appreciate and savor Southern New Mexico’s unique food and culture.

The highlight for this chile aficionado is when Chef Roberto Estrada, "Mr. Enchilada," rustles up the colossal enchilada that takes two-and-a-half hours and a crew of 14 to put together. Elephantine equipment (engineered by Estrada himself) is used to create the delicious savory: a giant tortilla press (two plates heated to 550 degrees), a hot plate to hold the finished "corny" tortillas (each of which weighs 65 pounds), and a 150 gallon oil vessel heated by 37 propane gas burners. Ten feet across, the serving plate requires 10 brawny people to handle.

Estrada, a native of Mesilla and a graduate of Las Cruces High School, tackles this annual feat with practiced elan. The 60-year-old community-spirited chef began pressing corn tortillas at age 15 in a Mesilla tortilla factory where he worked for 15 years before striking out on his own. In 1968, Estrada bought an old tortilla factory (908 E. Amador) and christened it New Mexican Mexican Foods, where knee-weakening aromas pervade to this day. Then, to satisfy Las Cruces’ Mexican food fetish, he opened a restaurant next door, the now famous Roberto’s, where wife Sylvia and sons Ronnie and Chris, and daughter Yvette create some of the best Mexican cuisine north of the border, including red enchiladas, of course. Other favorites are flautas, gorditas, beans, spicy hot tamales, tasty sauces, jumbo breakfast burritos, puffy sopaipillas drizzled with lip smackin’ honey, and on and on. A drive through window keeps the place hopping both inside and out and my red chile fixation pacified.

Home chefs can create their own red chile sauce using this simple recipe: Rinse 10-12 dried red chiles with cool water. Place pods in a Dutch oven and cover with water. Cover and boil about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Drain. Remove stems and slice chiles lengthwise, removing seeds, course pulp and veins. Place chiles in a blender with a pinch or two of cumin and Mexican oregano. Add water as necessary and blend to create a delectable spicy-rich sauce that adds zip to favorite dishes.

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