These are random musings of my life journey, the people, animals, places, and events which have woven, and continue to weave, a tapestry that is me. We all know there is no real destination, only the ongoing experiences which blend together, creating the trail. Each step gives a glimpse of what is to come, without allowing me to see the end result. It is exciting. I have a home base that is mine, that gives me a place to rest. This is it. This is where my heart is, no matter where I journey...................

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

It's Fall And The Chilies Are Roastin'

Sing that title to the tune of "Summertime." Oh, yeah!

OK, I'm avoiding working this morning. I woke at 6:30 and got up soon after, but it is now nearly 9:30 and I'm still in my jammies, drinking my second HUGE mug of tea, and still blogging. I think I have too many things to do and it is messing with my head when I try to prioritize, so my response is to do nothing!!

Yesterday I was in town for some errands and I saw a sign that said, "still roasting chilies." For those of you who are not in the know about chilies, in this part of the country, fresh roasted green chilies are a must. In the fall when the crops are taken in to market, many places have big barrel roasters into which the chilies are tossed. A source of heat, usually propane, heats the barrel to amazing temps while the barrel is rotated on spit. This makes the chilies "sweat" and the skins blister. It only takes about five minutes. Then the chilies are dumped into plastic bags and partially sealed. This makes the peels separate from the chili pulp. You take the bag home and do whatever you wish with them, use them right away or freeze them or store them in some other way.

Alright, so the "season" is about over. Most of the chilies are in and sold. I thought that I'd missed my chance for this year, so when I saw the sign, I flipped a U-ey. They asked if I wanted a half-bushel or a full bushel. I thought a moment and said a full one. My thought was that Allan hadn't mentioned getting any and he has been very busy, so I might share with him. And Gail might want some, too.

Back home, I started cleaning the chilies. ALWAYS wear rubber gloves when you do this. Unless you're only handling a couple chilies, the oils will penetrate your skin and burn like hell. You won't notice it right away, but in an hour or so, you'll think you hands have been thrust into the blazing fire that roasted the chilies!! AND ... it is almost impossible to get rid of it. I did it one time, and my hands hurt for hours, despite repeated washing and soaking in colc water. Anyway, you grab a chili with one hand and usually the skin will pretty much just slide off in the other hand. It is messy, but an easy job. Occasionally you'll find a chili that somehow escaped sufficient fire to separate the skin, and by the time you wrestle the skin loose, the chili is pretty much in pieces. I use those to cook something right away or occasionally just toss it. If it is too torn up, it is hard to use.

So I was cleaning chilies when Gail came home. I did half the chilies, then stopped to fix dinner and eat. I decided to do the rest this morning. And, like it or not, I have to do that when I finish here. I called Allan who informed me that he did get some, and oops, forgot to tell me! OK, so I have some extra. Then Gail seemed to be disinclined to take any of them because of a previous bad experience with such (you can ask for mild, but what you get is what you get!!). So-o-o-o-o-o-o. I'll have a full bushel in my freezer by noon today. That's a lot of chilies for one person. Guess I might have to throw a party!!

Hmmm. I had something else to blog about, but it escapes me. I'll go clean chilies and get back with you later. Wow, you might get three posts from me today! Aren't you just so special?

LOL!


...Life is beautiful!!!
(Brought to you today in lovely "chili green.")

9 comments:

  1. Oh, those Chilies sound good. When the season is long over and you are able to pull some out from the freezer you will be very happy that you were able to keep all those for yourself.

    You have my permission to take the day off. Stay the day in your PJ's and drink all the tea you want. You have my permission because I am doing the exact same thing. :)

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  2. Everyone needs a jammie day every once in awhile.

    The chilis sound SSSSOOOOOOOO good!!

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  3. Caroline - Oh, I missed your call and this note until late this evening! Sorry! I'll call you tomorrow, OK? Right after I posted, I got a call from my coworker whose husband had symptoms of heart attack (he is OK, although they are not yet sure what is going on, probably virus; he was badly dehydrated), so I showered and left quickly to cover for her. I didn't get back to the house until late, got some dinner ready and sorta collapsed for a while. Then I realized that I hadn't called you back! Sorry.

    So come have some chilies with me!!!

    Daisy - I can't wait to try the chilies. Didn't tonight because I was tired, but tomorrow I'm going to figure out something to use them for dinner. They smelled SO good while I was preparing them! You can come for dinner, too!! And yeah, you can even bring Man!

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  4. Well dang you bought extra trying to be nice but i'm sure you'll find something to do with them.

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  5. Patti - LOL! You know I will!!!

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  6. Well good for you still in your jammies and drinking a big cup of tea at 9:30 a.m. I am alll for that girl!!!
    I loved reading about the chilies...they sound good. You've been very productive putting those up for the winter...and having a party sounds like it would be a fun thing to do.

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  7. Sherry - My life is just a tough job, but someone's gotta do it. sighhh. ;-))

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  8. hi! just saw the note you left for me. how funny that you lived in kc for 30 years! what part? we're in brookside- south of the plaza. what made you leave?

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  9. Karen - It's a long story, and if you read my earliest posts, you'll get a bit of background. If you read here: http://noendingjourney.blogspot.com/2006/05/here-we-go.html
    a lot is explained. That is my second post and it explains that the biggest reason was my health, both physical and emotional. The first post is also informative on the topic.

    I lived in the Hickman Mills area. All or kids went to school there, and the youngest came back to teach. Sadly the area went from a very nice middle class neighborhood with excellent schools to one that scared the bejeebers out of me when I went back alone.

    The world is small at times, isn't it?? :)

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If you have something to say about it, just stick out your thumb, and I'll slow down so you can hop aboard! But hang on, 'cause I'm movin' on down the road!!! No time to waste!!!