Las Cruces Begins Holiday Decorating for Christmas 2020!

Yes, it's true: Perhaps it's due to COVID-19, but Las Cruces has caught something else, too: Holiday Fever. 

It seems everyone is starting early for the winter holidays.

One of the favorite light sets to use is the lighted Christmas Chiles strings! We love our chiles here (not chilies or chilis -- we spell it C-H-I-L-E-S!) and it shows.

It's also time for new ristras. I have one on order through Ristramnn's in Old Mesilla, right next to Las Cruces. For the long, long ristras, early in the season you have to order them, as they are bought within minutes otherwise. Later in the season, you might be able to get a long one without pre-ordering. 

The smell of the red chiles drying in the ristras is heavenly! You may not know it, but the green chiles will ripen to red. That's the chiles you see in the ristras. Some smaller chiles called serranos are also used in ristras.

Thank you for dropping by, and see you Wednesday!

 

 

It's Ristra Time!

 Finally, after the scorching hot summer and the roasting of the green chiles, ristras are for sale!

Ristras are strings of ripe chiles. They are made when the chile changes color. The chiles dry as they hang.

But ristras are not just for decoration! They are used in most Las Cruces homes, pulled off as needed to season beans, salsa, pizza, or what have you. Anything, everything could use a nice bit of red chile! 

The most common chile used in a ristra is the green chile, a large "pepper" that ranges from mild to hot in taste. Smaller serranos and other petite chiles are also grown and strung into ristras.

One good-sized ristra will perfume your entire kitchen and den or even patio or porch! It's delightful. With our weather and low humidity, they dry well. Dry outside first, then bring them in. Or leave them outside!

The best price in town is at a shop in Old Mesilla, called Ristramnn. I think everyone pronouces it "Ristra Man" although that isn't plain from the spelling. They have excellent prices. Make sure you get one of THIS year's ristras, though, and not a crispy old one from last year. They have ristras hanging from years ago, so have your eyes open and ask for a "new" one if you aren't sure.

Splurge and get one of the longest ones, if you can! Get several, so that you can have them inside and out!

Come retire to Las Cruces and get in on the fun. Would you hang up a ristra at your new home here?

Autumn Peek at Famed Chile Test Gardens of NMSU

It is autumn and nearly time for the researchers to harvest their crop of experimental chile varieties. The gardens of the Chile Pepper Institute can be viewed from afar, but are off-limits to the public. The chiles will be examined for suitability of their yield, taste, fertility, etc. by NMSU plant scientists. In years past, the public could mingle the chiles, and I saw many fantastical peppers growing, from pitch-black spheres to ghostly yellow horns that almost seemed to be fluorescent. Now, admire them from behind the fence.

The chile garden is next to the Fabian Garcia Botanical Garden, at University and Main (University and Bowman Street of Mesilla Park form its western boundary). During COVID-19, it is closed, unfortunately, but I can only hope and assume this will not be the case shortly.

If you don't love chiles now, you will once you move here. The New Mexican chiles are the main reason our food is so delicious. Come retire in Las Cruces and taste it for yourself -- and attention SNOWBIRDS -- consider making Las Cruces your winter home! We'd love to have you!

Green Chiles

 

The Mesilla Valley, where Las Cruces is nestled, is famed worldwide for its flavorful green chiles. Note the spelling! It's "chile" and "chiles" with just an "e" -- not the "i" spelling denoting Texas chili! (Strangely, a local chile grower, Biad, spells it with an "i" on their boxes and signs. Very odd!) Chiles are the best part of local cuisine, and this time of year, you can smell them roasting in the open air, literally by the ton. Everyone wants to stock up on roasted green chiles for the year. 

The fruits -- yes, they are fruits, not vegetables -- are placed in a big mesh barrel, and rotated over searing flames until the skin blackens and blisters. A good roaster can char the chiles so expertly that there is very little skin left to remove. They then spray it with water from the hose and it steams the chile to perfection, to the perfect doneness.The charred part just wipes or rinses away. 

Some families enjoy buying a big box or burlap bag of chiles and roasting them at home, with everyone pitching in to get them ready to freeze. Some buy just a few chiles and roast them on a comal, a flat piece of heavy steel set over a burner. 

Walmart sells boxes of chiles (it's very exciting when you see the first boxes appear in stores), and so do other stores, including famed hole-in-the-wall souvenier, ristras, and statuary shop "Ristrammn" (everyone says "Ristra Man," but its actually spelled Ristrammn) in nearby Mesilla.

Chiles are full of vitamin C. In fact, they quite put oranges and other citrus to shame in terms of C! 

Everyone will tell you, and we are here to assure you it's true, that there is no cuisine better than New Mexican food. It's true. The chiles are the secret! Be sure to try Chiles Rellenos when you get here. They're on menus across the city, with two of the best recipes being found at Si Señor and Zia Cafe: Battered, cheese-stuffed, deep fried green chiles served with red or green (chile) sauce. Delectable! Local eatery Matteo's offers Green Chile Horchata, a delicious milk and rice-based drink, and Caliche's Frozen Custard has chopped green chile as a topping for their custard sundaes (custards are a rich ice cream) or their "caliches" (frozen drink that Northerners know as a "concrete"). As we say here, "Muy rico!"