Underemployment packs a little less sting when one has a freezer full of green chile, pasture-raised pork and free-range beef, all of it sourced less than 75 miles from home. The wolf is out there, all right, but he’s not at the door. Not yet.
Last night I grilled a sirloin from our steer, boiling and buttering a few russet potatoes to keep it company (Herself assembled the salad). This morning the leftovers — augmented by scrambled eggs, a sharpish cheddar and a fiery green chile sauce I made the other day — became a pair of massive breakfast burritos smothered in green.
Sorry about the picture, but mine looked so good I ate it at once without a thought for photography.
Mad Blog Media 
Here’s my idea for a part-time job for you – Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s. I’ve heard employees get a discount on purchases. You could hang out with people that eat well and maybe take home a few bucks.
Sharon, no Trader Joe’s in Colorado, alas. Not yet, anyway. Boulder’s supposed to be getting one, but our antiquated blue laws constitute a significant stumbling block.
Whole Foods we got — two of ’em — but everyone there is so nice. Not my style at all. If they ever need a Soup Nazi, now. …
I like to think, not unemployed … just not working for anyone else.
Green chili on our agenda for tonight.
Steve, I have just enough green left to slather a pair of bean burritos for this evening’s meal, to be supported by bowls of posole and salad.
I was going to do a batch of beef enchiladas in red chile, but I’ve been rassling bike reviews, plus corresponding with editors, colleagues and corporate types, and now all I want to do is a shooter of Herradura Reposado, a pint of 5 Barrel Pale Ale and reheat leftovers.
That photo: tease.
To piggy back on Sharon’s idea: a paid contributor to their website or a localized web newsletter. If not WF or TJ maybe another food/ beverage entity in your area.
Libby, that was bad of me, wasn’t it? But damn, I was hungry.
My longtime colleague and pal Hal Walter of Hardscrabble Times does a newsletter for the Arkansas Valley Organic Growers (AVOG), which supplies quite a bit of the meat and produce I use in my amateur cookery. I don’t know if there’s more than one living in it, but I might just have a chat with him. Be good for the brainpan to get away from the bicycle biz now and then.
Alright Patrick, I give up. What’s the recipe for Green Chile at El Casa Perro? SFSoC doesn’t give any info for that one.
Thanks!
I’ll second that request!
Señores y señoritas, this basic sauce is straight from the Santa Fe School of Cooking Cookbook. It’s quick, simple and remains a favorite. The original recipe calls for New Mexican chile, but I make do with what’s available if I’m short of the green gold from the Land of Enchantment.
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup chopped onion
2-3 teaspoons minced garlic, to taste
1 tablespoon flour
2/3 cup mild roasted, peeled, chopped green chile
2/3 cup hot roasted, peeled, chopped green chile
2 teaspoons freshly ground coriander seed
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
salt to taste
1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan and sauté the onion until softened, about three to four minutes. Add the garlic and sauté two minutes more. Stir in the flour.
2. Slowly stir in the chicken stock and add the green chile and ground coriander seed. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes. Add salt to taste.
DogNotes: I’ve been using Lucini extra-virgin olive oil because it’s widely available, tasty in a variety of applications and reasonably priced. Anaheims and poblanos make a nice mild/medium combo, though I’ve been using mostly Pueblo chile lately. Using Big Jims for your hot chile will definitely crank up the heat. I keep pounds of chile in the freezer and defrost in the ’fridge as necessary, but if you’re in a chile-free zone or merely desperate use Hatch canned chopped chile — a couple 4-ounce tins of hot and one of mild will do if nothing fresh or frozen is nearby when the urge strikes. And as with any sauce, letting it rest for a bit in the ‘fridge lets the flavors blend. If anyone’s unfamiliar with the procedure for roasting chiles, holler, and I’ll give you the method I use when the pros are unavailable.
OG-time to get into REAL potatoes my friend! Those Russet things exist to be turned into fries at MickyD’s. Yukon Gold’s are much, much better as are other non-industrial varieties out there at Whole Paycheck. We got schooled on this (where else?) in Italy awhile back when we dined on some potatoes from Mugello. A bite was one of those, “ahh, I see why these things became popular” moments. Imagine – a potato that actually TASTES good, not dependent on what kind of fat is mixed into it? We discovered one down here in Sicily too.
Are you watching any of the bike races on the interwebs? We’ve got dueling laptops going here in the afternoons with Paris-Nice on one and Tirreno-Adriatico on the other. All we need now is for RAI TV to start broadcasting their Sport channels down here…they already have ’em everywhere else in Italy.