What food is redder than beautiful ripe chiles?  Hardly any you say--maybe red tomatoes or cherries or red hots, anything with red food coloring such as Red Velvet Cake...or ?

With beautiful red chiles being in a class of their own, they also possess  almost magical healing qualities.  They are the world's best natural anti-oxidant or spoilage retardant, they "guard against" infections or inflammations and even retard or kill cancer cells, plus more.  Whew...what more could you ask from Mother Nature?

Being a night shade and a cousin of tomatoes, tobacco and, many other items, they are habit forming.  Meaning, the more you eat, the  hotter and greater quantities you desire.  You might say they are Mother Nature's protector of health.

With Valentine's Day and weekend coming this week, I am going to make an even greater "deal" on our mild and hot red chilies than I did two weeks ago. Our best selling pure hot and mild red chilies are half off for two days.

Most all of our competitors load their chiles with additives, hence we recommend refrigeration or freezing for our chiles. And, our chilies are always the latest crop and yield much better, fresher flavors.

Get in the "swing" of things and join one of our classes.

        February 20, at 5 PM.....New Mexico Favorites

         February 27at 5 PM......Taco Party

          March 6 at 5 PM............Chile, Chile, Chili

We have moved up our Week Long class to April 7 to 11.

Our next Weekend class falls on Mother's Day weekend, May 9 - 11

And,,,if you have not yet joined our Oaxaca week long Culinary Tour, sign-up now while there is still room. 

I am attaching an all-time favorite New Mexican  entree that the Native Pueblo Indians discovered long, long ago that utilizes chile's  preservation qualities and wonderful flavor....Carne Adobado.  This marinated pork dish keeps very well and almost forever when frozen.  Don't cheat--be sure to  use pork shoulder, not loin. 

CARNE ADOVADA
(Pork with Red Chile Sauce)

This is one of the best, if not the very best-tasting, pork creations from northern New Mexico.  Traceable back to Conquistador days, this dish has somehow never gained favor outside of New Mexico.  I think it is because crushed caribe chiles are hard to find outside the area.  (You can always order them from us, click here) I always make a full five-pound recipe because I like to have lots available for burritos, tacos and enchiladas, or to serve over rice, beans or eggs.

Yield:  10-12 servings

4 cups water
1/2 cup crushed caribe chile
1/4 cup ground mild chile
1/4 cup ground hot chile
3 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried leaf Mexican oregano
2 teaspoons salt
5-1/2 pounds bone-in pork shoulder, cut into ½ inch thick chops (trimmed so as to keep a narrow layer of fat around the edges)

1. Place 2 cups water in the blender bowl, then add all the ingredients except pork and process to make a thick sauce. Stir in the remaining 2 cups water, then pour one-half the sauce into a flat-bottomed glass baking dish.  Dip each pork chop into the marinade and lay to one side of the baking dish as you coat the rest.  Let marinate 30 minutes at room temperature, periodically spooning chile mixture over the top and turning chops over. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.  (The pork can be frozen for up to 3 months at this point.)

2. In the morning, stir and coat each pork chop with chile sauce.   Preheat oven to 325F (165C).  Cover pan with lid or foil; bake chops, covered for the first 45 minutes.  Remove cover and bake 1 to 1-1/2 hours longer, spooning the sauce over chops every 30 minutes.  Let cool.

3. Using a sharp knife, remove bones and pull meat apart with your fingers to shred the pork.  Place shredded meat back in the baking dish.  If the sauce is dry, add water to make a thick gravy, then cover and bake 30 minutes to allow the sauce to cook into pork.  If the sauce is thin, do not cover and bake until sauce thickens. When done, the meat should be a bright rosy red color and very tender.

Reprinted with permission from Jane Butel’s Southwestern Kitchen

CARNE ADOVADA
(Pork with Red Chile Sauce)

This is one of the best, if not the very best-tasting, pork creations from northern New Mexico.  Traceable back to Conquistador days, this dish has somehow never gained favor outside of New Mexico.  I think it is because crushed caribe chiles are hard to find outside the area.  (You can always order them from us, click here) I always make a full five-pound recipe because I like to have lots available for burritos, tacos and enchiladas, or to serve over rice, beans or eggs.

Yield:  10-12 servings

4 cups water
1/2 cup crushed caribe chile
1/4 cup ground mild chile
1/4 cup ground hot chile
3 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried leaf Mexican oregano
2 teaspoons salt
5-1/2 pounds bone-in pork shoulder, cut into ½ inch thick chops (trimmed so as to keep a narrow layer of fat around the edges)

1. Place 2 cups water in the blender bowl, then add all the ingredients except pork and process to make a thick sauce. Stir in the remaining 2 cups water, then pour one-half the sauce into a flat-bottomed glass baking dish.  Dip each pork chop into the marinade and lay to one side of the baking dish as you coat the rest.  Let marinate 30 minutes at room temperature, periodically spooning chile mixture over the top and turning chops over. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.  (The pork can be frozen for up to 3 months at this point.)

2. In the morning, stir and coat each pork chop with chile sauce.   Preheat oven to 325F (165C).  Cover pan with lid or foil; bake chops, covered for the first 45 minutes.  Remove cover and bake 1 to 1-1/2 hours longer, spooning the sauce over chops every 30 minutes.  Let cool.

3. Using a sharp knife, remove bones and pull meat apart with your fingers to shred the pork.  Place shredded meat back in the baking dish.  If the sauce is dry, add water to make a thick gravy, then cover and bake 30 minutes to allow the sauce to cook into pork.  If the sauce is thin, do not cover and bake until sauce thickens. When done, the meat should be a bright rosy red color and very tender.

Reprinted with permission from Jane Butel’s Southwestern Kitchen

CARNE ADOVADA
(Pork with Red Chile Sauce)

This is one of the best, if not the very best-tasting, pork creations from northern New Mexico.  Traceable back to Conquistador days, this dish has somehow never gained favor outside of New Mexico.  I think it is because crushed caribe chiles are hard to find outside the area.  (You can always order them from us, click here) I always make a full five-pound recipe because I like to have lots available for burritos, tacos and enchiladas, or to serve over rice, beans or eggs.

Yield:  10-12 servings

4 cups water
1/2 cup crushed caribe chile
1/4 cup ground mild chile
1/4 cup ground hot chile
3 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried leaf Mexican oregano
2 teaspoons salt
5-1/2 pounds bone-in pork shoulder, cut into ½ inch thick chops (trimmed so as to keep a narrow layer of fat around the edges)

1. Place 2 cups water in the blender bowl, then add all the ingredients except pork and process to make a thick sauce. Stir in the remaining 2 cups water, then pour one-half the sauce into a flat-bottomed glass baking dish.  Dip each pork chop into the marinade and lay to one side of the baking dish as you coat the rest.  Let marinate 30 minutes at room temperature, periodically spooning chile mixture over the top and turning chops over. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.  (The pork can be frozen for up to 3 months at this point.)

2. In the morning, stir and coat each pork chop with chile sauce.   Preheat oven to 325F (165C).  Cover pan with lid or foil; bake chops, covered for the first 45 minutes.  Remove cover and bake 1 to 1-1/2 hours longer, spooning the sauce over chops every 30 minutes.  Let cool.

3. Using a sharp knife, remove bones and pull meat apart with your fingers to shred the pork.  Place shredded meat back in the baking dish.  If the sauce is dry, add water to make a thick gravy, then cover and bake 30 minutes to allow the sauce to cook into pork.  If the sauce is thin, do not cover and bake until sauce thickens. When done, the meat should be a bright rosy red color and very tender.

Reprinted with permission from Jane Butel’s Southwestern Kitchen