Grillin' chile...

 This was a first time experience for me -- grilling Hatch Green Chile.  I've heard about Hatch Chiles, but never had experienced eating them or preparing them.  Bountiful Baskets had Hatch Chiles on sale by the box, so I bought one and decided to roast and freeze them.  I grilled a few the night before, and we had them on burgers..  O man!  Give me a Bacon-Chile Cheeseburger any day!

 This was my morning work station.  I washed up the chiles first and then put them back in their box with a towel underneath and one over the top to keep the flies away.  I set up my ipod dock, turned on the James Taylor tunes, poured some lemony ice water and enjoyed my two hour chile-roasting in the hot sunshine.  (Getting my vitamin D you know!)

There's nothing like the aroma of chile roasting on the grill.  I turned them until the majority of the skins were blistered and a little charred.  Then they went into bowls.  I noticed something funny as I was roasting.  The flies buzzed all around the fresh chiles that I had covered up in the box, but they didn't go anywhere near the chile that was roasted and uncovered in the bowl. I wonder if it's the release of the capsaicin?

After all the chile was roasted, I seeded them and peeled most of them.  I figured if I didn't get all the peels off, I could do it after they were frozen and thawed for use.  There are plenty of little seeds in each chile so it was very time consuming work and I didn't really think about putting on gloves during this process.  (mistake)  I didn't have any burning until I was all done and was cleaning up.  The burning sensation didn't last too long.  I dipped my hands in milk, cold water, and put lemon juice on them.  All seemed to make the burning go away, then it would come back again.  Now my hot hands are much better, and I'm glad.  Perhaps medium-hot chiles aren't as stout as extra-hot might be?  Now I have about 20 pint bags of Hatch Green Chile all neatly tucked into my freezer at the ready for All Things Mexican.  Tomorrow I'm making enchiladas for the crew who will be here to pregnancy test 200 heifers.  I figure if I cook ahead, it won't matter when they decide to come in for supper.  You can bet that I'll have a nice Mont-Mex chile sauce ready to pour on the enchiladas.  Yum!