Hatch Chili Weekend at Rudy and Bev's 8-2010

The finished product. I believe right around 100 half-pint jars of chilis.

The roasted peppers still very hot and ready to be cleaned and prepared for canning.

At the market watching our chili's being roasted. The sounds and smell are incredible.

Our Hatch Green Chili's ready to be roasted.

The chili's are in. We arrived at the market, sign in, and get ready to pick up the chili's.

Okay, I'm a little out of order here. Don't know how I could have forgotten to post one of the best annual events ever......the canning of Hatch green chili's at Rudy and Bev's house. For the past 3 years we have driven up to my brother's house in Southlake, TX and canned some of the best chili's ever. Every year my sister-in-law, Bev and brother Rudy order the chili's for the next year from a farmer's market near Arlington. The staff take their trucks to Hatch, NM and pick up the chili's and return to TX. There is a huge festival week or so in Hatch, NM during the chili harvest. However, when there is no festival going on, the town is dead, there is nothing going on and nothing to do. Would love to go during chili fest though. The market mails a postcard to let you know what weekend your order will arrive and when you can pick it up. Once there, you sign in and then you can go in the back (outside) and watch them roast the chili's in the huge cages. After they are roasted, they are placed in big garbage bags where they steam. By the time you arrive home they are easy to prepare for canning and your car will sustain the heavenly smell of chili's for quite some time. Everyone digs in the sink basins to skin and clean the peppers which generally takes several hours (we get 4 bushels). Bev is the master canner, so while the other 3 are cleaning (she helps with that too) she will prepare the jars and place in the pots of boiling water. Rudy helps with this too, but Bev is definitely in charge of this particular process and we all don't mind a bit. When removed from the boiling pots we all hope and pray that all the jars "ping", which they do. Rudy and Bev are great hosts and we always have a wonderful weekend. We get to take a dip in the pool (even though this year the water was 95 degrees because of the heatwave), enjoy some wine (Kirk had tea), good food (Rudy always makes his green chili stew for this weekend), great company, and even got to visit with their son Dustin, his wife, Courtney and their handsome son, Henry. We are very blessed to have such a wonderful family. On August 18th Rudy and Bev celebrated their 37th wedding anniversary. Happy Anniversary!