4 minute read
In Need of Green Chile Fix Jerelyn Elkins Brimer
In Need of Green Chile Fix
Green chile. Nectar of the gods. Mana from heaven. Once you no longer live in New Mexico, you quickly realize how precious that little green pepper truly is. When I first moved to Los Angeles, finding fresh, roasted, Hatch green chile was an impossibility. Sometimes, a friend would put a bunch in a box and ship it to me, but it didn’t always arrive in the best condition, and I had to roast it in the oven myself, which always seemed to translate into burnt chile and ruined cookie sheets.
One August, we discovered that an Albertsons in La Habra would be selling Hatch green chile and roasting it on site. Hurray! I could already taste the enchiladas and smell the pot of chile simmering on the stove. Armed with the address and our excitement, my husband and I jumped in the car to make the one-hour trek to get, what we hoped would be, a year’s supply. When we arrived, a line of at least 300 to 400 people stretched the length of the shopping center and disappeared around the corner. Person after person with a shopping cart, waiting to pick up their box of chile. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I naively thought we’d be some of the only ones there, after all most people didn’t know what Hatch chile was or what to do with it. Or so I thought. We spoke to an employee inside the grocery store and came to the sad conclusion that we wouldn’t be one of the lucky ones taking home any of the green booty.
The following year, a grocery store chain in Los Angeles advertised that they would be selling roasted chile. Finally, we had found a supplier. This time I called ahead and reserved two boxes so I wouldn’t be left with a freezer devoid of the treasured green stuff. At the store, the smell of chile wafted over the hot California hills as the drum roasters rotated and the burners roared. We grabbed up our two boxes and headed home to bag and freeze it. While the chile was good, it wasn’t as spicy as we had hoped, but beggars can’t be choosers when you need a chile fix.
Then one glorious day, my husband discovered that Trader Joe’s was carrying frozen, roasted, peeled, chopped, Hatch green chile. I looked skeptically at it lying on the counter. I’d had my hopes dashed before by cans and jars he’d found with the words Hatch green chile on the side. But this stuff was the real deal! It was hot and flavorful and delicious. I even made chicken enchiladas with it for my dad, whom I consider to be the
quintessential judge of quality green chile. His verdict was an enthusiastic thumbs up. I bought up all the chile at two local Trader Joe’s and would have gone to more stores, but I had run out of freezer space.
For two years, all was right in the world. And then, one wretched day at Trader Joe’s, I learned they would no longer be carrying the frozen green chile. They would still sell the popular macaroni and cheese with Hatch chile, but not the precious stuff I needed. I couldn’t make burritos and smother them with the macaroni and cheese, for Pete’s sake. Even if it did have Hatch chile in it.
If I thought finding a reliable seller of green chile in Los Angeles was difficult, I was in for a hard lesson in disappointment when I moved to the Raleigh area in North Carolina. Grocery store employees looked at us like we’d grown two heads when we inquired about whether they carried it or if they could get it. With no real possibilities for purchase locally, I turned to the only option I could find; ordering it from a New Mexico dealer and having it shipped to me. Five bags with a pound each, at over $15 per pound, not including shipping. I couldn’t help but feel that I’d been ripped off especially when I looked at the meager amount. I’m down to two. I’m not sure how I’ll survive…send help.
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