Autumn Has Arrived

Okay. NOW you can break out the pumpkin spice.

Last weekend, we drove east of Pueblo, Colorado, to farm country. Farmers harvest their crops in September. Seasonal stands offer a variety of locally grown fruits and vegetables. Which means: roasted chilies. 

Here's an explanation of the roasted chili: you go to a farm stand and tell them which type of chili you want. Mild, medium, hot? The chilies are placed in roasters - a mesh barrel that spins over a propane flame (photo below). An attendant sprays water on them at intervals.

When they're done, the bag of hot roasted chilis is handed to you. Hurry home for the next phase: lopping off the stem end, husking off most of the burnt skin, and removing the seeds. Did I forget to mention, wear gloves? Especially for the hot varieties. Believe me, those hot chilies can actually burn your skin. 

Bag them up. Be sure to label them mild, medium, or hot so you don't have any unpleasant surprises when cooking later.  Place in the freezer for future use.

My description fails to capture the delicious odor of the roasting chilies. It permeates the farm stand. Driving home, and for a day or two afterward, my car smelled of chilies.

On the gardening front, the first day of autumn brings change. My home garden is shrinking. We pulled the bean plants, cucumber vines, and tomatoes that have stopped producing. We'll continue to get greens until the first hard freeze.

This time of year gets busy at my house. I'm not getting in as many hours writing fiction as I'd like, but soon my schedule will calm down. My focus has been on completing a final-final-final version of the YA I'm coauthoring with my daughter.

Here are photos of my mini-adventure.

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