Hello, Hello 2020....

     Oh my, desperate times call for desperate measures..or necessity is the mother of invention....I'm really not a zoomer but I've been "zooming".  I haven't posted for awhile content with just keeping my life kinda simple:  taking care of my husband, house,  pets, yard, a few farmers' markets, holiday fairs and a few of my old and local chile customers.  Now this Shelter in Place for Washington looks like it could go on for awhile....i.e. the corona-19 virus, especially for senior citizens.  No hands on shopping, meetings, gym sessions, and no causal visits with family and friends but.........my chile business has been deemed an essential business;  I should have known.  Not only is Rio Grande Chile Spice Mix delicious; it's healthy too.  Add a little to your chicken soup or meatloaf or make red chile enchiladas, burritos, tacos, hashbrowns or a pot of chile beans.  Wouldn't that just cheer you up a bit?

     Not to be left behind the Anacortes Farmers' Market (https://anacortesfarmersmarket.org/) has been thinking "outside the box".  Who wouldn't want to be a part of that?  If you're local check out their website and you'll find me.  You can place an order and the pick it up on the following Saturday along with whatever else you find on the site.  Another option if you can't make it to Anacortes, WA you'll find me at riograndechile.com.  My riograndechile 4-pk is just a click away.

Hello, Hello.......Time to wake up

Well, that's what I'm saying to myself after a long stretch of rainy weather here in Washington.....aka winter.  Already mowed the lawn a couple times so it's time  to start making plans for the Farmers'  Market season once again. Dried New Mexico Hatch Red Chile, cilantro, garlic, onion, and oregano in place; maybe tent will last another year.  I've signed up for kitchen appointments at from the Farm Treats at the Port of Skagit. Even taking a computer class so I can stir up a few more chile lovers out there.  Hello, Hello. For those of you who have just found me I hope you will read over past blogs.  I think they will make your mouth water as you read about my Rio Grande Chile Spice Mix.  It can be used in so many ways besides chile beans and tacos.  Add a little to your chicken soup, meat loaf, crock pot pork, sweet potatoes, and here in the Northwest, salmon and potatoes. For my southern friends..... honey butter with chile spice mix on cornbread mmmmmm, Texas ...use it in a BBQ sauce; Alabama has a winner.  Remember Rio Grande Chile Spice Mix comes in Mild, Mild Medium, A Little Hot, and Howling Coyote. I'm here ready to take your order or maybe I'll see you at the Market. 

Merry Christmas to All

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.........Finally a quiet moment after a little holiday rush.  I got a few packages mailed, made a few cookies, ate more than a few, sold some Rio Grande Chile Spice Mix, Blue Corn Maiden and Hearty Buckwheat Pancake Mixes at some local holiday bazaars and from my website.  I hung a little greenery around the door, decorated a tiny Christmas tree, and sang a few Christmas songs in the choir. Now I'm thinking about my sweet potatoes with a little Rio Grande Chile Spice Mix for our family gathering here in Washington state.   I made a few red and green chile burritos last night for supper  and I already had my Christmas tamale.  Oh what fun.....Today I have time to think about old friends and past Christmases and...loved ones who won't be present this Christmas.  I'm thankful for my holiday traditions that  stay somewhat the same over the years.  I do think of my many Christmas holidays in New Mexico which is my connection with my chile mix and many of you. So.....I say.....Merry Christmas to you and I hope Rio Grande Chile Spice Mix continues to make you smile.

Here comes Summer........

Beautiful weather here in Washington and the farmers markets are beginning to gather vendors, locals and tourists all looking for that little something that will "spice" up their lives.  Did you see that coming...just couldn't resist dropping that in right here.  The Anacortes Farmers' Market can do just that.  Between customers I look over the various booths and decide what little touch I can add to our menu besides Rio Grande Chile Spice Mix. After a delightful once a month schedule during Winter Market the pace has picked up to every Saturday, so I have a weekly appointment at the From The Farm Treats Kitchen. I may have to add another afternoon as my Bluecorn Maiden and Hearty Buckwheat pancake mixes are beginning to make a names for themselves as healthy choices for breakfast.  I have decided to add the Little Bow Market to my schedule.  That will keep me busy on Thursday afternoons. I'm working on some pictures.  This first one will show you where you turn to get to the Anacortes Farmers' Market.  

Thankful

Holiday Fun

My family gathered yesterday for our Thanksgiving celebration.  My sister cleaned the house and cooked the turkey and the rest of us brought the side dishes to compliment the turkey.  My boys were in Texas, my daughter in Greece, some of the cousins have military commitments, some of the menfolk were hunting,  and others gathered with other parts of their families.  Still we had 25 or so.  Yep, my Dad made it and yes there was a little chile spice mix in the sweet potatoes.  Coming up......a little chile spice mix in the turkey soup. I hope you have your Rio Grande Spice Mix for your holiday recipes.  

It's cozy in this little cabin by the bay.  We are planning to build a new house here this summer when it dries up.  Lately you don't leave the house without your rain boots.  We had a beautiful summer, so it is too early to complain about a little rain.  I didn't miss a Saturday at the Anacortes Farmers Market this season.  The two times that it did rain people wanted to make chile even more than usual. Believe it or not some of my Rio Grande Gorge Bridge customers showed up and bought my spice mix in Anacortes.  They even brought friends.  Because we are so close to the Canadian border,  I have Canadian customers....Rio Grande Chile Spice Mix Goes International .......again.....

I have added a couple pancake mixes to my "collection".  They have not been added to the website yet.  My Bluecorn Maiden Pancake Mix and my Hearty Buckwheat Pancake Mix are delicious and a healthy pancake choice.  Sorting out the various flours available at a local milling company has been an education for me.  My family has been involved in the research and development of these mixes.  A number of local sports enthusiasts who can make pancakes on the trail have also contributed.  For now I can take phone orders.  I can get two packs in a small shipping box....same price $5 each. I guess I'll find out who's reading the fine print.  I guarantee you'll get that snow shoveled if you eat my pancakes. 505-440-1890 

I'm making my lists....checking them twice....I don't go anywhere without my list these days.  I'm going to a holiday bazaar in La Conner, looking for a Christmas tree, mailing a few packages, keeping the fire going, singing a few Christmas carols and keeping the hikes greater than the calorie intake.  Yep, It will be a Merry Christmas. 

Where in the world is that Chile Lady?

Some of you might be looking for me with my chile basket out at the Taos Gorge Bridge.  How I miss that place, my friends and you tourists that kept coming back every year. Yep, we sold our little cabin on the edge of the Carson National Forest and headed north.  It was going home for me....something that I had always planned to do finally crept up on me.  Moving ...and I'll keep this short.... is not for senior citizens..... but you can rest assured that I did not leave New Mexico without a car loaded with chile and my chile connections.  We moved into our garage, heated but still a garage and waited for renters to move out of the little house so we could move in.  Now we are situated along the bay in Bay View, Washington slowly  putting our lives back together.  My little  brother hauled my dad's John Deere riding mower over,  gave me a five minute lesson and I was re-initiated into the life of a Washingtonian.  That wasn't part of my life in New Mexico.   I managed to get the appropriate licenses and found a kitchen in the neighborhood so I'm in the chile business now in Washington.  Where will you find me?  On Saturdays I sell my Rio Grande Chile Spice Mix at the Anacortes Farmers Market.  Some of you may be familiar with this small town by the bay.  You can catch a ferry to Vancouver Island and the San Juan islands here.   Of course here I am at riograndechile.com as usual ready to take your orders for Rio Grande Chile Spice Mix.  I might come up with another idea too.  The wheels are still turning.