Green Chile, Tomatoes and Blah Blah Blah

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Yeah, I know, I've been bad.

I have a million excuses, but none really matter. I still have hula pictures to post, plus we took a day trip to Big Sur which also means a whole other set of pictures.

But sometimes I just can't blog. I would really like to do it every day, but it just isn't possible. Really, I feel like I don't have a lot to write about, so I'll just mention a few things I've been doing.

Like cooking.

I always go back to cooking, you know? It just fills a place in my soul like nothing else.

We had some good friends from New Mexico send us some fresh roasted green chiles. This years crop has just come in and we couldn't resist. Cost be damned! They arrived yesterday so this morning we had green chile with eggs, yum yum. There is absolutely nothing like New Mexico green chile, they really are unique.

Having had a taste of them, we decided we needed them for dinner also. I haven't made chile sauce since we left New Mexico and have I ever missed it!

First I sauteed a good bit of fresh garlic, then I added the chiles and a bit of chicken broth. I let it simmer a bit (you add more broth as needed, we like a good amount of "sauce") then right before serving I add a bit of arrowroot to thicken it a bit. Traditionally, you would start with a roux, but we're off flour, so we use arrowroot, added at the end. It thickens perfectly and adds no flavor of its own.

Next, keeping the sauce bubbly on a back burner, we made loose hamburger patties from fresh (not frozen) grass fed beef. Keeping the patties nice and loose gives you lots of those crunchy bits we like so much. For this dish, we like the burgers pan fried over a high heat (it's those crunchy bits again). When the burgers are done, put them on a plate, cover them with lots of grated cheese (or queso if you have it available) then slather a big old bunch of the chile sauce over the top.

Boy have I ever missed this . . .

We paired it with a green salad topped with dry farmed tomatoes. Have you tried dry farmed tomatoes? Another fine discovery, these are grown with very little water, forcing the roots deep into the soil and concentrating the flavor into the fruit of the tomato. I'm not describing this process very well, but if you taste one, you'll know it immediately.

Having almost given up on ever purchasing a good tomato again, these are a real revelation. Smaller than most, they are firm and sweet and exactly what a tomato should be.

We paid $3.69 a pound for these, but it was worth every cent. We will be buying more. If you can find them, try one, no matter the cost. Try just one and I think, like us, you'll be sold.

Eventually, I'll get the pictures up and maybe even share my recipe for low carb sugar free peanut butter cups. These are really fantastic . . .

But for today, that's it!