Hatch Chili

The memories run deep. For a time, I was toying with a variation of “pepper porn,” and that was merely images, usually from a grocery store, of my favorite, latest and greatest, peppers.

Two memories stick. One, in conversation with a recent transplant graduate student, he complained that the grocery store offered so many kinds of peppers, “Who needs 43 different types of peppers?”

“You’re not from around here, are you?”
One would surmise, a doctoral student would be more observant about the local flavor, and that yes, we can use all of these peppers, plus the bonus, the peppers are a super food.

The second memory is much deeper, in late August, early September, before Hatch Chili was a thing? Along (Highway) 71 and Barton Spring Road, in old Austin, in front of the original Chuy’s, but elsewhere, too?

Used to be a giant roaster was set up and the gentle aroma of roasting Hatch peppers permeated the streets of South Austin. Could easily smell that roaster in the old trailer park.
Out on the highways, there would be itinerant roadside vendors with truckloads of fresh peppers to sell. At the time, the product was not available in grocery stores.

“Not available in any stores!”
(cf. fineprint)

I will suppose, something changed. I’m not sure what. There is an expectant glee I get when I see those seasonal, Southern New Mexico produce in stores, again.

“Them peppers? They’ll cure your sciatica, too!”

San Pedro Creek

• San Pedro Creek – Kramer Wetzel
• San Pedro Creek
• San Pedro Creek
• Digital Version (free) here

One purpose of the side project, pretty much on hold at the moment, but one purpose of the old Bexar County Line site? I wanted to learn how to take better pictures. After years and years, decades, of working on this, I finally got one good picture of peppers.

astrofish.net/travel