Table Talk
Snow and Chile
I'm sitting here in front of a blazing fire, trying to dry. The snow has been falling all morning. It's one of those heavy, moisture laden snows, and the trees began to sag from the weight almost immediately. We have a cherry tree in the back, which really needed trimming a year or two ago, and lost a large section from breakage last winter. I can see it from my red chair, and as the morning progressed, I got more and more concerned about the snow being too heavy for it to bear. What I really did NOT want to do was don my snow boots and coat and head outside to knock snow off of the trees. But my sense did win out over my comfort. I spent 15 or 20 minutes whacking the trees with a big broom,(which sort of got stuck in the cherry tree when I threw it up trying to dislodged a bank of snow that was just a little out of my reach...) and as hard as I tried to avoid falling snow, ended up completely covered. My clothes and face were caked with snow, I had 2 black eyes from running mascara and the hat that I borrowed from Charlie hadn't quite protected my hair. So, my gear is drying on the hearth and I'm ready to cook. And what I really want to cook is green chile. After purchasing a bushel of chilies a couple of weeks ago, both poblano and medium hot anaheims, I've been just waiting for the right day. I'm using some of the pork that I smoked a few weeks ago, jalapenos from my garden, and of course lots of tomatoes. It's the perfect dish for a cold snowy day.
