Chile Head

Untitled

2007-06-14T18:34:00.001+01:00

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blog misunderstandings ...? and portuguese fire...

2005-10-19T21:08:00.000+01:00

If you have come to chile~head thinking it is my (markC's) personal weblog, I'm sorry, you have been misled! chile~head is an experiment, basically. my weblog is elsewhere.

I'd also like to apologise that this hasn't been updated more frequently. Still! today something unusual happened... Nando's (the restaurant at the bottom of my street) were giving out free chile sauce.... in a cardboard tube... obviously to promote a deal to the student population, but hey, they weren't discriminating who they gave it to, so... It's not quite a rrrreeeal chile sauce, because it's dominated by other ingredients; but it does give a peppery kick and a unique lemony tang. We shared it out at work and it made Ben's cornish pasty a whole lot more interesting, ho ho:)...

peppers by post

2005-07-05T19:38:00.000+01:00

hurrah for peppers by post!...

sadly for me the home chile-growing is not progressing quite as planned this year, mainly for personal reasons, however! the 2005 season is now underway for my chile heroes, Michael and Joy Michaud in Dorset, who run Peppers By Post. You can get lots of delicious types of chile -- and what's more, tomatillos -- by mail order in the UK.

If you have adobe actobat you can read / print off their 2005 order form by clicking here

enormous Finnish crispbreads

2005-05-25T14:24:00.000+01:00

hey...again not chile-related but I have to say I am loving these giant wagon-wheel shaped rye crispbreads from Finland.

..I bought them from IKEA (!), there were 4 languages on the pack so I guess they are popular all over Northern Europe, if you can get'em, give'em a try!

chilefarm 13May

2005-05-16T12:39:00.000+01:00

chilefarm 13May
Originally uploaded by marktristan.

from close up (this is acutally only about 5in high) but still, watch those chiles grow!... mouth watering in anticipation

the sauce

2005-04-29T10:10:00.000+01:00

I feel duty-bound to report that this Mama Sita hot sauce (see last post) is a ripper!

It's kind of somewhere between a cayenne pepper and a much spicier Caribbean pepper sauce, it has been rocking every sandwich and supper since I bought it.. this is also one of those rare cases where the warning on the bottle not to use too much should actually be heeded ;-)

chile seedlings!

2005-04-21T14:58:00.000+01:00

Chiles02
Originally uploaded by marktristan.

here they are! On my friend Tom's desk. Planted about 2-3 weeks ago, you can see there are lots of varieties getting started -- including Poblano, Jalapeno, Thai Dragon, Marbles, Numex Twilight(!), and Jamaican Red Hot habanero. None are more advanced than the two-leaf inch-high seedling just yet, but then me & Tom are total novices and we'll keep you posted on our learnings & our plants' developments this summer. Can't wait to see these little cuties grow........... :-P

hey chilerenos

2005-04-14T21:10:00.000+01:00

...sorry for radio-silence lately. i have not been unbusy on the chile-front, however. au contraire -- I have discovered a new Filipino diner & mini-supermarket, yes in the heart of Bristol no less!, (well, the edge of the cheapy shopping-area at least.) It seems Filipinos, too, are crazy for their chiles. I will share pics & discoveries on the way - this is a place that will certainly be getting some repeat trade from me. On my initial wander in, I couldn't help but buy some very interesting 'taro leaves in coconut', a vegetable side dish, and this Mama Sita's hot sauce ...

It's made in the Phillippines from their native Labuyo chiles! >>>

Also -- excitingest of all -- my friend Tom Ryder has been putting those green fingers to work. An small propagator has been acquired and planting of several different chile varieties has commenced. We are yet to see germination of all species but for once I don't mind the suspense! Am visiting Tom this weekend so more details and maybe a piccee or two then.

bye for now!

best dunk?!

2005-02-22T14:11:00.000Z

just a quicky...
I know this is not chile-related but I think I have found the best dunking biscuit! - assuming you like digestives I guess -- they're 'Doves Farm Organic Wholewheat Digestives'. Why do I say this so boldly... well, flavour is delicious, not too sweet, they retain a degree of chewability even when fully dunked in hot coffee... their slop-time (the time before it disintegrates all over your hands or worse still back into the cup) is a very generous 30 seconds!... but best of all, they must be slightly smaller than regular digestives, 'cos they'll go all the way into the cup and then into your mouth in one go!.

I bought 'em from Fresh and Wild in Bristol. So, well done Doves Farm people... but update your website cos this product ain't on it!

dilemmas

2005-02-18T18:15:00.000Z

i've often wondered about using lamb in Mexican cookery ... i've not seen it mentioned in many recipes but I wonder whether goat is a similar meat because I know they do a dish 'cabrita' (?)using goat, which I gather they sometimes barbecue whole. anyone offering advice on this, I'm all ears. Anyway, using lamb I'd always figured you'd need robust chile and spice flavours.. I must have been right in thinking that, cos my precious green-chile/tomatillo sauce was kind of overwhelmed by the meat. Not that my guests minded! But I'd have rather enjoyed the flavours of the tomatillo sauce seeing as I can only buy fresh t'illos between August and October and seeing as the sauce was a real labor to make! ah well.. self pity...

tomorrow, if my nice fat mango has softened up a bit, I will chop it with a fresh habanero, two thin slices of red onion, nice handful of coriander, juice and zest of half a lime and may be a chopped de-seeded tomato too. If it works like last summer, when there were super-sweet purple Pakistani mangoes in the shops, we'll be in salsa paradise!

red chile stew

2005-01-27T09:45:00.000Z

bit of a triumph the other night managing to make a red-chile stew in under an hour. Of course it wasn't cooked to perfection - I simmered the leftovers for another hour or so and only by then was the meat tender and the sauce rich and full of flavour - but in these days of quick weekday dinners...
£5 worth of stewing beef from MJ Dalton
three small onions and 2 garlic cloves
commercial chili powder! - 2tsps hot, 2tsps mild
2tbsps chile caribe
soaked and pureed together
fried off the beef
fried off the puree in the main pot
added water and blended tomatoes

it was simple enough and some ingredients & special touches were missing, but it went nice with rice avocado and some fresh tomato salsa too :-)

Chile Head 1

2005-01-04T18:40:00.000Z

Yes so this blog will mainly be used for sharing joys and triumphs of Mexican cooking and eating out, and for talking about recipes and stuff. ... links to chile and Mexican suppliers, food websites etc., ... and inviting people to cool things like Peppers by Post (Sea Spring Farm)'s chile growers open day, stuff like that. In a few days, some photos should be ready. Also as the growing season starts next year, Tom R. is growing some chiles of his own next year - judging by pics of the specimens on the seed company website there may be some amazing results. Also I have been experimenting with habanero salsa, made with mangoes from my awesome local Asian deli. Greetings to Az the chile head who recently brought me back some very interesting gear from New Mexico. That's all for now but watch this space :-)

time to start posting!

2004-12-25T06:18:00.000Z

I am getting this blog ready for a New Year of growing my own chiles, and enjoying all kinds of Mexican cookery.

mexican food

2004-12-18T19:19:00.000Z

I love chiles (fresh chiles, and dried chiles)....or as they are sometimes spelt, chillies / chillis /chili peppers /what you will.... Generally loving Mexican food and cookery, especially making own salsas, sopa de tortillas, chiles rellenos, chilaquiles, empanadas, quesadillas, salsa de tomate verde, arroz y frijoles. That's enough for now I'm feeling hungry!...