The Fresh Chile Company Podcast

My friends, this has been a hard podcast since it involves the good and the bad New Mexico farmers experience in their profession because of many factors, often tied to weather. This year the fickle fate of chile farmers involves a large leaf miner infestation. Last winter was mild, nice for bugs normally stamped out by hard freezes. These chile pod eating bugs are a problem. Love this Podcast? Ch...

Here is a New Mexico story. While not written down, many Outlaws in New Mexico had rules they followed back in the 1800s. Yes, rules of what to do and not do. Not written down other than writers of that era put them in stories. Eugene Rhodes, in several of his novels, wrote about these rules. Let me tell you some New Mexico outlaw rules that are even good rules today. Love this Podcast? Check out...

By some estimates there are 150 thousand miles of paved roads in New Mexico and at least 25,000 miles of dirt roads. I grew up early in life firmly on New Mexico dirt roads. While I knew what pavement was, the family ranch south of Carrizozo was miles of bumpy dirt roads. Let’s talk about New Mexico dirt roads before paving and the changes that occurred Love this Podcast? Check out our website at...

Every year come that magical moment when we say, “Yippee, it is Hatch Valley chile harvest time.” The roasters at The Fresh Chile Company are roasting away at the daily harvest from the Hatch Valley growing fields which are picked, loaded and brought to the Fresh Chile Company production facility in Las Cruces. That wonderful smell is in the air and the taste is great. Love this Podcast? Check out...

This seems odd; it might even change how you look at agricultural research. Over 110 years, thousands of agricultural researchers have worked each year on making New Mexico chile better. Not the best, but better each year. Fabian Garcia who is known as the father of New Mexico agriculture in chile, onions, pecans concentrated on making each crop better every year. Love this Podcast? Check out our...

The use of New Mexico chile has changed over the years. This year is trend is a blend of a taste sensation. The Fresh Chile Company has blends like Hatch grown red chile in ketchup which they call Hatchup. Everyone knows the various varieties of Hatch Valley grown green and red chile are individually wonderful. Here is something new:  to blend the red and green chile of a variety. Green Big Jim wi...

Whether you were rich or poor living in Southern New Mexico in 1912, it was very different to today in areas including red and green chile. Let’s explore the way life was 114 years ago here in the Land of Enchantment. In fact, that was when the slogan Land of Enchantment was written but there was more to it so New Mexico must have been enchanting even back then. Love this Podcast? Check out our we...

New Mexico, over the years has been a good place to make movies. Did you know that the very first film shot in New Mexico and released to the public was in 1898? That was before Hollywood and I’ll talk about that production. This last year the New Mexico Film Office talked about 35 projects in New Mexico. We are ground zero for some great films. Love this Podcast? Check out our website at The Fres...

It is a new year and I want to talk about innovation in New Mexico green and red chile, especially the chile that is grown in the Hatch Valley of Southern New Mexico. That is Hatch chile for where it is grown. Over the last few years chile as a commercial crop has had lots of innovations. There are more innovations to come on top of these incredible chile innovations. Love this Podcast? Check out...

Let’s talk chile. YUM. Specifically, Hatch Valley grown green and red chile. Over the last 110 years the commercially produced chile peppers are an incredible addition to culinary habits of Americans. People then wouldn’t recognize what we have now. They would approve what we have done with Hatch Valley Red and Green chile. It is a huge change in chile enjoyment. Love this Podcast? Check out our w...

Here are some more New Mexico stories tied together with it happened in New Mexico. I will talk about things you notice when driving and some railroad and chile stories. Many things that happen in New Mexico are not unique but are typical of this Land of Enchantment. Here is a bit of potpourri of New Mexico. Get your chips and Fresh Chile Company Salsa and enjoy. Love this Podcast? Check out our w...

 In writing New Mexico stories, some have been odd. Use of fertilizer by the Aggie football team, or White Sands rockets go missing. A New Mexico governor who traveled with a casket and needed it. Oh, in 1957 an Airforce bomber dropped a Hydrogen bomb on Albuquerque. Didn’t go off. Stay turned for some of the odd things that have happened in New Mexico.  Love this Podcast? Check out our website at...

On this American Veterans Day, the men and women of New Mexico have served in times of war and peace. Someone gives up their time to serve the nation. For each whether it is an enlistment of two-year, four-year, six-year or they serve until retirement, America is made stronger. Likewise, every day that someone serves, their loved ones in effect serve also. Love this Podcast? Check out our website...

The official New Mexico mammal like six other states is the black bear with a population of six thousand bears. We even had Smokey Bear, a three-month-old cub found after a fire near Capitan. But I would like a different state mammal, one that brings in lots of money. I’d like bats as the state mammal. One place has 400k bats which 400k tourists come to see yearly. Let's talk about Carlsbad C...

One of the things visitors to New Mexico notice is some of the unusual names of our towns. Candy Kitchen, Coyote, Eureka, Arroya Seco, Mosquero, Abiquiu, Galisteo, Tucumcari, Carrizozo, Pie Town and the most unusual Truth or Consequences. Yep, very unusual and typically New Mexican. Let me tell you about a few New Mexico towns including Bug Scuffle, New Mexico. Love this Podcast? Check out our web...

In the Old West, especially New Mexico there was incredible dining with the Fred Harvey Company which ran the Harvey House chain of restaurants, hotels connected to the railroads. Founded in 1876, it served people traveling on trains and train towns. A side of the business made a huge change in New Mexico. Waitresses were imported and then became wives. Fred Harvey changed New Mexico. Love this Po...

If you are new to New Mexico I want to take you on a small short but interesting tour of the Land of Enchantment. New Mexico is the 47th state in the union and is the 5th largest state in the Union. It has just over 2 million residents. If it was treated like the New England states, you could get four or five states out of the land area of New Mexico. It is all good and here is a 15 minute tour of...

New Mexico chile, that wonderful, tasty pepper, became a commercial crop a hundred years ago. Before that it was a prized delicious garden vegetable. Most often red chile was dried and used. Fabián García, started a shift to the common use of chile that hit the markets about 1918 and then by 1950 other researchers really increased the appeal of chile beyond a seasoning to a food in and of itself....

Today I am talking about a fascinating New Mexican, Ed Adams of the fabled legend of the Lost Adams Diggings. I talked about lost gold a couple weeks ago and several people wanted more stories. Here is a story based on true events. Treasure hunters have felt they were just one lucky moment away from incredible riches hidden by a few inches of dirt in a canyon. Perhaps. Love this Podcast? Check out...

Fabián García is often given the title, The founder of New Mexico Commercial Food Production. While we think of him on Chiles Peppers, he was instrumental on Pecans, Onions, Alfalfa, and Cotton. There are a couple buildings named for him on the NMSU campus and the Fabián García Agricultural Research Center. What about Fabián García’s legacy. Stay tuned.  Love this Podcast? Check out our website at...

Recently I was talking about how when the California Column came to New Mexico during the Civil War many of the soldiers were also Gold Miners. They found lots of gold back then. Any moment, even today we may hear of gold found. That is the mantra of some people. There is gold in New Mexico’s hills. You could be the one to find it. It’s out there waiting for lucky you. Let us talk lost gold in New...

In the Old West, prospecting for gold was a prime motivation for some people. Nothing was better than finding gold in New Mexico. This was surprising because the people prospecting for gold were not in New Mexico to do that. They were Civil War Union soldiers. Gold had a connection to New Mexico and the Civil War. Let’s talk about those surprised gold miners. Love this Podcast? Check out our websi...

One of the artistic icons of New Mexico who created art for all time was born in Roswell, New Mexico in 1904, eight years before New Mexico became a state. Initially he was a cowboy first and artist second. Then the entire world took notice of his talent and treasured his artistry. I am talking about Peter Hurd, a painter who has left many lasting images that will continue to amaze people for all...

In today’s world, if you wish to go from St. Louis to San Francisco, it is a little over 1700 miles and you can drive it in a day or four hours in an airliner. In 1858 that trip could take 576 hours on the first Butterfield stagecoach with the U. S. Mail which went through Mesilla on the way. It took 24 days, going about five miles an hour. And a writer documented that first journey. Love this Pod...

We know about the 1803 to 1806 Lewis and Clark’s expedition ordered by President Thomas Jefferson from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean. Jefferson ordered two other expeditions from St. Louis both led by Captain Zebulon Pike. The second one went to Colorado, Pike’s Peak was named for him and he and his men ended up going through Las Cruces. Here’s New Mexico’s first American visitor in 1807. Love th...