This Week's Harvest

Butter Lettuce
Spinach
Iitoi Onions
Broccoli
Citrus
Turnips
Dried Chilies
Baby Arugula

So, the word on the street is that CSA folks aren't that keen on the dried chilies and the trade basket can be overflowing with them. So, I ask you, what tasty dishes have have some of you whipped up with dried chilies that you would be willing to share? Karna, our fine coordinator, says she grinds them up and uses them in place of pepper. That would be a great way to give your food some extra kick. Let's roll up our sleeves and get creative with chilies this week!

To get you started, here is a recipe using dried chiles that I am going to make this week from (again) the Tucson CSA's newsletter. They have a ton of great recipes in their newsletters and posted on their website. I highly recommend checking it out! This recipe was contributed by Sara Jones of the Tucson CSA.

Basic Enchilada Sauce

We get the basic Anaheim-type dried chiles at the CSA, which
are a great base for enchilada sauce. If you have them around,
feel free to supplement or substitute other dried chiles for a more
complex flavor.

4-6 dried red chiles, rinsed clean
½ onion, minced
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon white vinegar

To re-hydrate chiles, leave them submerged overnight in warm
water. You can also pour boiling water over chiles and leave
them to re-hydrate for about 45 minutes.

Once pliable and moist, remove stem and seeds from each pod
and place in a blender, with about ¾ cup of the soaking liquid.
Blend well.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion
and cumin and stir until fragrant. Pour in chile mixture and
oregano.

Be CAREFUL, the steam the chiles will release is spicy – don’t
lean directly over the skillet!

Cook, stirring continuously, for about 3 minutes. Remove from
heat and add vinegar and a bit of salt to taste.

UPDATED 2/16: So, I made the sauce and I would make some changes if I made it again. First, I would double the amount called for. I made a 9x12 pan of enchiladas and this recipe didn't make enough sauce to make it all nice and saucy. You could remedy this by using more of the soaking water then called for. I didn't think our chiles were that spicy and I didn't bother removing the seeds when I blended them in the food processor. I like things to be easy in the kitchen, but adjust it to your preference because the seeds are where the heat is at. I left out the vinegar and it needs quite a bit of salt for my taste. But, the flavor was great, I would definitely make it again and homemade enchiladas were super yum.