air crisp with a hint of fall
permeated
perfumed
with green chile’s aroma
flavor and spice mixing in a way that words cannot capture
the land and those who farmed it manifesting like apparitions,
Field of Dreams style
how the nose can sense the spice level as if it were the tongue
never ceases to amaze
Uniquely, green chile is a food
delicious but also one that deserves a degree of caution. Not to be consumed blindly
and endlessly like chocolate, but one that we sample first to get a sense of
the “heat” that particular batch is going to bring.
Green chile demands that we enjoy
without over-indulging.
And unlike chocolate, this
centerpiece to our NM fall season is never the centerpiece in our dishes. It is
added, again, with caution, to flavor the
enchilada, burrito, huevos,
candy, chocolate, pizza,
salad dressing, peanut brittle, coffee,
popcorn, pistachios, ice cream,
burgers, bread, hummus
chips, paletas…yes, we do go a bit overboard!
Green chile teaches us that we can
be great by adding flavor to others, supporting and centering them while we
give a nice little spice kick on top.
In being roasted, the chile also reminds
that while going through the fire is never pleasant, it does add some delicious
flavor.
But here is my biggest takeaway from green chile season:
Giving our prized possessions away to others only enhances their flavor in our lives.
In giving bags of chile to my patients, family, friends (and occasionally to complete strangers), I can almost taste the chile upon my taste buds in return. I like imagining how good they are going to feel when that chile is put on their [see list above]. I enjoy seeing how people treat the gift as something precious, even sacred.
The joy in sharing with others what is most precious to us; Let us savor that flavor this green chile season.
Nice. Chile is NM's salt! Got some green chile hummus at the Farmer's Market downtown a couple of weeks ago...on crackers, pita chips, bread, tortillas, naan, with cheese, whatever! Yum...JR.
ReplyDeleteWhat great insight! Yes, we do, or can enhance the the world. What a balance it is to maintain, it can take a lifetime to learn. The gift to be able to give of ourselves in balance to the world is an intricate dance, the tune to which is a loving refrain.
ReplyDeleteI, for all who are interested, have already given all I have to my loved ones in a liberating display of Love. I give back all what I have borrowed in an act of Love. In truth I never owned anything except my spirit which is all I really need. All else comes to me as needed as if by magic. Buy it's not magic, it's the manifestation of Love itself.
S/T