Farmer's Market Green Chili

For Mark, Fall begins when the Hatch Green Chilis come into season and they start roasting them at the Farmer's Markets.  You can smell them MILES away.  And you know it is time for a HONKING big pot O' Green Chili.  We make ours pork, but you can easily skip the meat if you prefer a vegetarian version.  More on that later.  Here are the instructions for a good, hearty, Pork Green Chili.

Ingredients

For the stock:
A pot full of chicken stock (I used boxed from Costco, super bonus points if you make your own)
Various stock veggies (carrots, onions, celery, leeks, whatever you like)
Beef soup bones (about a pound)
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
salt to taste

Simmer all above ingredients for 1-2 hours. Strain so all you have left is stock.
(If you are making veg green chili, just make a veg stock).


For the Salsa:
5-6 tomatoes
12 or so tomatillos, husked and rinsed
1 red onion, peeled and quartered
5-8 garlic cloves (not peeled, but tops cut off)
1-2 poblano peppers
1-2 jalepenos

Roast ingredients under a broiler or on a hot grill until blackened.  Seal peppers into a plastic bag to steam, and then skin them.  Peel skin off tomatoes and set aside.  Squeeze garlic out of cloves.  Place all ingredients (except tomatoes)  into a food processor.  Add a handful or two of fresh cilantro.  Puree into a salsa. (RESIST eating it! You want it for your green chili, I promise!)

For the Green Chili:
1-2 pounds of pork roast (I use loin, but shoulder would be good too, depending on your fat preference), chopped into bite sized pieces (obviously, skip this if you want veg)
Your favorite mexican spices (cumin, coriander, oregano, chili powder, etc) for seasoning pork (or seasoning onions if you skip the pork)
a TON of hatch green chilis, roasted, peeled, and deveined (ok, maybe not a TON, but really a lot.  We get a quart sized ziplock stuffed full of roasted chilis).
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup flour (divided)
3-5 T olive oil
4 T butter

Season the pork (or onions if you skip the pork) with your favorite flavors.  Brown the pork (in batches) in the olive oil.  Remove from pan.  Saute onions and garlic until soft.  Add 1/2 cup flour to the onions and cook for 1-2 minutes.  Add the green chilis and the stock from above.  Add tomatoes (chop if you wish).  Add salsa.  Simmer for 1-2 hours.  Make a roux with the remaining butter and flour.  Turn off heat.  Add roux.  EAT.

I wanted to be cool and take pictures as I made this, but I will admit, it is a LOT of work (but totally worth it) and I just REALLY wanted to eat it.  So no pictures.  You will have to make it if you want to see it!

I am going to save you all $$$$ on your skin care...

I am totally not kidding.  I am about to save you huge buckeroos on step 2 of your cleanse, exfoliate, tone facial routine.  Ready?  You need two things.  TWO.  Powdered milk and corn flour.  That's it.  You can now throw away those ridiculously overpriced exfoliating machine things, chemical peels, and "scrubs" full of micro particles that will kill you (or something like that... nothing you buy in the store is safe anymore, right?). 

Seriously, though.  That's it.  Make a 50/50 mix of powdered milk and corn flour and keep it in a tupperware in your shower.  After you cleanse (you are still on your own for that step), pour a little of the mixture into the palm of your hand, add a little water to make a paste, and scrub.  You can leave it on as a mask, too.  Your skin will be so smooth and healthy!  Bye-bye dead skin cells; Hello GLOWING complexion!

If you want to make a little ahead of time and keep it in your fridge, you can up the ante by blending it with strong brewed green tea and honey.  They provide even more antioxidants, moisture, and some antibacterial components.   It won't keep long, though, so don't make too much.

Now I expect you all to be naturally glowing and gorgeous and have plenty of money in your pockets!