Nacho and Alejandro have spent the past month preparing the fields by mowing down the cover crop, tilling the soil, adding organic compost and a few other soil amendments, and making sure the fields are free of rocks, etc. They also are bringing another 1.5 acres into production for the first time this year that will be planted with more dry beans and chiles.
Yesterday, Nacho brought out the bed prep implement that forms a bed, lays drip irrigation line and weed barrier, covers the edges with soil, and marks where each chile start should be planted. Later this week we will pull all 80k chile starts out of the greenhouse to netted enclosures in the fields to harden the plants off so that they will be able to thrive once they are planted in about 10 days. Things are happening!
Some Great Press!
We’ve also had some really great press this past month with a feature in Forbes and an 8 article package in the San Francisco Chronicle about Anderson Valley with a dedicated article about our chiles. It’s been great to see the different ways people share our story. Heads up: SF Chronicle has strong paywalls. Use a private window to view! It will also be in print later this summer!
What We're Cooking
- We honestly can’t get enough of Eric Kim’s Ricotta Pasta alla Vodka. Use Calabrian chile flakes with his NYT Cooking recipe.
- My cousin is in town this week so I’m having a few friends over and making all the tostada fixings I can. I was given a copy of Natasha Feldman’s The Dinner Party Project (Thanks Clare!) and am making a bunch of recipes out of it including Honey-Jalapeño Beans (with our Tiger’s Eye beans), Smoky Chipotle Mayo, and Avocado Crema to go along with Chicken Tinga.
- My grandma and aunt are also in town this coming weekend and we’re planning for a Mother’s Day Brunch at my parents house. I’ll make sure the table has a few jars of Citrus and Chile Marmalade to go with our toast and that there’s no shortage of Piment d’Ville for our eggs.
