In the past 2 weeks, we’ve put stickers and harvest dates on countless bags and filled up each of those bags with the 2021 harvest of WHOLE DRIED CHILES!!!

Last year, our whole dried chiles sold out way faster than we expected (in 2 weeks!) which is why this year we grew both more varieties (seven!) and just more in general - we can’t wait to see what you cook with them. 

Ancho! Mulato! Espelette! Yahualica! Cascabel! Guajillo! Red Serrano!

I’m assuming the 600 pounds of whole dried chiles we have will last for many months but honestly, you all continue to surprise me with how much you love our chiles.

What to Make with Whole Dried Chiles

If you are new to whole dried chiles, a great starting place is our Master Salsa Recipe. Or just start by popping a chile or 2 into your next pot of beans! For those looking for more inspiration, you can try Arcelia’s Mole de Pollo and take a look at our growing list of recipes that use whole dried chiles. We’ll keep adding to this list when we find other delicious recipes out there. Found a recipe that you love that uses whole dried chiles? Send a message to hello@boonvillebarn.com with the recipe and we’ll add it to the list.

Notes On 'Sold Out' and Shipping

If you see something go out of stock, it might be that we just need to pack more up. I’ll add a disclaimer to the product listing when we have fully sold out of our inventory of that chile so make sure to sign up for the ‘Back in Stock” emails to ensure you get what you’re looking for.  Right now, the only chile we are pretty light on is the ancho.

Additionally, because these chiles are light, but also bulky, it's best to order in quantities of 2, 6 or 10. Odd amounts may result in some ... strangely filled large boxes with high shipping costs. 

Winter Rains and Looking Ahead

The rains have poured down on us here in Anderson Valley since the end of October and we’re happy to report that our irrigation pond is filling up. At this time last year, I think we could still see the bottom of the pond and right now, the water level is the highest I’ve ever seen it. We've had over 20 inches of rain and it's only January. There’s daffodils blooming (yes, too early) but the lush winter grasses are tinted yellow after a hard frost and cold weather just before the New Year. 

Our cover crop is slowing growing in and we’re already flipping the greenhouse over from chile drying zone to chile growing zone. We’ll wait to start germinating all our seeds till next month but we’re deep in 2022 planning mode with any seeds we need on order and are trying to find the right balance between growth and what our bodies and spirits find realistic and enjoyable. We went a little wild in 2021, growing more varieties of chiles than we ever had before which was utterly exhausting. This year, we’re cutting out what either didn’t work well or was just too much (a sad goodbye to Dakota Black popcorn and Aji Limon chiles that you probably didn’t even know we were growing). Cutting things back a bit and focusing on what we know we're good at will be a welcome change this year. 

Oh! Two very lovely articles about us came out at the end of the year. Check out these great pieces from California Grown and Modern Farmer!

 

What We're Cooking