No sooner had we returned from one holiday than we set off on another!
My sister lives in New Mexico, so four days after we got back from New Hampshire (with the addition of my mother, who flew over from the UK last Saturday) we hopped on a plane to Albuquerque.
When I say hopped, what I really mean is got up at the crack of dawn, caught a four hour flight to Houston and then a two hour flight to Albuquerque, before driving for two hours to my sisters house. With my mum and three children….
To be fair, my husband got the first flight with us, before leaving us to get a flight to Mexico City for work! The journey certainly had its moments, but I will leave that for another day!
We arrived on Monday and the cousins have been having a great time catching up again, following my sisters visit to us in Boston last month.
On Thursday we went to the local farmers market. We always go when we visit and buy lovely fresh vegetables and bread, watch them roasting green chillies and play in the park.
This is the first time that the boys have really taken an interest though. The array of vegetables was quite something – the number of varieties of chilli alone was impressive! There were jams (including chilli of course!) and honey; soaps and dried flowers; sweet and savoury breads.
I adore New Mexico green chillies (Hatch chillies particularly, Hatch being a small town famous for its chillies!). When you buy most New Mexican dishes you’ll be asked if you want red or green chilli ‘sauce’ with it. The red will be made from dried chillies, the green is made from roasted fresh chillies – yum! I always get green chilli! {my sister will correct me if I get any of my chilli facts wrong… Including I’m sure that in the US it’s spelt chili not chilli..!}
They roast chillies at the market, so the boys and I were able to watch a batch being made.
So far this trip my sister has made a quiche with green chillies and we’ve had pizza with green chillies. I’m looking forward to breakfast burritos with green chilli, green chilli enchiladas and more green chilli pizza… hint, hint sis! I tend to go into green chilli overload while I’m here… Anyway, I digress!
The 7yo, always on the look out for a bargain, and (currently) a big fan of cucumber, asked me for a dollar as he’d spotted a stall selling four for a dollar! So, I sent him off to get his cucumbers, and he was thrilled when the stall holder let him choose them himself :)
It was very hot, so of course we had to buy slushies – but these weren’t the synthetic bright blue things from a machine, these were crushed ice with fresh apple juice poured over, with one dollar refills! Lovely and refreshing in the hot sun.
There was also a group of musicians, Kombucha Marimba, playing huge xylophones (and I’m giving them a mention simply because they were lovely to the boys and let them play!). They were brilliant, a lovely background accompaniment to the bustle of the market. The boys thoroughly enjoyed having a go!
There was also time for a quick play in the park before we headed home to get cool and get the wee girl down for a nap.
A lovely morning, and hopefully we’ll go back next week too!
I am linking up with the wonderful Coombe Mill’s Country Kids again this week. Click on the badge to see what everyone else has been up to!
Wow all those chillies look really nice and the roasted green chilli sauce sounds yummy (although does it not set your tongue on fire?). Sounds like you’re having a really adventurous time with all your holidays :)
They are really tasty – and they vary in heat, so some are fairly mild! But even at the hottest I’ve had them they are just that nice tingly tongue hot!
We are certainly keeping ourselves busy :)
That looks amazing. And I’m getting that you like green chillies?! Love how your son’s bagging himself cucumber bargains, too :-)
I certainly do :)
The 7yo was thrilled with his bargain!
Looks like an amazing place. My cousin lives in New Mexico via New Hampshire and it’s part of the US I would love to visit one day. The chillies sound fantastic! Found you via Country Kids x
It is a lovely place to visit – amazing scenery – hoping to get out a bit more for next weeks country kids! I always feel like I’m in a spaghetti western, all red sand, canyons and cacti! Thanks for commenting x
Apologies if this is a duplicate comment….those chillies look amazing! My cousin lives in New Mexico via New Hampshire and I would love to visit that part of the US one day. Found you via Country Kids x
Right place for someone who loves chillies! I love the photo of your son holding his cucumbers and one missing tooth. Lovely!
He was very pleased with himself!
What a great morning – I can imagine the wonderful atmosphere at the market and such fun for the children to experience with the added bonus of a park as well. I hope you all have a great time together and look forward to seeing more on your holiday, thanks for sharing with Country Kids.
Thanks Fiona – it’s a lovely little market, and the fruit and veg are great. Thanks for hosting x
Ooh, looks like a lovely market. We’re big chilli fans in this house, too!
It’s fab – I was in chilli heaven – just a shame I can’t take them all back to Boston :)
This sounds lovely; I LOVE markets like this with all the fresh produce and amazing colours. The atmosphere is always great, too. Sounds busy and lots of fun. Lovely post :) x
Thank you, it’s a lovely little market, such wonderful produce – and great local farmers.
Wow, this place looks amazing! If only you were in London and not New Mexico ;-)
He he, it is fabulous! I’ve never managed to find such good chillies in the UK…
What a fab post Sara, I love that market, that is the stuff of my foodies dreams. How brilliant to get to see and smell those chillies roasting, it must have been a real explosion to the senses. The children all look like they are having a great time, I love the picture of your big boy and his haul of cucumbers. I hope you are having a fantastic trip with all your family, it must be lovely to have your mum there too xx
Thank you Nichola x We had a good, if somewhat exhausting, time :) The chillies roasting are fab – at this time of year you smell it all over the place. My sisters local supermarket has a queue of people waiting outside the store with their bushels of green chillies to have them roasted, getting ready for the long winter!
What a gorgeous post Sara! I love the pictures of those chillies. I have grown my own green chillies for the first time ever – I hadn’t thought to put them on pizza until now! The slushies look very cooling and fresh too. So lovely to read about such a fun time xx
They are great on pizza! Although one of my favourites is in a breakfast burrito with egg and cheese… :) The kids have had a lovely time with their cousins – the wee girl has discovered girl toys…!