Step 1: Growing chiles

During our pre-move visits to Melbourne, my husband Noah and I stopped several times at grocery stores and big markets to check out the resources for Mexican cooking. I was rather concerned about the chile situation: Though there were jalapeños and many, many Asian chilies, I did not see any of my Mexican standbys, such as Poblanos and Hatch chiles. Among the dried chiles available at local markets such as El Cielo, I can find Ancho, Pasilla, and Guajillo, but not Chiles Negros (though I must admit, I'm wondering whether the local Rancho Market in Salt Lake City actually sold real Chilhuacles, or some Pasilla-oriented substitute?). And though I've seen chiles that look much like Anaheims, I've read that these Australian versions don't have the correct flavor profile.

Imagine my joy when, after we moved, I discovered that the local Port Melbourne Cole's grocery story carries poblanos! But the friendly produce guy warned that they don't always have them and can't predict when they will and won't.

What to do? Well, obviously, to grow our own!

I started by buying some poblanos and jalapeños at Coles. When I cooked with them, instead of throwing away the scraped-out seeds, I saved them, drying them between layers of paper towel in a shallow plastic tray. (Note that I've started this project while still living in our small, temporary post-move apartment with very inadequate kitchen facilities. Note too that it's mid-winter.) After 5 days of drying, the seeds looked ready for the next stage. I'll save space here by saying that I followed the directions in this YouTube video as precisely as possible. I soaked and planted (in peat pellets) 6 poblano and 6 jalapeño seeds, and put them into a heated propagator that I found at Bunnings, along with a propagation thermometer.

Because this is my first time propagating from seed, let alone growing chiles (which I gather are tough to grow), I relied on a couple of other sites for tips, as well. But that UK YouTube video was my main tutor.

It's now just day 2 of germination and there's not much to see.

Just trying to keep the temperature steady between 20 and 30C, and to figure out the proper level of moisture. The video guy said to water with a pipette every day, but the pellets look too wet to me so I am not watering today. Perhaps I'll mist tomorrow. Anyway, I'll update as new things occur!

Of course, just as I start this new blog project, my teaching term at the university is about to begin, and that may slow me down--the priority will be keeping these chiles alive over posting. ;-) Plus, we move into our new "permanent" house in just a week, and that will certainly mean some upheaval. Stay tuned.

Site reboot! Why this is becoming a Mexican food blog!

This post represents a new era for this blog. After 7 years (!!) of inactivity, it's being rebooted as a place for me to document my new Ordinary Life adventures in my new home: Australia. Some day I may tell the story of how this came to be, but right now I want to cut to the chase of this new blog era. Australia is awesome (if expensive) in so many ways, but it has one major deficiency: a lack of the kind of Texas-Arizona-California Mexican food that we love so much. Sure, there are Mexican restaurants, but they are a higher-end niche serving more delicate and refined items than we know from home. There are only a few markets selling Mexican items, and those are heavy on the canned goods (and sometimes, thankfully, good corn tortillas) and very light on fresh produce, cheeses, and other staples.

So, a new hobby is born. I'll be spending a fair amount of my leisure time in Melbourne on gardening, cheesemaking, and cooking--all in an effort to keep good, hearty, Southwestern-Mex meals abundant at our house. Stay tuned for updates and let me know if you are a local reader with any suggestions or tips!