Chile Relleno and Berry Picking!

There's nothing quite like waking up early on a Saturday morning to pick your own berries! Yesterday, Jose and I took a trip to Chickamaw Farm, where we picked enough berries to bake the tastiest blueberry pie we've ever eaten. Jose did most of the picking while I played the roll* of the photographer, but I did manage to sneak in a few blueberries and get a taste. Well, I shouldn't say 'sneak'; Bill, the farmer, was nice enough to let us try them.

*(It's Monday morning. I wrote this post Sunday evening. I just realized I typed roll instead of role. I read the entry before publishing it; obviously, I didn't catch the 'mistake' because my brain is now wired in such a way that I subconsciously use food terms in place of other nouns. This is what happens when your hobbies and job revolve around food. No complaints here, though :).)

Guess what the best part about Chickamaw farm is? Well, not only does it have a cool name (it means 'sacred land' in Choctaw, according to Bill) but the owners of the farm only grow organic fruits...and catfish! Catfish?! Yep! Bill and his family have a pond where they've established a mini food chain for their catfish; these fish only eat the finest foods - other fish, not the nasty fake stuff - so they get pretty large...think 11 lbs! HUGE! Sometimes, Bill and his family take a swim with the fish; imagine how fun it would be to ride a monster catfish :D! I got that image in my head as soon as he mentioned the gigantic sizes of these happy and healthy creatures. Jose asked if he could come back and fish some time, Bill said yes! We're not sure if we'll be able to do it before we leave Austin in two months, but since we plan on settling down here in the future, we'll definitely go back to fish and pick more berries!

Ok, so the berries were also huge. As soon as I popped one of these tasty berries into my mouth, I was shocked! I took a bite of half a blueberry and then a double-take at the remaining blueberry...is this really a blueberry?, I thought. It was juicy, full of more flavor than any store-bought blueberry, and it was rich - rich in blueberry goodness. It was a blueberry. In fact, it was more Blueberry than any other blueberry I'd ever tasted (note the capital 'B'). If you're ever in Texas, be sure to check out Chickamaw Farm, especially if you're craving fresh blueberries!

After a fun filled day of picking our own blueberries, grocery shopping at our favorite market, and dining at a tasty cafe here in town, we still managed to muster-up enough energy to spend a good portion of our weekend cooking. We prepare about 4 meals on the weekends because we don't have much time to cook during the week; Jose and I enjoy coming home to a nourishing dinner after a long day at work, so we really don't mind all the cooking. One of the meals we put together was my grandma's Chile Relleno. Thankfully, all our hard work paid off...and I mean, it was hard work! To make these, my grandma toasts the chilies (or peppers, I should say) over a direct flame (so that the skin wrinkles and comes off easily); she uses her gas stove to do this. Our apartment is completely electric, so I had to fry the peppers. This was a little dangerous and painful...but fun! I don't have the proper 'frying materials' so I got a little fried, too...oh, but the meal was well-worth it. It certainly wasn't perfect; the peppers could've been fried a little longer, but it was a fun first try. Initially, I was really concerned about the egg white sticking to the peppers, but, thankfully, it did! We also ate this tasty meal with some homemade rice, beans, and nopales!

From the blueberries we devoured, to the tasty peppers we inhaled, this was a very yummy weekend. Hope your week ahead is just as delicious and fun.