Leon's Chile

Hey, Everyone! While we won't have hot, freshly roasted chile again this season, we are LOADED with frozen packages of mild, medium or hot. The work of portioning them in ziploc bags has already been done for you! Each pack is the equivalent of 1 lb raw chile (but of course the roasting process causes them to lose about a third of their weight). And costs $3.75 (extra $0.25 for the labor of bagging them). The chiles still have the skins on them, but will peel easily when thawed. Stop by our booth at the AV Winery and pick some up while supplies last. While you're there, try our Chile Toffee Pretzels and Chile-Infused Chocolate Mangoes.

We will be setting up a booth at the Cedar Performing Arts Academy boutique at the Lancaster Marketplace (next to Harbor Freight) on the following two Saturdays: August 11 and 25. Look for us from about 1:00 to 5:00 PM. We will be coming after our normal booth at the AV Winery and will have our packaged spices, chile toffee pretzels and some roasted Hatch chiles.

It's that lovely time of year again, when the chiles are in season. We will have them at the AV Winery Farmers' market on the following dates: August 11, 18, 25, and Sept. 8. One big change is that, rather than roasting the chiles at the market with our two baby roasters, as we have done since 2012, this year I will be picking them up from El Rey Farms in La Puente each of these Saturdays, and they will roast them for me. El Rey Farms sells the chiles in 25-lb boxes or 3...8-lb bags. I have ordered 38 lbs mild, 76 lbs med. and 38 lbs hot for August 11, all of them will be roasted. Most of the hot has already been spoken for this week, but not for the subsequent weeks. If you send an email to [email protected] and let me know what you'd like, I can set aside some chiles for you. Please include how many pounds and what heat level. Or, you can simply come to the winery and take whatever we have available each week. The chiles will not arrive to the AV Winery market until approximately 10:30 each week. The cost for the roasted chile is $3.50 per pound for orders up to 20-lbs, and $3.00 per pound for orders that are 20-lb and higher. Note that these are "pre-roasting" weights. Roasting causes the peppers to lose about a third of their pre-roasting weight. If you prefer to get the chiles fresh, and not roasted, I can arrange that for the weeks of Aug 18, 25 and Sept. 8, but you must let me know at least a week in advance so I can modify the order I have already placed. The price for un-roasted chiles is $0.50 less per pound.

Hey, Everyone! Chile roasting starts Saturday, August 12 and will continue through Labor Day weekend. We'll be at the Antelope Valley Winery Farmers' Market Saturdays 9 AM to noon and the Encino Farmers' Market Sundays, 8 AM to 1 PM. If you have an order over 20 lbs that needs roasting, it is helpful for us to know in advance so we can plan on it. Please email us at [email protected]

It's almost roasting season... We expect to have the incomparable New Mexico chiles beginning the second weekend of August, but if it turns out we can get them the first week, I will post that just as soon as I know.

Thanks to Aloha Pure Water, for the shout out. We love their water, too, and not only for drinking. We use it for our cooking and for rinsing vegetables and fruits, too, so next time anyone at our farmers' market booth tastes one of our samples, just know that part of the deliciousness is because of the quality water we use...

A new Craft Fair/Farmers' Market will begin Wednesday, June 7 at the Calico Saloon and Grill at 42525 10th St. West. We'll be making our delectable chile toffee pretzels on-site! As good as they may be in the package, they're even better fresh and warm! Stop by and grab some. The event will be held Wednesdays throughout June from 4 PM to 9 PM.

Starting Thursday, June 8, and for every Thursday through June and July, we will have a booth at the High Desert Farmers' Market at the Community College in Victorville 8:30 AM to 1 PM. We'd love to see you there!

We've been back at the Antelope Valley Winery Farmers' Market now for a few weeks. Come out and enjoy a lovely Saturday morning. Check out our new products: seasoning salt, fiesta rice, and green chile chicken orzo soup mix. Can't go wrong with the Hatch chile.

The indescribably delicious Chile Toffee Pretzels are now available at Rancho Raviri, in Quartz Hill. This is a fabulous shop which features all kinds of almonds, along with other sweet treats. Our Spicy Seasoning Salt is available now at Ben's Butcher Block, inside Ben's Corner on Avenue L in Lancaster. Ben's Butcher Block is my go-to place for deli meats and cheeses, but they also have every cut of meat you could desire, plus ground chicken (a favorite of mine).