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BEST
COLORADO
CHILIES |
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Pueblo Chilies
At
this fresh produce stand, Carl Musso lights a gas burner, pours a sackful of
green chilies into a large steel drum and turns the handle like a lottery
drawing, constantly rotating the hot peppers as they crackle and sizzle above
the hot flame. The distinctive aroma of roasting peppers wafts to waiting
noses, and stomachs begin to growl. But the mouthwatering taste of these Pueblo
homegrowns does not happen by chance. Musso and thirteen other area farmers
have banded together under the brand name Mira Sol to create some of the
tastiest red and green chilies in the world.
Trade publication Fiery Foods magazine awarded Mira Sol
chilies some top prizes in a 1999 international competition. Growers claim that
Pueblo's hot days, cool nights and unique soil create ideal chile-growing
conditions. From the first of August until mid-October, roadside farm stands
along a ten-mile stretch of Business Hwy. 50 east of Pueblo brim with fresh
chilies. If you run out of the fresh ones, check your local grocer for Mira Sol
chilies and salsa in a jar.
Devotees of this delectable vegetable celebrate on the last
weekend of September each year at the Pueblo Chile
& Frijole Festival. Music, dance and food make for a "hot" time in
old downtown Pueblo. |
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