Hatch chile peppers grow only in the small town of Hatch, New Mexico where peak season falls between August and September. Central Market has one of the largest Hatch chile pepper festivals in the nation, which goes from August 6-19th this year. Check it out, because they won’t be around long, and you sure do not want to miss this awesome event. These delicious peppers can accompany any dish from hamburgers to breakfast tacos, but beware, OWHS (a.k.a Obsessed with Hatch Syndrome) is a very real thing. Symptoms include the following:
1. After a year of not seeing those fresh peppers, you go running back with open arms.
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The first day you see the roasters outside churning away, you quite literally slam the brakes and swing into the parking lot. There’s no time to waste.
2. You don’t just eat hatch chile peppers; you spoil them. A lot.
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With every new recipe, you have to have the best accompanying ingredients. If it’s hatch enchiladas, you buy the special queso Chihuahua that you wouldn’t buy for just any dish. Only the best for your hatch recipes.
3. When you’re not together, you obsessively follow the pepper’s social media pages to keep up with the hatch life.
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Pinterest, Google Plus, Twitter, Facebook—everyone’s talking about those chile peppers.
4. You do things you wouldn’t normally do. And you make excuses for doing them.
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“Yes, I want both the hatch corn muffins and the hatch cornbread because they are entirely different. And I think I’ll eat them both for dinner tonight because it’s not like I can get them all year.”
5. Your friends and family are slightly concerned about your well being. #hatchobsessed
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The stream of hatch meals on your Instagram profile has started to concern your loved ones.
6. You dream hatch dreams. And get sad when you wake up.
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Hatch brownies, hatch lemonade, hatch scones, hatch mac n’cheese… you are only limited by your imagination. And, of course, by the few weeks you have together.
7. You put yourself through physical pain for the love of hatch.
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So what if your taste buds are seared off as you come to the bottom of the bag of hatch chile chips? That seasoning is finger lickin’ good.
8.When you sense that the relationship is coming to an end, you do everything you can to prevent it. Even though you know it’s futile.
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You will roast them, freeze them, can them and in any way to preserve them for the cold months ahead; but you know it won’t be the same as having them fresh and easily accessible.
9.When it’s over, you go into a mini post-break up depression.
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Walking through the aisles of the grocery store you remember the exact spot where the hatch chocolate bars and hatch chocolate covered almonds once were and sob in denial.
10. And when you finally come to terms that they are truly gone, you realize you would do it all over again.
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And you will. In exactly 11 months, 2 weeks and 5 days. It’s already on the calendar.