DeLeon’s again making roast event from Hatch chilies

The Hatch chilies are back.

Sergio DeLeon is trucking in another load of the famous green chilies from Hatch, N.M., for the fourth Hatch Chile Roast at DeLeon Foods.

DeLeon, an owner of DeLeon’s and Agave Latin Bistro, says the chilies will be roasted at the grocery and deli, 102 E. Francis Ave., from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and again Aug. 28 and 29.

He says customers like to buy the roasted chilies and take them home to use in recipes. Many buy a bunch of the roasted peppers and then peel and freeze them to use throughout the year.

The chilies, grown in the fields near Hatch, are similar to an Anaheim pepper and are known for intense flavors and the short season of availability. The town hosts a two-day festival for the famous crop.

“The best thing about them is the way they smell when they are roasted,” DeLeon says.

The peppers are roasted in drum roasters and used in dishes at DeLeon’s delis and Agave. DeLeon says carne asada also will be sold during the chile roast.

The cost of the roasted peppers will be determined by the price his distributor charges, which has not been finalized, says DeLeon.

Say ‘cheese’

Tillamook’s first “Loaf Love Tour” will roll into Spokane on Thursday.

The 101-year-old farmer-owned cheese company has launched a trio of mini buses, retrofitted 1966 VW Microbuses, on a tour of eight states in the West. The buses look like Baby Loafs of Tillamook cheddar cheese.

The buses will bring samples and coupons with them Thursday. Cheese lovers can find the buses from noon to 7 p.m. parked at:

• Super 1 Foods, 830 E. 29th Ave.

• Trading Company Store, 4235 S. Cheney Spokane Road

• Fairchild Air Force Base Commissary, 105A W. Spaatz Road

The tour continues at other locations in the area through Monday. For more information, go to www.loaflovetour.com.