Willing to travel for the right one. Promise a new life of fun and adventure.

If we’d written a want ad, that’s what it would have said. But who needs an ad when there’s eBay? So when we got this mad idea that Los Chileros de Nuevo Mexico, our chile and Southwestern food company, needed a school bus (note: needed not merely wanted) we hit the world’s favorite second hand shop.

And we came up with a recently retired yellow school bus in Branson, Missouri. Chuck – the shark – handled bidding and we got it. We flew out and drove back. Let’s just say that miles-per-gallon is not the best-selling-feature of our bus.

A little paint (okay, a lot) and a new-look interior and voila – the Los Chileros bus was ready to hit the trail. We’ve gotten some eye rolls and strange looks (could there be some bus envy going on?) but you know what? It always gets noticed.

Which is how we feel about chile. Chile takes the ordinary and makes it extraordinary. The ho-hum becomes hee-hee. It adds some spice – literally – to life. Not convinced? Try our Chile Roasted Potatoes and see how the humble spud gets a new lease on life with a healthy dash of chile. Then keep your eye out for our bus. Who knows…we might be coming to your town.

CHILE ROASTED POTATOES

Serves 6-8, with the slight possibility of leftovers

2 pounds new potatoes, skin on
5-6 tbsp olive oil
Sea salt
1-2 tsp Los Chileros Organic New Mexico Red Chile Powder
8 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1 bay leaf

Preheat oven to 400°F. If the potatoes are small, leave whole. If a bit larger cut into halves or quarters. Toss them in a baking dish with the olive oil and the other ingredients. Roast for about 30-40 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Check for seasoning (you can add more salt and chile powder if you want). Remove the bay leaf. Place the potatoes and garlic cloves in a serving dish. Let your lucky guests remove the garlic from its skin and enjoy with the chile potatoes.