Images of the pods are emblazoned on signs, T-shirts, coffee mugs, posters, wind socks and even underwear. In the late summer and early fall, the aroma of roasting chile fills the air all over New Mexico and produces a state of bliss for chileheads. State legislators have made chile the co-official state vegetable, along with pinto beans. It doesn t seem to matter that neither is a vegetable the pinto bean being a legume and chile technically a fruit. What really counts is our collective obsession with the pungent pods.
Chiles rellenos, of course.
A chile roaster. I guess the official state cool-down would be dairy products from Roswell. The legacy of chile has caused even more craziness. From the Peppermobile, a customized red Honda that looks like a chile pod cruising down Duval Street in Key West, to the huge, ristra-shaped hot air balloon flying at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, chile is everywhere. As I write this, I m dressed in a Global Warming T-shirt of a chile pod in orbit around the earth and brilliant if not garish chile pepper pants from Gourmet Gear.