I would guess for most people who move to a new area, especially to a new country like the DR where not everything we are used to is available, there are some of our favorite foods that we really miss.

One day I was thinking about what would make my day complete… I know it may sound silly to you, but the thing that would definitely do the trick… GREEN CHILIS! You know the kind from the can. Chopped green chilis in my breakfast frittata, green chili casserole, white enchiladas (one of my favorites).

Well, I just don’t know why it took 2 1/2 long years to figure it out, and needless to say, I was ecstatic to find they were under my nose the whole time and using them practically everyday!

We use a green pepper in the Dominican Republic that is very similar to an anaheim chili over in California, except there is no spiciness involved. They are light green in color and thinner and longer than the regular dark green bell peppers that we are used to. Its just all the processing.

What you do is roast the chili on the flame of the gas stove until all the sides are blackened, (now be sure you don’t over-blacken, it will change the flavor) you should be able to see a little tiny bit of green (This process cooks the pepper and softens it). Put each chili immediately in a plastic bag and close up. Leave all the chilis in the bag for 5 minutes to steam the skins. After that scrape off the skins with a knife, scraping from top to bottom. Open the chili and remove the seeds and stem and voila! you have green chilis!

You could just imagine my excitement to find that once again I could enjoy the flavor of green chilis!