Here in the Southwest, a late summer culinary favorite is the Hatch chile. Hatch, NM is a small town to the East, which bills itself as the Chile Capital of the World. Up in the White Mountains, which divide Arizona from New Mexico, Hatch farmers drive over with truckloads of the green giants (they're very mild, not spicy at all), park, and sell them straight off of the wagon.
My parents, who have a cabin up there, told me last night, they loaded up on roasted Hatch chiles to use all winter long. Here's how chiles are roasted in quantity!
Even here in Phoenix, restaurants advertise Hatch chile specials and they pile into grocery stores at bargain basement prices.
So I've come to make cooking something with Hatch chiles a Labor Day tradition. One of my very favorite recipes is calabacitas (Spanish for squash). This recipe uses all of the late summer veggies in one dish. The corn's yellow, squash and peppers' greens, and tomatoe's reds, create a palette of summer that is irresistably tasty as well as beautiful in color.
Calabacitas are also insulin-friendly, since there really aren't many carbohydrates in the ingredients. I served mine over brown rice, but if you wanted, you could go one step further and use quinoa. Here's a recipe so you can give it a try in your own kitchen! A note: if you aren't near Hatch, simply use Anaheim chiles instead. It will be equally delicious.