Down the hatch: The Hatch chiles are at Harris Teeter

Chile heads -- and you know who you are -- get excited for the brief season in late summer when Hatch chiles from the Hatch Valley in New Mexico show up in stores.

If you look quick at the Morrocroft Harris Teeter on Saturday, you can get Hatches and get them roasted on site. The peppers will be available at all the Harris Teeter stores for $1.29 a pound "while supplies last" (no guess on how long that will be). The roaster moves around to different stores. It will be at the Morrocroft store Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. (although they stop earlier if they run out of peppers).

Roasted peppers are $1.49 a pound, unless you buy case (25 pounds). Case price is $1.29 a pound -- they throw in the roasting for free.

So, what do people do with Hatch chiles? They're popular in dishes like chiles rellenos and green chile stews. Roasted chiles also do well frozen, so you can buy a bunch and use them through the winter.

Friends from the Southwest always get nostalgic about the smell of fresh chiles being roasted in the fall. It is one of those evocatic aromas.

PHOTO: Washington Post.