3rd Annual Chili Pepper and Salsa Festival

I can remember a handful of days that I would consider the best of my life. One was when I met David Milch and Ian McShane at the Austin Film Festival. I sat in the front row to hear Mr. Milch talk about Deadwood. Then the star of the show walked in. The whole room gasped. Mr. Milch also gave the front row lottery tickets. I won a whole $5, but it paid for my parking that day.

Another one of my favorite days was when my boyfriend and I went to LA to screen his film at the DGA theater on Sunset Blvd. That whole vacation was really amazing. But that was one of my favorite experiences.

Another one of my favorite days was when I was a flower girl at my aunt's wedding in San Francisco. My cousin and I ran around like crazy eating chocolate and taking pictures from cameras on the tables.

Another weekend was the weekend of the UFA conference. My boyfriend and I had been dating a couple months and he ran the festival as I ran the conference. We lucked out and had a private hotel room since a guest backed out at the last minute. It was a remarkable night.

I have another day to put up with the list. That day was yesterday at the 3rd Annual Chili Pepper and Salsa Festival in Fredericksburg, TX.

I went with my co-worker/new best friend and we had so much fun. We first got there a little early, so went to have brunch at The Herb Farm. I know I have mentioned that place before. I had some remarkable crab cakes will dill and I had the peach feta dessert again. It was a little different because they used goat cheese this time. It was really good, but I missed the edgier bite of the feta.

It was about noon when we headed back. It was really getting set up and we first walked around the festival so we could get an estimate of what we were dealing with. We made it about halfway across when we had to stop for some amazing Mint Limeade.

It was so refreshing. We also got some German Roasted Nuts. Almonds, cashews, and walnuts roasted with brown sugar. They were heaven.

We continued to walk around, now getting hydrated in the 95 degree heat. But then I saw the Olive Oil and Vinegar stand. I seriously gasped. They gave us little pieces of bread and were able to sample the various flavors. I couldn't resist the bottle of Jalapeno Oil. Move over olives.

The stand right next to it was a Pasta Stand. Homemade pastas with all kinds of flavors. I bought four: Cajun Spice, Jalapeno Garlic, Habanero, and Chocolate. I have seen them use Chocolate Pasta on Iron Chef America so I had to give that a shot. I haven't cooked them yet because in order to keep it for a while, I want to cut it with regular pasta.

These two wonderful stands came together when the gentleman at the olive oil stand said I could get a sample of the pasta and sample the jalapeno oil. He would pour it on if I brought it over. It was a little bite size of heaven. Pastamore was the stand of the oil and vinegar, and the pasta was from Gourmet Texas Pasta. The latter is here in Austin, so go and grab some pasta for yourself.

After that, we made our way to the butterfly haus. We got free admission with our festival admission. It was amazingly beautiful. The colors and fragrance was overwhelming. We didn't stay in there too long since it was a pretty small area, but I must say, I was anxious to leave. When we walked in they had an option to buy a bag to pick your own peppers from their garden. I had to jump at that chance. Granted, yes, they were already picked over pretty well, but I got a decent amount of peppers.

We then made our way back to the grounds. It was getting so hot. My friend had to sit out the pepper picking. But we did another round, but I got immediately captivated by the cooking demonstration. He quickly whipped up a rustic pico de gallo and then made a Jamaican Jerk Shrimp and topped it with the pico. Of course, we all got a sample. I wanted to faint. Whether it was from the heat or the amazing flavors bursting in my mouth, I will never know.

I noticed my friend was getting a little antsy, and I was also getting to my threshold for heat. I finally spotted a chili pepper stand. I bought a basket of sweet peppers, serranos, and El Joe's -- the biggest jalapenos on earth. I threw one of those in with my dinner tonight. Unbelievably fresh.

One more walk around the circle, and I wound up buying 3 tiny jars of cranberry pepper jam, raspberry pepper jam, and Austin pepper jam. Then I bought a jar of super hot salsa from 2 Brothers. It was very good and nice to hear that they will soon be selling here in Austin.

We finally left. The heat was really getting to us, but since we were in Fredericksburg, we had to stop by the Bariloche Farms. I had been dreaming about the Peach Pepper Jam and Jalapeno Jam available. The man who runs the farm recognized me from the last time we were there. I did also buy a jar of Amaretto Whipped Honey. I swear it's like sin from heaven. So tasty and delectable. Move over Nutella.

Anyway, we made it back to Austin and we both crashed. We were so hot and sweaty. But now the weekend is over and we have to get ready for the week.