When Pain Train Salsa makes its weekly Saturday morning stop at the Energy Corridor Farmers Market – ferrying jars packed with fresh ingredients like creamy avocados, roasted tomatoes, zesty jalapenos and citrusy cilantro – loyal customers line up to get on board.

The train left the station four years ago when Shane and Bianca Nobles retired from longtime teaching careers, trading blackboards for aprons. Now the couple crafts fresh salsas that have Farmers Market customers hooked – especially when it comes to their creamy avocado version.

“We don’t put anything in our salsas that we can’t spell,” says Shane.

All Pain Train Salsas are 100 percent natural with no additives, preservatives or added sugar. 

Their homestyle tortilla chips are gluten-free and make the perfect vehicle for tasting free salsa samples during the Farmers Market.

Shane, a former high school coach and teacher, says each jar of their three varieties is packed with 20 years of salsa-making experience. Pain Train Salsa is made fresh daily on Tomball’s main street – where the couple first introduced their hobby to the public at the town’s farmers market four years ago.

“It was an amazing hit and took off to a point that I had to retire from education to keep up with the salsa,” Shane explains.

For some Energy Corridor Farmers Market customers, Pain Train’s creamy avocado salsa has become an

obsession. Shane recommends pouring it over eggs or grilled salmon, but lathering tortilla chips with the velvety, mild green salsa is a sure way to go through a jar fast.

Roasted Roma tomatoes, cilantro, serrano peppers and red onions create Pain Train’s traditional red salsas, available in medium or hot.

A seasonal roasted red salsa bursting with pineapple 

and honey – courtesy of bees from Tomball – launches a spicy-sweet ride of flavor on grilled chicken and pork chops.

Pain Train Salsa is just one of several local vendors bringing freshly picked local produce, sustainably raised meats, epicurean goodies and artisan wares to Grisby Square 8 a.m. – noon every Saturday at the Energy Corridor Farmers Market, 14710 Grisby Road, just southeast of IH-10 and Hwy 6.

To discover more the Energy Corridor Farmers market – or to apply as a local vendor – visit here.

For more about Pain Train Salsa, visit here.