Early Summer 2015 - Fusion, The Culture Issue

edible

MEMBER OF EDIBLE COMMUNITIES JUNE/JULY 2015 ISSUE 38 · EARLY SUMMER

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SANTA FE · ALBUQUERQUE · TAOS

Fusion Off The the Beaten Path Culture Issue ISSUE 37 · SPRING · APRIL/MAY 2015 THE STORY OF LOCAL FOOD, SEASON BY SEASON

You dream it...

We build it.

MASTERS OF CRAFTSMANSHIP photo: Kate Russell

prull.com • 505.438.8005

JUNE/JULY 2015 DEPARTMENTS 2

GRIST FOR THE MILL

By Sarah Wentzel-Fisher

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CONTRIBUTORS

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FRONT OF THE HOUSE

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LIQUID ASSETS

A Craving, a Bug, and a Journey by Allison Muss

BACK OF THE HOUSE

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LOCAL HEROES

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AT THE CHEF'S TABLE

Sneak Peek by Sarah Wentzel-Fisher Cooking with Kids and RASA Juice Bar Culture is the Spice of Life by Joseph Mora

EDIBLE 101 Spices by Kathleen Wheeler

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62 EDIBLE NOTABLES 64 LAST BITE

Strike Cocktails by Enrique Guerrero

FEATURES

O N T H E C OV E R

edible

MEMBER OF EDIBLE COMMUNITIES JUNE/JULY 2015 ISSUE 38 · EARLY SUMMER

®

SANTA FE · ALBUQUERQUE · TAOS

This is No Pub Grub by Nikki Lyn Pugh

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58 EAT LOCAL GUIDE

COOKING FRESH Recipes from Around the World

TABLE HOPPING

26 A WAY BACK HOME

By Juliana Bilowich

30 SAVORING HARMONIES

By Kristie Wang

34 ARGENTINE GASTRONOMY

By Sebastian Pais Iriart

38 VIETNAMESE FOOD AND CULTURE IN ALBUQUERQUE

By Amy White

42 GREEK FOOD ALONG THE RIO GRANDE

By Katherine Mast

Fusion Off The the Beaten Path Culture Issue ISSUE 37 · SPRING · APRIL/MAY 2015 THE STORY OF LOCAL FOOD, SEASON BY SEASON

Spices.

Curated by Kathleen Wheeler of Savory Spice Shop in Santa Fe. Photo by Stephanie Cameron.

Around the World by Sarah Wentzel-Fisher WWW.EDIBLESANTAFE.COM

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grist for the mill

PUBLISHERS Bite Size Media, LLC Stephanie and Walt Cameron

I often start an issue with a question. For this issue, I wondered how and where the amazing array of international culinary traditions practiced in homes and restaurants in Northern New Mexico fit into the conversation about local food. It is one thing to celebrate and explore locally grown ingredients when discussing what constitutes a regional cuisine, but the foodscapes that make where we live wonderful, complex, and diverse often bear physical and cultural ingredients from afar. How do immigrants, refugees, expats, and their children and grandchildren raised in traditions rooted elsewhere, contribute to and participate in local food?

This initial question led to many others, and to unexpected answers that only begin to describe and examine our relationships to food as part of culture and identity. Most of us take for granted the diverse food choices we have both at restaurants and grocery stores, but the availability of international ingredients and expertise about how to prepare them is a relatively recent development in most places in the US. Providing much more than a taste of home, groceries and restaurants that focus on specific cuisines often become important community hubs. Further, the idea of developing a culture around local food may seem strange to people who come from places where the only food available is what is produced in the community.

In this issue we reached out to many first- and second-generation immigrants and refugees making significant contributions to New Mexico’s food culture, and asked them to share their stories. In the richness of the international cultures present in our New Mexico community, the stories we tell are not comprehensive. Globalization has brought amazing flavors onto our tables, but often it is violence and conflict that instigate the migrations of the individuals who carry these culinary traditions with them. I hope these stories help raise questions about where food comes from, how it connects us to place and identity, and how our food choices locally have a global impact.

Sarah Wentzel-Fisher, Editor

Stephanie and Walt Cameron, Publishers

EDITOR Sarah Wentzel-Fisher

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Jodi L. Vevoda

COPY EDITORS Margaret Marti, Willy Carleton

DESIGN AND LAYOUT Stephanie Cameron

PHOTOGRAPHY Juliana Bilowich, Stephanie Cameron, Rick Scibelli

WEB AND SOCIAL MEDIA EDITORS Stephanie Cameron, Sarah Wentzel-Fisher

ONLINE CONTRIBUTORS Ashlie Hughes, Joseph Mora, Nissa Patterson, Amy White

VIDEO PRODUCER Walt Cameron

ADVERTISING Walt Cameron, Gina Riccobono, Jodi L. Vevoda

CONTACT US: 3301-R Coors Boulevard NW #152 Albuquerque, NM 87120 info@ediblesantafe.com www.ediblesantafe.com Phone/Fax: 505-212-0791

SUBSCRIBE ∙ BUY AN AD ∙ LETTERS 505-212-0791 WWW.EDIBLESANTAFE.COM We welcome your letters. Write to us at the address above, or email us at INFO@EDIBLESANTAFE.COM Bite Size Media, LLC publishes edible Santa Fe six times a year.

We distribute throughout Central and Northern New Mexico and nationally by subscription. Subscriptions are $32 annually.

No part of this publication may be used without the written permission of the publisher. © 2015 All rights reserved.

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edible Santa Fe | EARLY SUMMER 2015

WWW.EDIBLESANTAFE.COM

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contributors STEPHANIE CAMERON

NIKKI LYN PUGH

Raised in Albuquerque, Stephanie received her undergraduate degree in fine art. After having two children, she began a career in marketing and web design so she could stay at home with her family.

She took a small event company, Createasphere, to the international stage over thirteen years with her marketing and design expertise. After photographing, testing, and designing a cookbook in 2011, she fell in love with food. Today, Stephanie is the art director, head photographer, marketing guru, publisher, and owner of edible Santa Fe.

Nikki Lyn Pugh is an educator, writer and self-proclaimed farmers market junkie living in Taos. Besides edible Santa Fe, her articles have appeared in the Taos News, E magazine, Vision, and HoneyColony.com, among others.

When she is not writing articles or volunteering in the community, she is working on a novel set for publication next year. Visit her at, www.nikkilynpugh.com.

KATHERINE MAST Katherine Mast is a freelance science writer with a life-long love of all things growing. She has often kept earthworms as pets, collecting them as a child during spring garden planting, and employing them now in her compost bin in Santa Fe. JOSEPH MORA Joseph Mora was born in Southern California and his career has spanned a twenty-year period in the front of the house as a waiter, manager, sommelier, and maître'd. He studied at the Culinary Institute of America's Rudd Center for Professional Wine Studies at Greystone, where he was awarded a Robert Parker Scholarship. In 2008 Joseph was recognized as a certified wine professional by the CIA, and has since gone on to specialize in biodynamic viticulture.

ALLISON MUSS An advertising copywriter, newsletter publisher, and freelance writer, Allison loves to eat, but hates to cook. Living in Wisconsin was her culinary turning point; there she became ensconced in the farm-to-table movement, learned the joys of homemade local fare, and recognized the importance of writing about it. Besides edible Santa Fe, her food-centric articles have appeared in the Santa Fe Reporter and their Annual Manual.

SEBASTIAN PAIS IRIART Sebastian Pais Iriart was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina and moved in 2003 to Albuquerque where he studied political science and Spanish literature.

An organizer of cultural events in the community, he was part of the Colectivo Raices at KUNM 89.9 FM as host and dj. He now resides in Buenos Aires.

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edible Santa Fe | EARLY SUMMER 2015

SARAH WENTZEL-FISHER Sarah Wentzel-Fisher is the editor of edible Santa Fe. She also heads the Rio Grande Farmers Coalition, and wants you (yes, all of you) to consider becoming a farmer. In her free time she visits farms (she highly recommends this activity), experiments in her kitchen, and keeps chickens in her backyard.

JULIANA BILOWICH Juliana loves to eat food from everywhere, or better yet, to be everywhere eating food. She is currently finishing a degree in international relations to complement her teaching certification. On the side, she works as the community liaison for UNM’s Peace Studies Program, where she meets interesting people every day. An avid gardener and writer, Bilowich loves a good story and a good laugh.

KRISTIE WANG Kristie Wang is a Pushcart Prize-nominated fiction writer and a freelance writer covering food, social change, the environment, and technology.

Her articles have appeared on Forbes.com, GQ Magazine, The Rockefeller Foundation blog, The Christian Science Monitor, Virgin.com, and Solutions Journal, among others.

AMY WHITE Amy White teaches science classes for teachers at CNM and owns her own business, Orilla Consulting LLC. She has developed programs such as RiverXchange and the Arroyo Classroom Program to teach kids about ecosystems and water resources. She also writes about urban foraging, gardening, and cooking on her blog, Veggie Obsession www.veggieobsession.com.

As symbol and hue, red has risen to the pinnacle of the color spectrum.

Yet few know of its most prolific and enduring source: cochineal.

The Red that Colored the World looks through the centuries to consider the central role of color in art, history and culture.

may 17 through september 13, 2015 · free admission on sundays

This exhibition has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: exploring the human endeavor. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this exhibition do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Additional support comes from the Museum of New Mexico Foundation, Newman’s Own Foundation and International Folk Art Foundation. Lead sponsor: Hotel Santa Fe The Hacienda and Spa.

PICTURED: FIREFIGHTERS’S CEREMONIAL COAT (KAJIBANTEN), JAPAN, 18TH–19TH CENTURY, EDO PERIOD. WOOL, GOLD- AND SILK-THREAD EMBROIDERY AND APPLIQUÉ, JOHN C. WEBER COLLECTION. PHOTOGRAPH BY JOHN BIGELOW TAYLOR.

front of the house

A Craving, a Bug, and a Journey TALIN MARKET: MAKING OUR LITTLE CORNER OF THE WORLD A WHOLE LOT BIGGER

By Allison Muss · Photos by Stephanie Cameron

Director of Operations Victor Limary at Talin Market in Albuquerque.

The Land of Enchantment’s natural beauty and picturesque landscapes were not what inspired the Limary family to open an international grocery store in New Mexico.

Instead, it was the absence of authentic Asian fare in the New Mexican food culture and their craving for it.

Shortly after the fall of South Vietnam, the Limarys immigrated to Albuquerque from Laos via a federal refugee resettlement program. The program brought about three thou6

edible Santa Fe | EARLY SUMMER 2015

sand Vietnamese to New Mexico—a place with natural beauty and picturesque landscapes but largely absent of authentic Asian fare. Transplants who craved the flavors of their homeland, the Limarys (and many other immigrant families from Southeast Asia) tried to embrace the southwestern food scene, but yearned for the unique flavors of home.

Local ingredients were poor substitutes in traditional Asian fare—carrots became a failed alternative for green papaya, for exam-

ple, in the popular som tum pbooh, a Thai green papaya salad with salted crab. So, the Limarys would drive their small VW Beetle thirteen hours to Los Angeles to amass the Southeast Asian foods they couldn’t find in New Mexico—curry, fish sauce…and green papaya. This long trek enabled them to take a virtual trip back to Laos, as the fond memories of home were reflected in every bite of their home-cooked meals. Subsequent trips became more frequent as other immigrant

friends soon requested that they bring hard-to-find ingredients back for them, too. As the loads became larger, the Beetle seemed smaller, always filled to capacity.

The Limarys then upgraded to a van, which soon also became overstuffed. They similarly moved beyond their kitchen pantry to a garage, but by 1981, had to relocate storage to an even larger commercial space.

Thus, Talin Market was born.

Victor Limary, director of operations, explains, “Talin means ‘big forest’ in Chinese. At the time, my grandfather wanted to make the store seem bigger than it was.

Plus our original family name was ‘Lin’ before it was changed when my grandfather emigrated to Laos from China.”

To supply the growing demand for Southeast Asian staples, the market initially carried items like rice (jasmine, Japanese sticky, and Thai sweet) and tropical fruits.

Then they stocked shelves with Japanese, Indian, and some European foods, making Talin New Mexico's largest international grocer, importing authentic specialty foods from around the world. Well mostly. “Because it’s prolific, we don’t stock New Mexican food unless it’s esoteric. Otherwise, we try to get what our customers are looking for,” says Limary.

The number of immigrants from Asia has markedly increased since the 1970s. In turn, New Mexico has seen significant growth in international fare. Some restaurants serve straight-forward international dishes, while others add a Southwestern twist by fusing their native cuisine with local New Mexican ingredients. Either way, like Talin, they cater not only to other immigrants but to all New Mexicans. Limary explains, “One-third of our customer base is first generation immigrants. Another third are east- and westcoast transplants who grew up eating a wide variety of ethnic foods. The last third are adventurous foodies, who request items like vegetarian haggis or durian [the famously noxious fruit]. A smaller client base includes tourists who are tired of Southwestern food after about three days. We also are the local source for world-food fare for a handful of caterers and some of the most notable chefs in Santa Fe.”

Like the Limarys’ evolution from Beetle to van, Talin has also evolved from exclusively selling groceries to selling made-toorder dumplings, Japanese ramen, curries, spring rolls, and soups at its small in-house, pop-up noodle bar: the Dumpling House.

Hailing from the Sichuan province, the Limarys spend nine hours every Sunday preparing family recipes as close to homestyle as possible, so gone are the days when a journey to Chinatown was the only way to find authentic Asian street food. “It’s a lot of work,” admits Limary. “In a year-anda-half, it’s the most popular thing we’ve done. Its success, I think, is attributed to the very cultured and well-traveled New Mexican residents. They’ve experienced true international food and know what’s authentic. Their praise for the Dumpling House means a lot to us.” In Santa Fe, the Dumpling House operates every Monday, giving people a reason to look forward to their work week. The Albuquerque location offers the Dumpling House every Thursday and Friday.

With the traditional New Mexican and international food scenes well established, the aughts finally brought the local food movement to New Mexico. Alternatively, the bulk of what Talin sells is imported. But that’s the point. Talin, locally owned and operated, tries to do its part to remain true to the place that adopted them. “We struggle with [the farm-to-table movement]. Our purpose is to provide customers with authentic ingredients from overseas, but we try to do anything we can locally. Our farm-raised tilapia comes from Jim Gower’s Something Fishy in Jemez. We sell Santa Fe–produced Pristina water, and we’re working with a grower in Las Cruces for herbs.”

Today, the Limarys have adapted to some extent to New Mexican cuisine. Yet you still won’t find green chile at Talin Market; they need room on their shelves to make this little corner of the world a whole lot bigger.

505 Cerrillos Road, Santa Fe 505-780-5073 88 Louisiana Boulevard SE, Albuquerque 505-268-0206, www.talinmarket.com WWW.EDIBLESANTAFE.COM

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liquid assets

This is No Pub Grub FIRE & HOPS GASTROPUB MIXES CASUAL WITH CLASSY

By Nikki Lyn Pugh · Photos by Stephanie Cameron

From left to right: Josh Johns and Joel Coleman of Fire & Hops and their popular Brussels sprouts and brew.

The term “gastropub” was coined by the owners of London’s The Eagle pub in 1991. Like a lot of creative endeavors, necessity was the mother of invention when it came to blending a traditional pub—with its beers on tap and friendly atmosphere—and menu items that went beyond the occasional curbside vender selling cockles and whelks. The British recession of the 1980s saw a flurry of local, seasonal, and, in some cases, fine dining worthy menu items added to traditional fair. It was inevitable that the concept would eventually wind up in New Mexico, a region known for centuries of necessity-based culinary blendings.

Coleman was chef. Johns explains, “We used to joke all the time that one day we would open a pub.” Four years later, they created Fire & Hops inside a quaint one-hundred-seven-year-old adobe on Guadalupe Street; the two have been on a rollercoaster of success ever since.

At least part of the local gastropub history goes like this: The year was 2010 and Joel Coleman and Josh Johns sat on opposite ends of the counter at Second Street Brewery where Johns was bartender and manager. Coleman and his crew often stopped by the brewery for a pint after their shift at the now-closed Koi restaurant, where

The duo’s commitment to keeping up with what customers want has catalyzed their success. For Johns, this has meant doubling the cider options over the last nine months. “We kind of anticipated that [the ciders] would do really well for us, especially with the whole gluten-free thing going on right now,” says Johns. “There are

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“I am kind of trying to play catch up,” says co-owner Coleman, whose years of fine-dining experience are the perfect match for Johns’ twenty-five years in the brew-pub industry. “We opened last August and never really had a slow time, which is a great problem to have.”

edible_final_art_3635_smaller_Layout 1 5/7/15 2:20 PM Page 1

On the food side, the learning curve has come with some surprises. Recently, Coleman did the numbers and realized that the restaurant’s crispy Brussels sprouts were outselling other menu options two to one. For these particular delicacies, Coleman cuts the sprouts in half and flash fries them until crispy. Then they are tossed with a little fish sauce and lime juice and garnished with delicately pickled shallots for a nice balance of fun, pop, and subtle sweetness. “People have become obsessed with them,” Coleman says.

Another favorite is a New Mexican take on Canadian poutine.

Coleman adds diced green chiles to the gravy, then tops the whole concoction with crispy bacon and white cheddar cheese curds.

The dish was featured the December 2014 issue of Hemispheres, United Airlines’ in-flight magazine. Poutine aside, however, New Mexico is probably the least evident culture represented on the menu. Most of Coleman’s plates, large or small, have a hint of the East.

Coleman carefully uses ingredients from his travels. “Asian flavors and ideas have been the most influential to my cooking style and I think that it leads to a lighter, healthier way of cooking,” Coleman says. “I am not going to just throw wasabi on something and call it Asian fusion. When I do work with the ingredients, I make sure that they make sense and they work together.”

This leads to some interesting combinations, like blending miso and curry to make an Asian-inspired mustard, or adding Tonkatsu dipping sauce to panko-fried mac-and-cheese balls.

Coleman is also committed to seasonality and rotates the majority of his menu, which includes both small plates and full dinners, based on regional availability of ingredients. During the spring and summer months, about sixty percent of Coleman’s ingredients come from local farmers. Both Coleman and Johns are committed to keeping alive the basic concept of what a gastropub stands for at Fire & Hops. “To offer the true definition of gastropub—which is basically high quality food and high quality drink and a gathering place—I think that is really what we have achieved,” says Coleman.

Fire & Hops 222 N Guadalupe Street, Santa Fe 505-954-1635, www.fireandhopsgastropub.com ALBUQUERQ

the grove

cafe market

catering

at least ten [on the menu] now.” The Thistly Cross Elderflower from Scotland is a favorite as well as local brews by Santa Sidra.

Samuel Smith Organic Apple from England is a low-cost option at six dollars a bottle. Johns also stocks a decent selection of sour beers as well as organic offerings and even a gluten-removed IPA—Stone’s Delicious. There are eleven beers on tap and all of Fire & Hops’ wines come from sustainably-operated vineyards.

Bring The Grove to your next social or corporate gathering.

Options range from classic antipasto platters and custom hors d’ oeuvres to fresh salads, boxed lunches, house english muffins and our signature sweets by the dozen.

505.248.9800 See our extensive catering menu @ www.thegrovecafemarket.com

600 Central Avenue SE, just west of I-25 in Albuquerque

ENED SHOP P O Y L R NEW BUTCHE & ERY BAK

20% OF F Happy H Monda our y - Frid from 3- ay 5

rotating selection of 15 beers on tap • award winning enchiladas wood fired pizzas, burgers, and steaks • locally sourced produce vast selection of handcrafted softdrinks • housemade sausages and meats butchered daily • mouthwatering creative daily specials hand muddled sake cocktails • friendly knowledgable staff executive chef-owned and operated • local favorite since 2013 2860 CERRILLOS RD, SANTA FE • 505-471-0043 • DRFIELDGOODS.COM WWW.EDIBLESANTAFE.COM

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back of the house

Sneak Peek

STRIKE BOWL & BREW AND 500 MARKET COMMUNITY BISTRO

By Sarah Wentzel-Fisher · Photos by Stephanie Cameron

You may have noticed that something is afoot in the the Santa Fe Railyard. Beside the new Violet Crown theater in the space Flying Star previously occupied, Enrique Guerrero of Bang Bite Filling Station fame is cooking up not one, but two new eateries—and he intends to seriously elevate the level of fun you can have with food in Santa Fe. 10

edible Santa Fe | EARLY SUMMER 2015

At street level, diners will be able to enjoy 500 Market Community Bistro’s breakfast, lunch, and dinner in an airy environment that will be a natural extension of the Santa Fe Farmers Market, offering fresh salads and sandwiches featuring market ingredients.

Upstairs you’ll be encouraged to play with your food. More specifically, you can roll a few frames, and after your beautiful turkey (ironically, not on the menu), you can sit down and enjoy the Best Fried Chicken, Housemade Pretzel Pillows stuffed with gooey green-chile cheese, the Mac and Cheese Pizza, or the 8 Lanes Burger topped with crispy pork belly and a fried egg. If you haven’t guessed, Santa Fe’s newest attraction, Strike Bowl & Brew is an eight-lane bowling alley, complete with pool tables, a vintage arcade, performance venue, and food the from the alley diner of your dreams.

In addition to the tantalizing menu sure to provide a memorable first date or a great night on the town with the family, you can also expect live music, beer pairings, and amazing events like the amateur super cool socks and bowling competition.

So dust off those bowling shoes hidding at the back of your closet, iron your favorite button down shirt, and embroider your best bowling team name above the pocket. Then head down to Strike Bowl & Brew, set to open in June.

PS. Not to worry, you can still find the orange food truck, Bang Bite Filling Station at its usual spot at 502 Old Santa Fe Trail. You can expect extended hours, and a second location, starting in June.

The Perfect Evening

LUNCH • DINNER • BAR

Reservations: 505.982.4353 653 Canyon Road compoundrestaurant.com

photo: Kitty Leaken

Left: Enrique Guerrero getting ready to roll a strike, before shots of Strike Bowl & Brew—stay tuned for the after shots in our follow up story in the Late Summer issue.

500 Market Commuity Bistro and Strike Bowl & Brew 500 Market St #110, Santa Fe

WWW.EDIBLESANTAFE.COM

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local heroes On January 14, edible Santa Fe recognized as Local Heroes a group of amazing individuals and organizations for their work to create a healthy, sustainable food system in New Mexico. We determine these awards through reader nomination and a reader poll. The Local Food Movement is a grassroots effort, and often involves late nights, backbreaking work, getting your hands dirty, checking your ego at the door, and generally being a good sport. In an effort to showcase these individuals, organizations, and businesses for their work to build a stronger local economy and a robust local food system, each issue this year will spotlight several of the winners with interviews about the work they do.

Cooking with Kids BEST ORGANIZATION

By Sarah Wentzel-Fisher 路 Photos by Stephanie Cameron

Students at Amy Biehl Community School in Santa Fe cooking up Japanese rice bowls with crunchy cabbage salad and nori gomasio.

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Cooking with Kids (CWK) starts in the classroom and ripples into the community. In fact, CWK would like to reach every classroom in Santa Fe. That’s a tall order.

I asked Lynn Walters if we could interview her about the Cooking with Kids (CWK) Local Hero award the organization won in January. Although she heads the organization, so many people play critical roles in making CWK a success that she felt ill-equipped to speak for them all. It’s this awareness that’s at the heart of CWK— awareness about how many people it takes to have a healthy food culture, and how important it is to acknowledge their work.

I sat down with Walters and her co-workers Deborah Barbe, educator (who began at CWK in 1999); Jane Stacey, program director (1996); Rachel Shreve, operations coordinator (2006); and Anna Farrier, community liaison (2004), to learn more about CWK. In addition, a number of other CWK educators have written me about their experience with the organization, which will be posted on the website in coming months.

Next year, CWK will celebrate twenty years of service to Santa Fe schools, kids, and families. Every year CWK educators teach cooking classes to approximately five thousand students in fourteen schools with the help of over two hundred classroom teachers and fifteen hundred family volunteers. In addition, those teachers deliver fruit and vegetable tasting lessons. Not to mention the dozens of local super chefs and farmers who pay visits to classrooms to inspire students and help them understand where food comes from. Doing the math on the number of lives this program has touched is more than impressive, it’s inspiring.

What really matters, though, are the ways these classes inspire and teach the kids who participate in them. Farrier told of one principal who said that the program made kids want to come to school.

Shreve commented , “Kids can carry the experience of food beyond the kitchen and the table. It encourages them to try new things, and to have a positive association with trying new things.” She also explained how many other skills kids take away from their CWK classes: cooperation, taking turns, sharing, making choices, and expressing power through these activities.

Barbe says she thinks food is an expression of love. She appreciates the moments when a child discovers she likes a new food, then enthusiastically shares the experience with a friend. Barbe also finds CWK offers an important opportunity for kids who don’t do well in a traditional academic context. In her experience, these kids find strength and success in doing—which is just what the program offers.

Pyramid Peak Lemon Pepper

Herbed Chicken Skewers

Check out our cooking classes at: savoryspiceshop.com/santafe

FREE spicEs

Kids can influence family food choices. Stacey told about a tenyear-old girl who convinced her mother to make more adventurous food choices because she always asked for dishes from the CWK classes, such as falafel or minestrone soup.

Until CWK can be in every Santa Fe classroom, their goals are to shore up resources for the coming school year and to develop ways to be a better resource to other school systems interested in implementing direct food and nutrition education. The CWK website now offers an amazing array of recipes, how-to videos, curriculum guides, lesson plans, newsletters, and much more. www.cookingwithkids.org

f re s h g ro u nd s p i c e s . ha nd c ra f t e d s e a s o n i n g s

Locally Owned

225 Galisteo St. . Santa Fe, NM 87501 (505) 819-5659 . santafe@savoryspiceshop.com Mon-Fri: 10am-6pm, Sat: 10am-5pm, Sun: 11am-4pm

WWW.EDIBLESANTAFE.COM

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local heroes

RASA Juice Bar BEST NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE ARTISAN An Interview with Wendy Borger

From top left clockwise: Partner Andrea Abedi, owner Wendy Borger, and partner Pamela Sweeney; RASA cold-pressed juices; and Golden Milk and Adaptogen Latte. Photos by Stephanie Cameron.

What inspired you to open RASA? I opened RASA with the solid intention to offer really delicious and innovative food choices to folks who wanted to include healthy, organic, plant-based foods in their diet. I wanted to do this in a way that would surprise and delight anyone who walked into our little cafĂŠ. All our foods and drinks are nutrient-dense and made by hand in small batches from scratch. This is how we have created an authentic artisan experience at RASA.

What do you love most about your work, as it relates to local food?

I love creating plant-based foods that satisfy the palates of a variety of people and their particular tastes. RASA has many devoted customers who enjoy a wide spectrum of foods and it can hold its own among the many wonderful local food establishments. Making great food depends on high quality ingredients. This is why I love the Santa Fe Farmers Market. Nothing inspires me more than fresh produce that has been cultivated with the same intention I carry into food preparation at RASA. 14

edible Santa Fe | EARLY SUMMER 2015

Who inspires you?

I’m deeply inspired by anyone who can hold to a vision and contribute something beautiful, positive, and intelligent to the world.

I’m inspired by artists, activists, teachers, and seekers. I find endless personal and professional inspiration in nature.

Where do you like to eat?

What are your favorite foods?

There’s something so special about making your own food and enjoying it with loved ones in the comfort of your own home. That said, I really enjoy going out to eat, although it can be challenging to find vegan options in many restaurants. My favorite foods are one pot meals…beans and rice, porridge, like that. I love a good salad, and of course, amazing desserts!

Why do you do what you do at RASA? I think RASA offers a wonderful alternative to dining as usual. It resides in a space that’s both necessary and positive. I believe in plant-based eating both for the health of the body and the long term health of the planet.

Why is raw food important?

High-quality organic and unprocessed food is good for you, whether you choose cooked or raw. Raw food (and that includes cold pressed juices) is important to the diet because it’s food in its most natural state, full of enzymes and life force. Adding raw foods and juices to your diet can effectively increase your intake of nutrients, especially green vegetables. Green juices are particularly good at helping to create an alkaline environment in the body, which offers lots of health benefits.

Do you have any stories about RASA? We had a young boy with extreme food allergies come in with his mom. The boy was focused on a chocolate cupcake. When his mom found out the cupcake was made from seaweed, apples, and squash, she ordered one for her son. The little boy was beside himself with joy and started to cry as he ate the cupcake. It was the first one he was able to eat for years!

Do you have anything else you'd like to share?

Since we were voted Best Beverage Artisan (nonalcoholic), I wanted to mention our beverages. Along with our organic vegan foods, we offer cold pressed juice, housemade kombucha and jun (Japanese kombucha), superfood smoothies, housemade chai and teas, and some really creative elixirs such as Golden Milk and our Adaptogen Latte.

RASA Juice Bar 815 Early Street, Santa Fe, 505-989-1288, www.rasajuice.com WWW.EDIBLESANTAFE.COM

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at the chef's table

Culture is the Spice of Life THE IMPROBABLE STORY OF SANTA FE'S SWAHILI FOOD

By Joseph Mora 路 Photos by Rick Scibelli

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edible Santa Fe | EARLY SUMMER 2015

Chef/Owner Ahmed Obo; grilled jerk organic chicken served with red beans, coconut basmati rice, and fried plantains.

Ahmed Obo is a self-made man. I learned this one recent afternoon as the Lamu Island–native haltingly told me his story between bites over lunch at his Jambo Cafe in a darkened, unused portion of the dining room. I ordered a spice-rubbed lamb sandwich and a Tasker, a Kenyan pilsner that Obo carries as homage to his home, as the staff wrapped up service and prepared the restaurant for the dinner crew.

As we spoke, his team milled about us, asking questions about one thing or another, he patiently answered them all before politely turning his attention back to me. It occurred to me, the sort of calm resolve he'd just shown is exactly the key to Jambo's six years of success.

Obo landed in New York in 1995 working in restaurants and learning the industry.

"And Santa Fe?" I ask before sipping on my Tasker. "Vacation," he succinctly responds.

"A friend had moved here and I came to visit." Like so many before him, Obo fell in love with the place and saw a future here for himself, and more importantly, for his family. He dug in, honing his skills by working in various restaurants. It was about this time that he was exposed to Caribbean food. He immediately saw the commonality in the spices, techniques, and aromas with his native food, and began to incorporate them into his culinary repertoire.

Swahili cuisine combines Arabic, Persian, Indian, European, indigenous Bantu, and Waswahili influences in its spices, and relies on contrasting and complementary elements. Obo's reverence for that complexity and for his homeland are inseparable; they are his connection to place a world away from it. The aroma of coriander, ginger, turmeric, and the rare ultra-spicy African bird's eye chile from Mozambique, among others, can transport him back at any given time; his love for them is evident as he explains the nuances of how to use them. "There's a technique for bringing spices back to life," he pointedly explains. "These spices have had a long journey; from being produced and ground, to being shipped and stored, they've gone through a lot...it's important to resuscitate them."

As he explains this point, the similarities between the journey of the immigrant and

the spices seem to overlap, and Obo might be talking about his own journey.

Jambo symbolizes Swahili culture to Obo, reflecting core values of neighborliness, innovation, and adaptation. The food he prepares represents more than a sample of Swahili food, but an expression of Obo’s memory and culture.

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Fish, in particular, reminds him of home, and his Lamu Coconut Pili Pili Shrimp is one example of how he brings together his beloved African spices with the bounty of the ocean of his childhood in tiger shrimp, served atop the Lamu Island staple of Indian basmati rice.

The Jambo menu is the culmination of Obo’s culinary journey from Lamu Island to Santa Fe. He uses the Waswahili value of innovation to bring together disparate elements and techniques in his unique pan-African patois.

Banana leaves, goat, pomegranate, couscous, and his beloved fish, among myriad others, all come together in Obo’s unique adaptation.

The Waswahili value of neighborliness is evident upon entering Jambo’s tropically themed dining room. Obo takes the friendly vibe seriously, making sure his staff are happy and able to translate that to the guest.

“When I first realized I ‘made it,’" Obo tells me as we finish up lunch, “I thought to myself, don’t ever forget where you came from, and what you had to go through. I had to leave school when I was twelve, and watched family and friends suffer, even die, so I started the Jambo Kids Foundation, which is a health center on Lamu Island, because even if I made it, I know others may not.”

He takes a moment and leans back, wiping his mouth with his napkin and surveying the few straggling diners. “So I want people to know what Lamu culture is like when they come in here… I want them to be relaxed, smiling...hospitality is such a big part of my culture, giving of what you have. It makes me happy knowing guests feel it.”

Obo smiles broadly. He seems honestly happy among the smells of his homeland in a place he can keep its memories alive, even share the important elements of its culture with his new community. One thing is certain: at Obo’s Jambo Cafe, culture is the spice of life.

Jambo Cafe 2010 Cerrillos Road, Santa Fe 505-473-1269, www.jambocafe.net

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17

Spices

by Kathleen Wheeler

edible 101

Piri Piri

Swahili fo

Asafetida

1. Store spices away from heat and light.

r pepper

pepper

Fenugrenedk leaves seeds a

2. Air is the number one enemy of any spice.

3. Buy in small quantities. m o m rda

4. Replace ground spices yearly.

Ca

Exception to the rule: baking spices should be replaced every 6—8 months.

5. Do not store spices in freezer or refrigerator.

Only exceptions: dried chiles and mushrooms (whole and powders).

6. To improve your cooking, switch to uniodized salt and buy fresh pepper.

7. Buy whole spices when possible and grind fresh as needed.

8. Whole spices will last several years.

9. Don’t knock dried herbs.

The bigger the spice, the longer it keeps, such as cinnamon sticks and nutmeg.

Longer cooking processes require dried herbs, use fresh for garnish.

10. Spices have many health benefits.

It is a great way to add flavor without the fat.

Kathleen Wheeler owns Savory Spice Shop in downtown Santa Fe. Wheeler is the local ambassador of faraway herbs, spices, and unique blends. Her shop offers more than 400 spice products, including 165 blends.

Savory Spice Shop 225 Galisteo Road, Santa Fe, 505-819-5659, www.savoryspiceshop.com 18

Achiote made fr Annatto Seeodm s

Photos and illustration by Stephanie Cameron.

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cooking fresh

Recipes from Around the World

Shredded

20

Chinese P

ork Rolls

edible Santa Fe | EARLY SUMMER 2015

EASY LUNCHES WITH SHREDDED CHINESE PORK from Connie Song, Song's Asian Restaurant

Connie Song uses these simple recipes to prepare portable and fresh lunches for her son Will to bring to school. They are a great alternative to the usual sandwich and are made from easy to find, fresh New Mexico ingredients. Make the shredded pork ahead of time and tuck the ingredients into a tortilla like a taco or burrito. Any leftover pork can be used to make sesame noodles the next day.

Shredded Pork 4 pounds pork shoulder 2-inch piece of fresh ginger 4 fresh scallions, cut into 3-inch pieces 9 cups of water 3 star anise pods 1/4 cup soy sauce 2 tablespoons sugar Place pork, scallions, water, ginger, and star anise into a large stockpot. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to low, cover, and simmer 2 1/2 hours. Add soy sauce and sugar. Turn the heat to high and cook for another 30 minutes. Remove from heat and remove pork from water. Discard the rest. Allow pork to cool, then shred with two forks, or use fingers.

Pork Rolls 1 cup shredded Chinese pork 5 teaspoons hoisin sauce 1 teaspoon oyster sauce 1 teaspoon water 4 medium flour tortillas Chopped lettuce or cabbage as garnish (Similar vegetables, such as kale or chard, may also be substituted. Use what you have on hand!)

Prepare sauce by combining hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, and water.

Warm tortillas, then fill with shredded pork and a drizzle of sauce.

Top pork with chopped lettuce or shredded cabbage. Fold the tortilla like a taco or wrap it like a burrito, according to your preference.

SESAME NOODLES This recipe is traditionally made with sesame paste, which can be difficult to find. Peanut butter is a perfect substitute. Spicy chile oil may also be added, if heat is desired.

1 pound of spaghetti noodles, or similar noodles Shredded Chinese pork 1 - 2 carrots, julienned 2 cups cabbage, shredded 3 teaspoons peanut butter 2 teaspoons soy sauce 2 teaspoons water 1 teaspoon chile oil 1 cucumber, julienned Sesame seeds Heat 3 inches of water in a large stockpot to a boil. Add noodles and cook until about 2 minutes prior to being al dente. Add carrots and cabbage to boiling water. When noodles are cooked, drain the noodles with the carrots and cabbage.

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In a small bowl, combine peanut butter, soy sauce, water, and chile oil. Combine noodles, carrots, and cabbage with the sauce. Add shredded pork and toss. Top with cucumber and a sprinkle of sesame seeds.

NASU DENGAKU (MISO GLAZED JAPANESE EGGPLANT)

from Kim Müller and adapted from Joan Itoh’s Rice Paddy Gourmet A savory-sweet miso sauce is spread on halves of fried Japanese eggplants, then broiled to golden perfection.

Serves 6­- 8 Eggplant 6 small Japanese eggplants, seeded 2 tablespoons salt 4 cups of water 1 teaspoon wasabi 3 tablespoons soy sauce 3 tablespoons sugar 3 tablespoons mirin 2 cups olive oil 1 tablespoon sesame seeds Pickled ginger and plums, for garnish (optional) Den Miso (the sauce) 1 1/2 cups white miso 3/4 cup sugar 3/4 cup sake 3/4 cup mirin

Nasu Dengaku

Cut small eggplants into fourths after slicing off the stem. If a larger eggplant is used, cut into finger-sized pieces. Soak in water and salt for 1 to 2 hours to soften a bit; drain. In a medium bowl, combine wasabi, soy sauce, sugar, and mirin. Pour over eggplants and toss to cover all the eggplant. Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours, turning once or twice.

For the sauce, combine miso and sugar in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. Whisk in sake and mirin. Over low heat, bring to a simmer and cook, stirring frequently, until sugar is dissolved and color darkens, approximately 3 hours. Remove from heat. Den miso can be made up to 3 days ahead, cooled completely, and refrigerated.

Heat oven to broil. Line a baking sheet with paper towels and set aside. In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat 2 inches of oil to 360O F. Working in batches, place eggplants in pan, skin side up, and fry 1 minute. Turn and fry 30 seconds more. Transfer eggplants to baking sheet and let drain.

Transfer eggplants, skin side down, to an unlined baking sheet. Spread each half with slightly more than 1 tablespoon den miso. Broil until miso begins to darken and caramelize, 30 seconds to a few minutes, depending on the strength of your broiler. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and garnish with pickled ginger and plums.

KURKURI BHINDI (FRIED OKRA)

from Paddy Rawal, Raaga Serves 4 – 6

Pico de Gallo 4 Roma tomatoes, diced 1 onion, diced 1 jalapeño, diced 1 tablespoon lemon juice 2 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped 1 teaspoon chaat masala Okra 1 pound fresh okra, sliced into thin discs Salt 1/2 teaspoon chaat masala 3 tablespoons gram flour (chickpea flour) 1/2 teaspoon garam masala 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh ginger, chopped 1/2 teaspoon amchur (mango powder) Oil for frying For the Pico de Gallo, combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir and set aside.

For the okra, slice into thin discs. Place in a medium bowl, sprinkle with a pinch of salt, and toss. In a separate medium bowl, combine gram flour, ginger, garam masala, and mango powder. In a heavybottom skillet, heat 2 inches of oil to high temperature.

In a separate bowl, combine about half the okra with half the flour mix, and toss. Make in batches that won’t overfill your skillet, otherwise okra will stick together. If you have a frying basket or a fine

22

edible Santa Fe | EARLY SUMMER 2015

Kurkuri Okra

mesh metal sieve, place the coated okra in the basket, then dip into the hot oil for about 90 seconds. Stir gently once or twice with a metal spoon so okra doesn’t bunch. Remove the okra from the oil using the basket or with a slotted spoon, and then set on a towel-lined plate. Sprinkle with a little chaat masala. Repeat until all the okra is cooked. Serve with pico de gallo.

ARBOL­-HONEY GLAZED SALMON

from Daniel Marquez, Zacatecas Tacos + Tequila Serves 6 6 six-ounce salmon filets Arbol-­Honey Glaze 1 cup honey 1 tablespoon orange juice 1 tablespoon lime juice 3 dried arbol chiles, crushed Mango Salsa 2 cups mango, diced 1/4 cup red onion, diced 1/4 cup red bell pepper, diced 3 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar (seasoned) 1 tablespoon lime juice Salt WWW.EDIBLESANTAFE.COM

23

Cilantro Mojo 1 bunch cilantro 4 Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped 5 cloves garlic 1 1/2 cups olive oil 2 tablespoons lime juice Salt For the glaze, toast the arbol chile in a small skillet over medium heat, and then add the orange juice, lime juice, and honey. Simmer for 5 minutes, and set aside to cool.

For the salsa, place all the ingredients in a medium bowl. Gently stir with a rubber spatula until all ingredients are well incorporated.

Keep in the refrigerator.

For the mojo, place all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until the mix becomes little chunky but not a puree. Keep in the refrigerator.

For the fish, preheat the oven to 375O F. In a large sautĂŠ pan at medium-high heat, add 3 tablespoons of olive oil, and place the salmon carefully skin side up. Cook for 2 minutes, then turn. Liberally brush the salmon with glaze. Cook for 1 minute, and place the salmon in the oven; cook for 2 - 3 minutes. Remove from the oven, let it rest for 2 minutes.

To plate, place two tablespoons of the mango salsa in the middle of a flat dish. Place the salmon on top. Drizzle mojo around the fish and serve.

MOUSSAKA

from Iggy Patsalis from the Santa Fe Greek Festival Serves 4 - 6 Moussaka 2 medium eggplants, cut into 1/4-inch slices 1 teaspoon salt 2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch slices 1 pound ground beef 1 medium onion, chopped 2 tablespoons parsley 2 tablespoons cup red wine 1 Roma tomato, diced 2 tablespoons tomato paste Olive oil Cinnamon Salt and pepper Bechamel Sauce 10 tablespoons butter 2 1/2 cups milk 1 egg, beaten 1/2 cup flour 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese Nutmeg Salt and pepper 24

edible Santa Fe | EARLY SUMMER 2015

Moussaka Dissolve 1 teaspoon salt into 3 or 4 cups of water. Soak eggplant in salt water for 20 minutes. Drain, and then let stand for 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350O F. Brush a large baking sheet with olive oil. Lay eggplant on the sheet in a single layer and brush with olive oil. Bake for 20 minutes, turn and continue to bake until brown. Remove from oven and set aside.

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add 1/2-inch olive oil. Place potatoes in oil and fry until golden and soft. Remove from oil onto a paper-lined plate and set aside.

In a large skillet over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons olive oil and onions. Saute until transparent, and then add beef. Cook, stirring occasionally, until beef is completely browned. Remove from heat and drain excess grease. Add parsley, tomatoes, and wine to beef. Spice with cinnamon, salt, and pepper to taste. Return skillet to heat and simmer for another 15 minutes. Set aside.

In a large pot over medium heat, melt butter. Whisk in flour until smooth. Slowly whisk in milk and continue to stir until sauce begins to thicken. Add Parmesan. Spice to taste with nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Whisk in eggs until the sauce is smooth. Remove from heat and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350O F. Brush a deep 9 x 13–inch pan with olive oil.

Layer potatoes, ground beef, and eggplant into the dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Top with bechamel sauce, and sprinkle with nutmeg and more Parmesan. Cover with aluminum foil and place in oven to

bake. After 45 minutes, remove the foil and continue to bake until golden brown. Remove and let cool for 30 minutes before cutting and serving.

BAKLAVA (FARSI FOR "MANY LEAVES") from Niki Constantaras from the Santa Fe Greek Festival Makes 40 pieces Pastry 6 cups walnuts, finely chopped 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon 1 teaspoon nutmeg 1 teaspoon allspice 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves Zest of one orange 1/4 cup sugar 1 pound filo 1 pound butter, melted Syrup 1 1/2 cups sugar 1 1/2 cups honey 1 1/2 cups water (for more flavor, use some orange juice from the grated orange) 2 tablespoons rose water Preheat the oven to 350O F. In a large bowl, combine sugar, walnuts, zest, and spices.

Open package of thawed, room-temperature filo carefully; lay sheets flat on your work surface. Using a pastry brush, coat the bottom of a 14 x 18–inch baking pan with butter; lay down a sheet of filo. With a brush, butter the sheet, then add another sheet of dough. Continue until you have 5 layers of dough.

Spread evenly 2 cups of nut mixture over layers of buttered filo.

Add 4 more sheets of filo, buttering each one. Add 2 more cups of nut mixture. Repeat with 4 more sheets and add the last 2 cups of the mixture. Cover with 8 buttered sheets of filo, each painted with butter, including the top layer.

With a sharp knife, cut the contents of the pan into squares or triangles. Bake about 45 minutes or until browned.

Meanwhile, prepare the syrup. Combine all ingredients in a saucepot. Bring to a boil over medium heat and reduce for 15 minutes.

Set aside and let cool.

Remove the baklava from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes. Pour syrup over the pastry. Let set overnight, uncovered, to properly cure.

Baklava freezes well, so don’t be shy about making the whole batch.

FIND MORE RECIPES AT www.ediblesantafe.com/recipes

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A Way Back Home STORIES OF DIASPORIC FOODS

Story and photos by Juliana Bilowich

Left to right clockwise: Toyin Oladeji stirs fufu at Talking Drums; Alfonsine adds veggies to the poisson salé; Alfonsine buys fish at Talin Market.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees recognizes over fifty-one million displaced people globally. Of that, up to seventy thousand refugees resettle in the US annually, with hundreds making new homes in New Mexico. What do refugees eat, and how does food help to tell their stories?

In a small home on the east side of Albuquerque, Alfonsine spends her days cooking: to prepare saka saka, begin by boiling the frozen cassava leaves—Africa’s staple—for most of the morning. After soaking the many garlic cloves in shallow water, peel and set aside; ask 26

edible Santa Fe | EARLY SUMMER 2015

about the Congolese war while chopping the onion on the kitchen counter with the blackened, untreated knife. Avoid eye contact with the interviewer as the African grandmother describes the bombings and the home to which she can never return. Clean the fish by hand, picking each bone gently; grind seasoning against a heavy pestle. Stir food-processed onion, garlic, and spices into the stewing leaves, by now fragrant and deep green, as New Mexico can never be; mix in generous swigs of palm oil for the Congolese taste, and talk about anything but the war.

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Limited in English, Alfonsine counts to three repeatedly until all the plantain pieces have been sliced into the pot of water. Meanwhile, her tomato-pepper-mushroom blend sizzles into the base for poisson salé, or salted fish, a household favorite. Her twenty-fiveyear-old daughter Doriane, or Dodo, strolls in after working as an extra on a movie shot in New Mexico and set in Africa, sipping a Sonic milkshake. “They gave me clothes I would never wear,” she says in French-accented English. “They don’t know Africa.”

While the meal simmers, Alfonsine describes whole-village harvests in the Congo’s pre-war plantations, then talks of her own garden back home, where she grew everything she would need to eat. But for refugees in Albuquerque, growing a garden to carry on tradition is not always a reality. After the US State Department sends refugees to a community, the families are given cash assistance for ninety days, then they can apply for food stamps. Even the Southwest Organizing Project’s community garden, connected with Alfonsine through Jessica Goodkind’s Refugee Well-being Project, proved difficult to maintain without a job or transportation.

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Y

CM

MY

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CMY

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Her life tells the story of displacement, but her kitchen is a testament to identity, preserved. The saka saka she stews to perfection and she sautées the salted fish until fragrant. She drains uncooked jasmine rice until each kernel glistens, then adds to hot oil and spices. The scraped, counted, and boiled plantains Alfonsine and her family will savor plain, for dessert. Dodo’s twin brother, dropping off his son on his way to work, describes it as a communal meal, one to be shared with family for the purpose of celebration: “We might eat it every day or every weekend.” After the feast, Alfonsine returns to her kitchen counters to begin preparing the next meal— her grandchildren have arrived home from school with their impeccable English and their preference for spaghetti dinners. And when asked her favorite American food, Dodo replies Vietnamese: “Whatever American food is, I enjoy it. But I am still African.”

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We are what we eat, and for refugees and immigrants, food is foreign. Suzanne Seriff, director of Santa Fe’s Gallery of Conscience, describes the concept of foodways, which views food as a communicator within social discourse. “You can’t talk about the immigrant experience without talking about food… Food ties us to place and ancestry,” she says. Her sentiment is mirrored by the current exhibit, titled Between Two Worlds: Folk Artists Reflect on the Immigrant Experience, housed in the International Folk Art Museum. J. Miguel da Silva’s sculpture shows single-file retirantes—“those who withdraw”—fleeing South American drought, stringing along livestock and carrying food; an intricate relief shows scenes from immigration life, ripe with both hunger and iconic brand names; and a wall is lined with paper plate drawings of “one food you would long for when you are away from home,” contributed by museum visitors. From Ho Chi Minh City’s dog meat to Ireland’s corned beef and cabbage to New Mexico’s Lotaburger, the plates show a gamut not only of cuisine, but of an experience of migration in which we are all participants. There are “those who have left their countries in search of a new home,” reads the exhibition description, “those left behind, and those welcoming the newcomers in their midst.”

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27

WINE BISTRO

T HE MO S T CO LO RF U L OUTDOOR DINING I N S A N TA F E Lunch & Dinner Monday–Saturday Sunday Supper 304 Johnson St, Santa Fe 505-989-1166 • terracottawinebistro.com

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Among New Mexicans welcoming Africans is Talking Drums’ owner Toyin Oladeji, serving African and Caribbean food at the restaurant and selling goods from Zenith Market, both currently located on San Pedro. Originally from Nigeria, the registered nurse and chef measures yam flour into boiling water for the African dish fufu. “I call it a labor of love,” she says as she stirs heartily. Her brother and helper Alex hands over a yam the size of a newborn to the sound of American cartoons in the background. “In the store, we get mostly Africans, but in the restaurant, more white people, adventurous people. They hear about fufu, and they say: 'What the heck is fufu?'” says the chef. The table is set with peanut-drenched fufu and injera, or Ethiopian sponge-bread layered with vibrant vegetable toppings: collards stewed with crushed tomato and melon seeds, or brilliant orange lentils. “Nothing could taste as good to us as our own food,” says Tunde, another helper.

As we eat, a call comes in to deliver news of Talking Drums' approval for a new location on Central and University beginning mid-summer. “This is a challenging business,” says Oladeji. “But it gives Africans and people who have lived there the opportunity to relive those moments. It takes them right back.”

As Americans, foreign cuisine can stand in for travels not taken. For the refugees and immigrants living in New Mexico, this same food can help maintain a sense of identity; the immigrant’s culinary—and cultural—story is a convergence of tastes that transport back home.

“A stunning debut by a perceptive observer how of food systems actually work.”

—GARY PAUL NABHAN, author of Coming Home to Eat

“An important book for all of us who live and breathe and eat in America.”

—DEBORAH MADISON,author of Vegetable Literacy www.megankimble.com

facebook.com/meganekimble

@megankimble

Ethiopian injera at Talking Drums.

Talking Drums 1218 San Pedro SE Albuquerque, 505-792-3221 www.talkingdrumsabq.com International Folk Art Museum Between Two Worlds: Folk Artists Reflect on The Immigrant Experience in the Mark Naylor and Dale Gunn Gallery of Conscience Through January 17, 2016 On Museum Hill, 706 Camino Lejo, 505-476-1200 www.internationalfolkart.org 28

edible Santa Fe | EARLY SUMMER 2015

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29

Savoring Harmonies EAST MEETS SOUTHWEST IN THE QUEST FOR FLAVOR

By Kristie Wang · Photos by Stephanie Cameron

ns r o c r e p p e P n Szechwa e, u g n o t e h t s b m u that n aste buds to c i t p e s i t n a l a r u A nat time expanding your t thing. taste every at the same Freshness. Flavor. Harmony. These are the tenets of authentic Chinese cooking, which can be tasted and explored even in the far reaches of Northern New Mexico, in Taos. These days, most towns across the country are sure to have at least one Chinese restaurant serving familiar favorites like chow mein and orange chicken. But in Taos, we’re fortunate to have that and truly authentic Chinese cuisine as part of our vibrant food scene.

Song’s Asian Restaurant, tucked under a stand of cottonwoods on Paseo del Pueblo Sur, the main artery of Taos, felt like a godsend when I first moved to Taos from San Francisco. Don’t get me wrong— my love affair with New Mexican cuisine isn’t going anywhere, but Chinese food has always reminded me of family and home. Granted, there are myriad styles of Chinese cuisine that vary with each region—for example, Peking duck is a northern specialty, dim sum is a Cantonese tradition from the south, and Kung Pao chicken is from Sichuan in the southwest. But each style deeply embodies the values of family, hospitality, and—for lack of a better word—fun.

30

edible Santa Fe | EARLY SUMMER 2015

Chinese food has always struck me as highly inventive and entertaining. Steamed fish appears in broth dressed with fresh scallions and pickled mustard greens. Sautéed bok choy is arranged around a bed of glossy shiitake mushrooms. Steamed buns are shaped to look like peaches, revealing a center of sweet bean paste. Even the common egg roll is a wonder—crispy, savory, and sweet, all in one bite.

Most dishes are typically intended for sharing—it’s assumed that eating will be communal, and that even over a simple meal of stir-fried vegetables and rice, family and friends can connect and enjoy each other’s company. And the best Chinese food relies on fresh, quality ingredients, combined artfully to balance three main elements: taste, color, and aroma.

These qualities keep me coming back for more good eats at Song’s.

Jian He (“Song”), Connie Song, and their son Will have been living in Taos for more than ten years. “When we first arrived, I told my husband that I didn’t want to live anywhere else but Taos,” Connie says. “I loved the beautiful views, and the people are so friendly.”

Cooking international cuisine can have its challenges in Taos, however. We have the breathtaking Rio Grande gorge in our backyard, but what we lack is an international food store. Thus, the Songs’ quest for authentic Chinese flavor hasn’t always been easy.

Certain essential ingredients have been impossible to find locally.

“We’ve brought the original, traditional recipes from China, but, for example, water chestnuts are a big part of Kung Pao chicken,” Connie explains. “However, we couldn’t find fresh chestnuts locally —only the canned versions, which I don’t like to use.”

The Songs found a clever solution. “We discovered that fresh jicama was readily available,” Connie says. “It provides the necessary crunch and flavor to make our Kung Pao chicken taste truly authentic—authentic, but also improved.”

Raaga (“sweet melody”) prides itself on offering superior taste and flavor. With each mouthwatering bite, guests can distinguish and savor the finest spices and the freshest herbs.

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The Songs continue interpreting Chinese cuisine by striving for the real deal. While using fresh, local ingredients, they have arrived at delicious results. Another example is Song’s version of Peking duck. Done right, Peking duck is air-dried, then roasted until the skin develops a burnished mahogany color and a delicately crisp and crackling texture. Traditionally, the crispiness is the result of a coating of maltose, a type of sugar that doesn’t granulate, but maltose isn’t readily available in Taos, so Song tried maple syrup.

“The results were even better,” Song says. “The skin was even crispier, and it tasted as it should. There was also an added dimension to the aroma that we really liked.”

Song hails from Beijing, and came to the US by way of Europe.

Working in Los Angeles, Kansas City, and finally Taos, it took Song five years to raise the funds needed to send for Connie and Will, who was still an infant when his father emigrated. The couple worked in various restaurants, including the former wineshop and restaurant, Bravo! in Taos. When Bravo! closed, the Songs purchased much of the kitchen equipment, and were gifted some by the owner. With the advice of good friends in the community, and after six months of bringing the current venue up to code, they opened Song’s Asian Restaurant.

Monday − Saturday: 12:00pm to 9:00pm

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Connie was born into the restaurant business, having learned much about cooking from her aunt, who owned a restaurant in her hometown of Tianjin, a booming coastal city south of Beijing that’s known for its glorious seafood and a special kind of steamed bun, called Goubuli. The mouth-watering buns are filled with beef or pork, and have been a foodie craze since the turn of the century.

Connie’s aunt developed a Goubuli recipe that won first prize in a city-wide contest in the 1980s.

“I grew up understanding the five flavors,” says Connie, referring to the Chinese philosophy of balancing sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and spicy flavors, and applying each in the right combinations. She adds that savory is another flavor she considers.

“Each of the flavors is equal in status, but they are put together ‘according to wisdom,’” she explains, using the Chinese expression.

“For example, if you’re cooking for a banquet with many people, you want variety—with each dish reflecting different flavors. Imagine sitting down, family style, and eating hot and sour fish, then beef with broccoli. When dishes are in harmony, they taste better.”

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Mother's Fish with fruity sweet and sour sauce is known in China as Squirrel Fish. The fish body is scored so that it fans out when cooked, similar in appearance to a bushy squirrel tail.

This explains why at banquets, Chinese people usually appoint one person to order for the group—usually, a person who knows how to order food, meaning that she knows how to combine the right mix of dishes for maximum satisfaction. Speaking with Connie, it becomes even more clear to me that Chinese cuisine is best enjoyed with others—the better to taste and savor more.

Allowing fresh ingredients to shine is another guiding principle that the Songs apply to their culinary practice. “We don’t want the sauce to cover the food’s natural flavor,” Connie says. “Quality ingredients don’t need too much sauce. For example, when fish is really fresh, it has a natural sweetness, and I always choose a very lean beef with natural juiciness. Sauces and herbs are tasty, but they are only there to help.”

Northern New Mexico seasons have also shaped the Songs’ menu.

Regulars know to ask Connie about the seasonal specials, which use peak-season ingredients. For instance, Connie explains that broccoli tastes best in the spring, and fish tastes best in the fall. Chinese cuisine often reflects the seasons, as traditional Chinese medicine advises that certain foods help balance changes in the body that occur with the changing weather. These holistic considerations have shaped Chinese cuisine for centuries. For the Songs, it’s about appealing to the senses and natural cravings that are heightened with seasonal shifts “In the spring, for example, we’ve just come from a long, cold winter,” says Connie. “So we really want to feature some green. I have really fresh green beans that we’ll use to make a spicy, garlic stir fry.

In terms of a seasonal meat special, we might place chicken on top of a bed of spinach. A spring dish will not be too rich. It will be lighter than what we might cook in the winter.”

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Winter foods are all about warming. At home, the Songs make a traditional Beijing hot pot (otherwise known as Chinese fondue). The simmering broth is placed in the center of the table and used to cook a variety of ingredients, including thinly sliced lamb, seafood, and coldseason vegetables. Spices like ginger and white pepper, said to have a warming energy important for balancing the body’s temperature, are also added.

I ask Connie how New Mexican cuisine has played a role in her cooking, and she smiles, saying, “Oh, green chile is so good. Green chile with pork loin in black bean sauce is really tasty—the combination brings out the savory flavors. That would make an excellent fall special, when the green chile comes into season.”

This summer, the Songs will take a vacation to visit China. “We’ll be getting some new ideas and bringing back some good recipes,” Connie says. “But I’m not just interested in Chinese food. Huevos rancheros is one of my favorites!”

Connie learned how to make green chile from a coworker, who only spoke Spanish. “Because we couldn’t communicate, she invited me to her home to show me how to make it step-by-step,” she says.

“Then we sat down and ate together.”

At this, we nod with mutual understanding. The culinary traditions of China and New Mexico may seem distant, but they share a delicious common language.

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Chimichugrarri:lic, and parsleyd, red pepper crushe

Argentine Gastronomy GAUCHO GRILLING IN BURQUE

Sebastian Pais Iriart · Photos by Stephanie Cameron Argentine gastronomy has contributed only a small number of unique creations. Through the centuries of cultural mixing experienced throughout the Americas, however, Argentina has introduced unique spins to the ways other cultures express their culinary art. The native with the foreign together have introduced a new world of rich and diverse dishes. Diego Grant´s Gauchito Catering is a local ambassador of Argentina´s culinary tradition.

Like tango, meat and gauchos are recognized worldwide as a cultural expression of Argentina. The gauchos, Argentine cowboys, are the guardians of countryside’s knowledge from the pampas to the northern most limits with Bolivia and from the Atlantic coast to the eternal Andean mountains. The owner of Gauchito Catering took every chance to connect with them during his youth.

Diego was born in Buenos Aires, and as a child, could not wait until the holidays to go camping in different regions of Argentina's countryside. “That was definitely what triggered my love for cooking, learning about the many ways of preparing food across the country,” he says. Today his business is known across the city and represents the culture of his homeland with a selection of high-quality products prepared with the passion and expertise an Argentine can only learn by standing next to a true gaucho.

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Diego Grant and his wife Laura Gonzalez Bosc, arrived to Albuquerque in 2004. He worked in the kitchen of local hotels and restaurants. His friendly and outgoing style acquainted him with many other Latinos in town and, as each of them shared their traditional food, he became known for his asados (this is a type of meat but also a word used to refer to the process of cooking everything that is on the grill). His friends suggested he open an Argentine restaurant. He liked the idea and craved the independence; however, he did not have the means to open a restaurant. Also, he did not like the idea of waiting for people to come to him. “Seeing the experience of other food trucks and interest of people for Argentine asado, I invested all my energy in building my own food truck,” he says.

With the help of Mardel Constructions (owned by Cesar Goñi, an Argentinean carpenter), he turned an old RV into an amazing rolling kitchen that is also able to carry his custom-made parrilla (grill). “It was a very extenuating process; we took care of every single detail ourselves. I learned how to use many tools and be very patient,” Diego tells us with a big smile and continues, “but once finished, all I had to do was to put my knowledge on the grill.”

Cows, chickens, and pigs, like horses, came to the Americas from Europe. However, like the European instruments and music tradi-

tions mixed with local folkloric traditions to create tango, Argentine cooks explored new recipes with these meats. When people talk about traveling to Argentina, they cannot wait to try its beef. In principle, it is just grilled beef, however the secret is twofold: for centuries Argentine cows have grazed freely on native grasses on the open range, giving them excellent nutrients and unique flavor. Furthermore, since they roam free, they exercise (something many cows surely envy), changing the texture and quality of their meat. The second secret involves the grill, which allows for an even bed of hot charcoal or wood, and a pole system that sets the distance between the food and the heat source.

The parilla does not trap smoke, but rather vents it through a chimney.

These elements are only a part of the secret. The rest comes with the parrillero, or the person in charge of grilling. Patience is key to grilling.

An experienced parrillero knows exactly how often to turn the meat. A good parrillero also knows how to set the distance between food and the hot coal and to never let fire start under the meat.

Argentine cooks use almost every part of the cow. Chorizo—sausage made in a variety of flavors—is made from offcuts of beef and pork. The chorizo sandwich, called choripan, is perhaps the most common street food. Diego offers a New Mexican version, with a green chile filled chorizo. “Choripan is the most sold among Argentines and people who have visited Argentina,” Diego says. “Other Latinos and Americans ask for churrasco, a tender piece of meat served in a Pineapples grilling that will later be served with chimichurri.

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Top left clockwise: Spinach empanadas; sausage sandwhich with chimichurri; sausage on the grill; Diego stoking the fire; Laura and Diego Grant with their daughter.

sandwich.” For churrasco, Gauchito Catering uses grassfed beef from Nelson´s Meats in Albuquerque’s South Valley. For these and his other dishes, you can add another Argentine invention: chimichurri, which is a mildly spicy sauce made with parsley, garlic, crushed red pepper, olive oil, and vinegar.

Gauchito Catering serves more than grilled meat. It also offers grilled organic vegetables from local farms such as Los Jardines de Monktezuma, chicken skewers with bacon, grilled pineapple with chimichurri, portobello sandwiches served with tomato, lettuce and chimichurri, and Diego’s famous empanadas. He prepares and bakes

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his spinach and cheese, and ground beef empanadas at Las Amapolas, an event venue where Diego cooks as part of a cooperative exchange.

The selection of food at Gauchito Catering is only a tiny portion of Argentine gastronomy. With native and adopted ingredients from rich agriculture, abundant coastal areas, and verdant rangelands, Argentina is a country for cooks and food lovers. Albuquerque is lucky to add to its cosmopolitan menu the art of Diego Grant on the parrilla. Gauchito Catering rolls along Albuquerque streets, always carrying a piece of the southern nation with it.

505-977-0374, www.gauchitocatering.com

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Vietnamese Food and Culture in Albuquerque

By Amy White · Photos by Stephanie Cameron

n e re rg ve e in s w o gr — se ni Star A cated in Vietnam and trees lo southwest China

With a flaky crunch, the buttery richness of classic French pastry gave way to the distinctly New Mexican taste of green chile, and I fell deeply in love. In the heart of Albuquerque’s International District, Coda Bakery is turning out some of the best pâté chaud you’ll ever taste. Their bánh mì sandwiches feature crisp baguettes filled with pickled vegetables and grilled meats, fried eggs, tofu, Vietnamese ham, or paté, all made from scratch. Since the French colonial period, Vietnamese bakers have created some of the most intriguing culinary fusion in the world. Now, in a marriage of old and new influences, Uyen Nguyen fills her made-from-scratch puff pastry with green chile and chicken.

In many ways, pâté chaud embodies the resilience of the Vietnamese people. The name itself is a throwback. In nineteenth-century France and colonial Vietnam, pâté chaud referred to a hot meat pie, but now this archaic usage doesn’t even make sense to modern French speakers. Far from France, highly accomplished Vietnamese bakers added their own spin. In fact, it reminds me of the way that Spanish spoken in Northern New Mexico still bears elements of sixteenthcentury grammar, and how our food and traditions have evolved in similarly fascinating ways.

The first time I tasted Vietnamese food as a young college student in California, the depth of flavor in pho’s beefy broth astounded me. The riot of sweet, salty, and sour flavors in the grilled meats, combined with tender noodles and crunchy vegetables, was a revelation. It opened up a whole new world at a time when all I knew of Vietnam was the post-traumatic stress experienced by so many American veterans, which had affected my family profoundly. And if you think about it, almost no one in the US had ever tasted Vietnamese food before the war.

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Today, a vibrant Vietnamese community enriches Albuquerque’s cultural landscape. Vietnamese and a smaller community of Lao families make up about half of Albuquerque’s Asian population. These refugees’ stories are powerful, filled with hope, joy, and gratitude, but also tinged with the pain and sorrow of the desperate times that brought them here.

In 1975, US diplomats pulled out of Vietnam as communist forces overtook Saigon, and the CIA abandoned the “Secret War” in Laos.

Thousands of South Vietnamese and Lao people who had fought for their countries fled for their lives in crowded boats, hoping to find safety in other Southeast Asian countries. Most Cambodians were not so lucky. As the tide of refugees grew, many were turned away, while many who were accepted survived horrific experiences in the refugee camps. Like many US Vietnam veterans, large numbers of these refugees suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.

The first wave of refugees arrived in Albuquerque in 1976, some sponsored by military families, Catholic Charities, or other assistance organizations, and some through the New Mexico Indochina Refugee Resettlement Program. The second wave came in 1982 and were mostly Amerasians persecuted in Vietnam because of their half-American parentage. The third wave started around 1988, when political prisoners were finally released from communist re-education camps where they endured constant propaganda, hard labor, and physical abuse.

Early immigrants started businesses such as restaurants and nail salons, creating economic opportunities that enabled their community to thrive. In recent years, the next generation has begun to take over the enterprises their parents started. Businesses such as Talin Market and Coda Bakery have adapted to become even more successful by polishing their image for a wider appeal beyond the Vietnamese population.

Talin Market is a beloved institution in Albuquerque’s International District and serves as gathering place for many immigrants, offering hard-to-find foods from all over the world. In fact, its existence may partially explain why such a large Vietnamese and Lao population remains here in Albuquerque.

Now Open for Lunch Pan Asian Cuisine

In 1976, when Victor Limary was just two years old, his family fled Laos on a boat to Thailand in the middle of the night. His father, who had worked for Air America in Laos and spoke some English, immediately became a translator for other refugees. They were lucky to find sponsorship in Albuquerque right away, while others were stuck in refugee camps in Thailand for months or years.

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Bonphoum and Phouthone Limary started Talin Market in 1978. Working nights at a factory, they made weekend trips to California to buy foods that were not available here. Pretty soon they were buying a van to bring back food for many Lao and Vietnamese families, and finally they opened a retail store. Now, Victor is director of operations for the beautiful, thirty thousand square foot store, constructed in 2005. Across the parking lot in their old building is Ta Lin Wholesale, which supplies most of the Vietnamese restaurants in town, as well as numerous other restaurants offering cuisines from around the world. Just last year, they opened a new store in Santa Fe.

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Traditional Lao rice-steaming cone—available at Talin Market.

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Top left clockwise: bành mi thit nuong (grilled pork) on house-made baguettes, bành cam (Vietnamese sesame balls with mung bean), house-made tofu, bành tet chuoi (sticky rice cake with bananas).

ducks. Because they are ethnically Chinese, the family ate a fusion of Chinese and Lao foods.

Everyday Lao food is similar to Vietnamese and northern Thai food, mostly salads, rice, and grilled meat. One specialty is beef jerky marinated in lemongrass and dried until chewy. But the distinguishing feature of Lao cuisine is sticky rice, soaked overnight and then steamed in a special bamboo cone. A typical Lao meal might consist of just sticky rice served with a tomato dish very similar to salsa, made with fish sauce, lime juice, chiles, and onions. Some special dishes served at holidays include a rich Lao stew that involves hours of cooking and numerous ingredients, and meat-heavy salads such as laab (which means luck).

Today, one of his favorite things about Talin Market is the cultural crossover that often occurs. He is delighted when he sees Hispanic families come into the store to buy a traditional bamboo cone for making Lao sticky rice, a sure sign that they have Lao friends or coworkers and have come to appreciate each other’s food.

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Coda Bakery owners Uyen and Linh Nguyen are serious foodies.

They officially took over the restaurant from Uyen’s parents in 2013, and they’ve been slowly making it their own. The newly remodeled interior looks polished, and they make pretty much every ingredient on their menu from scratch.

The Nguyens pay close attention to the details. For example, in the pickled vegetable mixture that goes on every sandwich, they cut the carrots a little smaller than the daikon because they are firmer. Linh, a former software engineer, makes all the tofu. Each day he soaks and grinds non-GMO soybeans to make soy milk, then steam-cooks it and uses a vinegar starter to produce tofu with a fresh, clean taste. Uyen’s father grows fresh mint and basil in his greenhouse, where he uses the coffee grounds and soybeans from the restaurant as compost.

Their sandwiches feature grilled pork or chicken marinated with more than twenty secret ingredients for a complex flavor, as well as some items not traditionally found on bành mi, such as Vietnamese

meatballs, shrimp sausage, lemongrass beef meatloaf. Other specialties include head ham actually made from pig heads, and Vietnamese ham, which is more like a sausage, made from pork and chicken with the snappy texture of a hot dog. They make all of these charcuterie meats in-house, using high-quality ingredients.

A display case of prepared foods features all kinds of exotic delicacies. Bành giò, Uyen explains, is a sort of Vietnamese tamale made with rice flour, pork, and mushrooms. Bành cuốn is a rice paper crepe filled with pork and black mushroom shreds, topped with fried onions. Though it looks simple, it’s quite a difficult technique to get chewy, yet tender, crepes that don’t turn into mush.

They also offer miniature versions of a traditional holiday food called bành chưng, which consists of sticky rice, mung beans, and pork wrapped in banana leaf.

Desserts include sticky rice with banana and brown sugar wrapped in banana leaf, and sticky rice cooked with coconut milk, in an array of bright colors that come not from dyes but from baby jackfruit, pandan, and perilla, a plant with purple leaves. Bành bò is a pandan-flavored sponge cake made from tapioca flour, eggs, and coconut milk. Perhaps the most spectacular sweets on the menu are their shatteringly crisp sesame balls, filled with a sweet bean paste.

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Uyen, who learned to cook in the traditional ways from her mother, is the mastermind behind all this culinary genius. A former nurse, she is a food safety fanatic. She has modified many of the traditional recipes to streamline the processes and improve the results.

Linh says he is totally “Americanized,” so taking over the restaurant has actually reconnected him with Vietnamese food.

The couple grew up together in Albuquerque. Both their fathers served in the South Vietnamese military, and were assigned to American sponsors in Albuquerque, but it wasn’t an easy journey. Linh was born in a Malaysian refugee camp; afraid they wouldn’t be admitted by the Malaysian government, his father purposely broke the motor of their boat so that they couldn’t be turned away. Uyen was born in a boat before they could get to a refugee camp in Thailand, already in desperate need of medical attention because of the squalid conditions.

Now they are successful business owners with a new baby on the way, and grateful to their parents for the opportunities they were given.

As I talked with Uyen and Linh, it struck me how much we all have to be grateful for. Their parents fought bravely and escaped with nothing but their lives. My own father was a Marine Corps helicopter pilot who flew medevac and supply missions in Vietnam.

Our parents were survivors, yet when the war was over they still suffered from the memories. I am grateful for the opportunity to see these horrific events through a different lens, and to connect through food with other people whose lives were shaped by this particular piece of history.

Coda Bakery 230-C Louisiana Boulevard SE, Albuquerque, 505-232-0085 Talin Market 88 Louisiana Boulevard SE, Albuquerque, 505-268-0206, www.talinmarket.com

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Greek Food along the Rio Grande

By Katherine Mast · Photos by Stephanie Cameron

see 25 — a v a l k a B e on page recip In communities from coast to coast, one can find the flavors of Greece and the Mediterranean: gyro sandwiches, grilled slices of lamb in pita, or the sweet, buttery layers of a decadent piece of baklava.

Almost every region celebrates the lively music and exuberant dancing of Greek culture at annual festivals, and in larger cities, parents keep Greek heritage alive by passing their language and culture to their children at home and in Greek schools. New Mexico’s Greek community, dating to the early twentieth century, has blended the unique Greek-American experience with the textures and flavors of the American Southwest.

In the Nob Hill neighborhood of Albuquerque, bright blue tiles offset the crisp white walls at Yanni’s Mediterranean Grill on Central Avenue. Seascape murals transport guests from the desert southwest to the warm beaches of Greece. For twenty-two years, the restaurant has served up the flavors and smells of the Mediterranean with finedining flair.

Chris Komis, owner of Yanni’s, says the restaurant is named after her father, John, who was a restaurateur in Santa Fe. “When Greeks want to party, they come to Yanni’s,” says Komis, who also runs the adjacent Lemoni Bar, named for her mother, and a banquet hall that seats ninety. With live music every weekend and a well-stocked bar— including a wide variety of libations from Greece—Yanni’s and the Lemoni Bar are ideal spots to enjoy an evening out and get a taste of

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the Mediterranean. In addition to providing Greek standards such as baked eggplant moussaka, lentil soup, and chicken souvlaki kababs, the restaurant offers a variety of plates from the broader Mediterranean region, such as its pasta dishes. The restaurant also incorporates local flavors, adding green chile to the traditional cheese pie, and replacing pork with lamb in a bowl of posole.

Toward the end of the nineteenth century, a wave of immigrants from Greece arrived in the US as people from poor and often-rural regions of the Mediterranean journeyed around the world in search of economic opportunities. More than four hundred thousand Greeks arrived in the US between 1880 and 1920, and while the majority landed in larger cities like New York, Washington DC, and Chicago, some ventured further west—including to New Mexico—for jobs in the booming mining and railroad industries.

In the 1930s, another wave of Greeks found their way to New Mexico, arriving along with many other tuberculosis patients whose doctors had prescribed time in the sunny, dry Southwest as a cure for the respiratory disease. To meet the growing demand for care, several sanatoriums sprung up around Albuquerque, including the American Hellenic Education Progressive Association (AHEPA) Sanitorium in 1937, the only facility in the country specifically serving Greeks. While some patients returned to their previous communities after recovering, many stayed, and their family and friends soon followed them west.

Farmers • Families • Communities Nos gusta trabajar en agricultura porque es un negocio propio.

Es difícil trabajar bajo el sol intenso, pero la mejor parte es ir a la marketa. Disfrutamos las frutas que nos da la tierra.

We like to work in farming because it is our own business.

It’s difficult to work under the intense sun, but the best part is going to the market. We enjoy the fruits that the land gives us.

Photo and caption by Jose Antonio Serrano, Family Farms Photo courtesy of Farm to Frame, a project of La Familia Medical Center

Bring the Harvest Home www.FarmersMarketsNM.org

From left: Chris Komis, owner of Yanni's, Chicken Souvlaki (marinated chicken breast on a Kabob, served with tzatziki sauce), distinctive bright blue tiles of Yanni's in Nob Hill.

Food service jobs also became a major source of income for many Greek immigrants, says Katherine Pomonis, a historian and author of Uncovering the History of the Albuquerque Greek Community, 1880 – 1952. Pomonis, who grew up in Santa Fe with Greek parents, says that most of the early Greek immigrants to the US weren’t cooks before they arrived, and ethnic foods weren’t popular yet in broader American culture. From Chicago and Denver to Santa Fe, Greeks worked at diners making hamburgers and fries, chicken fried steaks, and other popular fare. “People in that time, in the 1930s and 1940s, when they came to Santa Fe, they wanted Mexican food," she says.

In Pomonis’s childhood home, her mother prepared Greek food, but also learned to make pinto beans and enchiladas, which the family loved. As more Americans began traveling internationally and became exposed to the foods and cultures of the world, food magazines also began featuring a broader variety of recipes and those flavors began to enter both personal and professional kitchens. As interest in ethnic cuisines grew, the Greek American population also continued to grow. Naturally, restaurants featuring Greek fare sprang up.

New Mexico’s Greek community loves Yanni’s for food that is prepared with finesse and flair and provides a taste of home. Several people interviewed for this story also said that Nick and Jimmy’s and Mykonos restaurants were also among their favorites. For a taste that reminds them of Grandma’s kitchen, many go to Zorba’s.

More recently, in communities around the country, Greek food and culture is celebrated annually at Greek festivals. Both Santa Fe and Al-

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buquerque host festivals—in the summer and fall, respectively—that are intricately connected with the Greek Orthodox churches in those communities. Albuquerque’s St. George Greek Orthodox Church is the spiritual and cultural home for some three hundred fifty families, while Saint Elias the Prophet Greek Orthodox Church in El Dorado has one hundred ten families in its directory, though less than half live full-time in the Santa Fe area or are regularly a part of the church.

Father Dimitrios Papadimitropoulos, priest at Saint Elias who goes

by Fr. Pappas, says the Greek Orthodox Church has been a significant centering point for Greek Americans. Fr. Pappas, a first-generation American who grew up in Denver, says that the early Greek immigrants weren’t necessarily looking for spirituality when they arrived to the US. “They already had spirituality,” he says; they were looking for work.

While churches provided spiritual grounding for people who eventually looked for it, they also became the social hubs for Greek Americans.

For Kerry Tramontanas of Santa Fe, spirituality and culture are nearly inseparable. “For Greeks, religion is part of who they are,” he says, but adds that the Greek Orthodox church is more than just a place where people come on Sunday mornings to worship. It also helps keep heritage and community alive. Santa Fe’s annual Greek Festival is both the main fundraiser for the church and a chance to share Greek culture with the community. “Greeks like to express themselves. They’re loud,” says Tramontanas. “The Greek Festival is an expression of us,” with exciting music, joyful dancing, and a variety of traditional food.

While Santa Fe has only a few locations that serve traditional Greek items, many well-known establishments are owned by Greeks and will provide food for the upcoming Santa Fe festival, which will be held Father’s Day weekend. Chefs from eateries on Santa Fe’s southside, like the Plaza Cafe Southside and Tortilla Flats, to restaurants closer to downtown, like Upper Crust Pizza, Tomasita’s, and Atrisco, and Pyramid Cafe and Omira will serve up marinated meat kababs, called slavakia, gyros, and moussaka, as well as Greek salads with Kalamata olives and feta cheese.

In 2002, the movie “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” became a cultural touchstone with a humorous window into Greek-American life, as a boisterous Greek family is forced to welcome an outsider into their lives. That movie, says Violet Santikos, owner of Cassie’s Boutique in Santa Fe, "was my life." Growing up in Chicago where Greek children went to Greek school, Santikos and her Greek community kept their heritage alive through language and family, church, and, of course, through food.

Eleni Bastea, a professor of history and architecture at the University of New Mexico who grew up in Salonica, Greece, adds that while the movie may be authentic to the Greek-American experience, it wasn’t as well received by Greek nationals. In the decades since the last major wave of Greek immigrants to the US, culture and food trends in Greece have evolved. The country has, itself, welcomed immigrants

from around the world, and elements of those cultures find their ways into the modern life of the country.

And, she says, food and culture can’t be fully replicated out of its original environment. “Memories are connected to place,” she says.

For her, eating Greek food in the US is always somewhat disappointing; ouzo, the Greek anise-flavored liquor, is best enjoyed on the beach with fried fish in hand. Food can be like an ambassador for culture, she says, but to really understand and enjoy it, nothing beats immersion in the place where the food comes from.

Yanni's and Lemoni Lounge 3109 Central Avenue NE, Albuquerque, 505-268-9250 www.yannisandlemoni.com Santa Fe Greek Festival/Saint Elias Greek Orthodox Church Friday, June 19, 4 – 9pm and Saturday, June 20, 11am – 9pm Santa Fe Community Convention Center, 201 West Marcy Street steliasnm.org/santa-fe-greek-festival Albuquerque Grecian Festival/ St. George Greek Orthodox Church Octorber 2 – 4, 308 High St SE, Albuquerque, 505-247-9411 www.abqgreekfest.com

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table hopping

Around the World

By Sarah Wentzel-Fisher · Photos by Stephanie Cameron

Asian Pear

Zacatecas Tacos + Tequila

Ajiaco Columbian Bistro

Raaga Cuisine

New Mexico is home to rich and meaningful cuisines from all over the world, largely because it is the sixth most diverse state in the Union. Many who have journeyed from afar and settled here share a deep love for food; it offers a way to celebrate uniqueness and similarity while providing a way to stay connected to home, community, and identity. For this issue, we sought out a handful of creative chefs who have made it their business to share food that reflects their cultural roots, asking them what brought them to New Mexico and what in-

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edible Santa Fe | EARLY SUMMER 2015

The Anasazi Restaurant and Bar

Paper Dosa

spired them to start their businesses or careers. While each prepares flavors inspired by very different regions of the world, they all approach cuisine with a commitment to quality (and often local) ingredients and with a penchant for making traditional dishes uniquely their own by infusing them with flavors they’ve learned to love on their journeys. They also share a deep love for the way food brings people together, not to mention they all are serious entrepreneurs setting a high bar for good food business.

Mu Du Noodles

Mu Jing Lau Mu Jing Lau is a veteran of the Santa Fe restaurant scene and, in many respects, the Queen of pan-Asian cuisine. She sighs as she describes her reluctance to embrace social media, which she says has now become a necessity, but also celebrates the changes in food culture she has witnessed since she opened the doors of Mu Du Noodles in 1997. Today she serves her interpretations of diverse Asian noodle dishes Tuesday through Saturday in the evenings, and has recently opened for lunch Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

Mu came to Santa Fe in 1995 amid a major life and career change. She left the software industry in California to pursue food after discovering a knack for it. She describes going to a philosophy retreat where she signed up for kitchen duty and realized she had a natural ability to make things taste good. After a year of culinary school and several intense stauges in the San Francisco Bay area, a girlfriend invited her on a weekend getaway to Santa Fe. According to Mu, she disliked Santa Fe initially, but the friend predicted that Mu would move to the City Different and open an Asian restaurant. In spite of her first reactions, Mu packed her bags a week later to relocate to New Mexico.

Growing up in New Jersey, after immigrating with her family at the age of seven from mainland China to escape the Cultural Revolution, Mu never identified as Chinese. Further, she says her mother was a horrible cook. As a young person, she never had an appreciation for Asian cuisines; it took coming to Santa Fe, she says, to really embrace them.

Daikon Cakes

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On arrival to Santa Fe, Mu struggled to find a home on a kitchen staff. Another auspicious friend told her to seek out Mimi Ho the proprietor of the former Dim Sum Then Some on Highway 14 near Lone Butte. Mu laughs telling the story, “I said to my friend, ‘What?

Just because she’s Chinese and I’m Chinese, I should meet her?’ And she said, ‘Yeah, that’s exactly why.’” The meeting led to friendship and a mutually beneficial situation where Mu helped with dim sum during the week, and used Ho’s kitchen for catering and pop-ups on the weekends. Ho also encouraged Mu to open her own restaurant with suggestions such as to give it a clever name. Through this relationship and in this kitchen, Mu saw an entrepreneurial opportunity in a burgeoning public appreciation for exotic foods, but she also found a love for Asian flavors.

Raaga Cuisine

Mu honors the gift of mentorship and support. She now regularly fosters young chefs by sharing her kitchen for pop-up preparation and sharing her years of experience in the Santa Fe restaurant business.

Since she opened, Mu says, “The world has grown smaller, and ingredients are easier to find.” While she is no stranger to Ta Lin Wholesale for hard-to-come-by ingredients, she is also a regular patron of the farmers market. In spite of her misgivings about social media, she is a connoisseur of cooking videos on YouTube. She loves the ingenuity and increasing accessibility of what she terms peasant food. She believes this cuisine has become smarter as a result, citing that chiles used in Korean and Mexican food are similar, so kimchi on tacos makes sense.

Paddy Rawal

Like many, her journey to Santa Fe was one of self-discovery, and identity- and community-building. She now practices Buddhism and jokes about her Confucius-like quotes on what used to be her specials chalkboard. I point out, maybe she’s more ready for Twitter than she thinks.

1494 Cerrillos Road, Santa Fe, 505-983-1411, www.mudunoodles.com

Chef Paddy Rawal of Raaga Cuisine prides himself on drama and presentation—he describes his curries as a symphony in the mouth and he tells his life story like a fairy tale. Rawal grew up in Mumbai in a middle-class household with a stay-at-home mother and a naval officer father. As in many Indian households, his mother cooked all meals for everyone in the family, and only ate after everyone else had been served. Bothered by this inequality as a teenager, Rawal took an interest in the kitchen, and once a week helped with food preparation so his mother could sit and eat with everyone.

Narrowly missing test scores that would allow him to attend medical school, he decided to pursue a career in hospitality. Indian culinary school takes students far beyond the kitchen; they are immersed in all aspects of food service. Further, school trains them primarily for an international audience covering a dozen cuisines, none of them Indian. To learn Indian food, Rawal apprenticed with a number of top chefs in India to hone his chops and feed his passion for spice.

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edible Santa Fe | EARLY SUMMER 2015

From there, he joined the International Sheraton group and set his sights on coming to the US. As he tells it, he came to the US by way of Detroit with one hundred dollars in his pocket, a love for college basketball, and a mission to work on the Ford campus. Quickly bored by the routine of managing a cafeteria system, Rawal left the safety

net of a corporate job to open a number of restaurants in Detroit, where he quickly developed a loyal following.

Two of his biggest fans in Detroit decided to retire to Santa Fe. Rawal says that when they left, they would call almost everyday to ask, “When are you opening a restaurant in Santa Fe?” Finally after six months of persistence, he agreed to come visit for the 2011 New Year holiday. Not having done his homework, he assumed he was heading for milder climes. Dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, he arrived at the Albuquerque airport during one of the coldest cold snaps in decades and was completely unimpressed.

Lamb Chops After two days of Santa Fe socializing at holiday parties, Rawal was charmed, but not convinced it was the place for him. Finally, in the last three hours of his visit, he agreed to meet with a realtor to look at possible restaurant properties. After visiting several, he was ready to head back to Detroit, but he and the agent decided to make one last stop at a venue two years out of service. In spite of shuttered windows and an unclear read on the readiness of the space, Rawal made a down payment on a gut feeling.

Today, that same space continues to make him, and many diners, very happy. In a whirlwind of flashing smiles, phone calls, and a flour and spice covered chef ’s coat, he visits tables to see if he his fried okra continues to please and that he has hit the perfect balance of heat and flavor in his curries. He prides himself on clever interpretations of traditional Indian dishes made from very fresh ingredients, and is always ready to charm with a good story.

544 Agua Fria Street, Santa Fe, 505-820-6440, www.raagacuisine.com WWW.EDIBLESANTAFE.COM

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Paper Dosa

Paulraj Karuppasamy and Nellie Tischler

Dhirendrau Paulraj Kumar

Theirs is a love story. Paulraj Karuppasamy and Nellie Tischler, owners and operators of the newly minted Paper Dosa, met and fell in love in San Francisco working at the critically acclaimed Dosa. Now their commitment to each other and their work, as well as a shared passion for South Indian cuisine prepared with the freshest ingredients make, one of Santa Fe’s newest restaurants brim with warm-hearted ambiance and mouth-watering aromas.

Tischler, who grew up in the Land of Enchantment, came to Santa Fe almost two years ago to be closer to her family. Karuppasamy came also.

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He grew up in Coimbatore, an industrial city in Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state in India. Karuppasamy received a bachelor's degree in culinary science and hotel management. In 1998 he worked at the Rethi resort in the Maldives with his longtime friend and coworker Senthil Kumar. Kumar answered an ad for an executive chef at the then new South Indian restaurant Dosa in San Francisco. When he got the job to run the kitchen he called Karuppasamy to come and help him.

Karuppasamy and Kumar worked together to formulate the menu and the recipes for Dosa. They ran the first location together for three years.

When the second location opened Kumar moved over and Karuppasamy continued to run the first location where he trained Dhirendrau Paulraj Kumar, who now works with him at Paper Dosa.

Karuppasamy learned to really love his native cuisine while working at Dosa; working with other South Indian chefs and access to the produce San Francisco offers. He spent every Saturday at the Alemany farmers market, where an abundance of Asian produce was sold, as well as inspiring native and seasonal fruits, vegetables, and seafood. These experiences taught Karuppasamy how to incorporate different ingredients in traditional South Indian dishes.

Karuppasamy and Tischler got married in Santa Fe in 2007. Unable to obtain a green card in the US, they moved to India in 2012.

After thirteen months of living in India Tischler returned to Santa Fe in February of 2013. Paul received his green card in May of that same year. He then returned to Dosa and worked for the next eight months.

In January 2014 he joined his wife and they started cooking for the Santa Fe public; their first event was a private five-course dinner for Valentines day, then the pop-up at MuDu Noodles. After being invited to many event's at the CCA, doing a nine-course dinner with drink pairings at Site Santa Fe and the many pop-ups, his food became well known around the city.

Chile and Onion Pakora

Paper Dosa offers a short menu which changes regularly, based on seasonally available vegetables. Karuppasamy bases his dishes on street food and South Indian home cooking. He says sourcing items like fresh curry leaves or pathar ka phool (an edible lichen) is one of his biggest challenges. While the spices often prove hard to come by, he loves the fresh vegetables the vibrant farmers market in Santa Fe affords him.

On March 17 of this year, the duo opened their doors to a line out the door that has yet to subside. Their philosophy of care and intention permeates all aspects of their work from the small fridge to the farmers market ingredients they fill it with, and from the living wages they pay their employees to the affection apparent on each staff person’s face.

551 W Cordova Road, Santa Fe, 505-930-5521, www.paper-dosa.com

Zacatecas Tacos + Tequila Daniel Marquez has always been particular about food. As a child growing up in Mexico City, he was a picky eater; today he carefully chooses ingredients and flavor combinations for the creative Mexican and Southwestern dishes served at Zacatecas Tacos + Tequila on Central Avenue in Nob Hill. When he talks about food and eating, he focuses on perception and reality. He says many people have preconceived notions of what a particular dish should be—a chile relleno, for example. In one version of this dish, he fills a roasted Anaheim pepper with canela duck confit, breads it with a light cornmeal crust, smothers it with manchamantel canela sauce, and adds a

Daniel Marquez

Mrs. J, Welcoming You Home for 50 Years!

Florence Jaramillo, Owner of Rancho de Chimayó Restaurante

1965 - 2015 300 Santa Fe County Rd. 98 Chimayó, New Mexico 505.984.2100 ranchodechimayo.com

Join Us on SEPTEMBER 19, 2015 from 1 pm for our 50th Anniversary Celebration!

WWW.EDIBLESANTAFE.COM

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drizzle of goat cheese crema. To some, this is an unexpected relleno, but Marquez takes pleasure in changing a diner’s perceptions with his tangible skills. At twenty-one, Marquez immigrated to the US, following a sweetheart to California who was there attending school.

Unsure about where to focus his energies, he decided to sign up for a culinary arts program at the College of Southern Nevada. From there, he attended the Culinary Institute of America in New York, then returned to Las Vegas to help Mark Miller open Coyote Café at the MGM Grand Hotel and Stephan Pyles at Taqueria Cañonita at the Venetian Hotel.

Duck Relleno

School of Architecture and a current student at the California College of the Arts, designed the interior of the new eatery.

Bold colors, clean lines, and lots of natural light characterize the decor of Ajiaco; a sense of design clearly runs in the family. Nubia’s dishes, from arepas to the plato del día to slice of flan de café, stand out both for their flavor and their striking presentation. Her husband describes her as intuitive about food and cooking, but it’s clear she’s also done the hard work in the kitchen to master her trade.

Ajiaco, literally, is a popular Colombian dish served as a hearty soup made with chicken, three varieties of potatoes, and flavored with guasca, an herb in the daisy family. The Sabogals meticulously choose their ingredients and, in most cases, substitutions will not do. Liliana Serrano, a Mexican waitress who has worked for the family for several years, said Colombian potatoes taste buttery, rich, and unlike any others she’s eaten. She also commented on how the corn available in the US tends to be too sweet and not exactly the right flavor for perfect arepas.

Pedro explained that many of the critical ingredients, like guasca, potatoes, and true Colombian morcilla and chorizo, he buys from a cousin who operates a specialty foods import business. Because they understand that fresh ingredients make all the difference, they seek

When Mark Kiffin invited him to open Zacatecas, he took a risk on setting up shop in Albuquerque, but in 2013 the taqueria was nominated for a James Beard Award for best new restaurant. And while the award speaks volumes, his tacos really say the most about Marquez’s particular talents.

Growing up, he says, he did not appreciate where he came from.

As an adult, he loves to draw on his experiences traveling throughout Mexico and work them into new interpretations of classic dishes. For him, so much of what he creates has to do with the origin, cultural meaning of ingredients, and how they contribute to the food of a particular place. He says, when you really understand that, you can begin to work with food to make smart and creative choices about how you evolve particular recipes—how you make them your own.

3423 Central Avenue NE, Albuquerque, 505-255-8226 www.zacatecastacos.com

Ajiaco Colombian Bistro Ajiaco Colombian Bistro, just west of Limonata and P’tit Louis Bistro, is the newest edition to a growing number of creative new eateries on Silver between Bryn Mawr Drive and Wellesley Drive in Albuquerque. Opened in fall of 2014 by proprietors Nubia and Pedro Sabogal, the restaurant offers aesthetics and flavor in abundance.

Ten years ago, Pedro, then Nubia, followed their daughter, Marcela Sierra, from Columbia to California, where she was studying. Pedro retired from a career in insurance, and he and Nubia wanted to be closer to family. Their son, Carlos Sabogal, a graduate of the UNM

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Nubia and Pedro Sabogal

DINNER SERIES

This summer, the Bavarian is pleased to present an elevated dining experience. Each Sunday from July 12 through September 27 we’ll offer a 100% locally grown three course seasonal menu that will delight your senses and benefit organic farming in our community. Each farm-to-table dinner will be paired with a speaker who is recognized for advancing the cause of locally sourced organic food. Please call or visit our website to reserve your place at the table.

Sustainable Sunday Dinners start at 5:30 each Sunday. Reservations required.

It’s not coming back.

Not his shorts and not the the water he’s wasting on the sidewalk. Long gone are the days when Santa Fe could use water without thinking.

Get comfortable with a dirty car and, when you do wash it, use a hose that automatically shuts off. It’s the law.

Save Water Santa Fe

Saving Water Is Always in Season City of Santa Fe Water Conservation Office 505.955.4225 savewatersantafe.com WWW.EDIBLESANTAFE.COM 53

sources closer to home for the basics like tomatoes, greens, and veggies. Ajiaco offers something unlike anything else in Albuquerque, authentic Colombian food prepared with care.

3216 Silver Avenue SE, Albuquerque, 505-266-2305 www.ajiacobistro.com

Bandeja Paisa Asian Pear On January 12 of this year, Eunjin Kim Seo, with the support of her husband Jason Seo, opened Asian Pear on Central Avenue between Fifth and Sixth Streets. The eatery offers a concise menu of fresh and healthy Korean dishes which draw on tradition, but are all Kim’s own recipes.

edible

presents

Green Chile Cheeseburger Smackdown

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Kim and Jason came to the US in 2001 for a graduate program in horticulture in San Francisco. Jason, the nephew of Chang An, who owns Osuna Nursery, was encouraged by his mother to pursue education and a career in the US because of a struggling economy in South Korea. The couple moved to Albuquerque in 2004 to raise their children and for Jason to take over management of Osuna Nursery.

After being a stay-at-home mom for a decade, Kim wanted to take on a professional project. In Korea, she studied with Bok-Sun Han, an internationally recognized Korean chef and cookbook author, and has always had a propensity for smart and unique takes on classic dishes. The Seos recognized that Albuquerque offers few Korean eateries, and saw an opportunity.

Korea, because of its northern latitude and rugged terrain, can not produce the diversity of fruits and vegetables common in other Asian cuisines. Korean food relies primarily on meats, pickled and fresh vegetables, and grains. For Kim, it’s all about the yang nyum, or marinade. She marinates most meats in a yang nyum which includes soy sauce, chile paste, and a number of secret ingredients.

She prepares her kimchi, a spicy pickled cabbage, in house. A fan of Japanese cuisine, she also features a homemade teriyaki marinade in a number of her dishes.

She says for food to be good, it needs to be honest. By this she means where her ingredients come from is important. When

Jason Seo, owner Eunjin Kim Seo, Annika King, Anabel Gonzalez, and Martha Sanchez.

possible, she uses organic produce, and was enthusiastic to learn about the farmers market on Saturday mornings Downtown. This commitment to quality is reflected not only the in the beautifully presented bowls and plates she serves, but also in the way she treats her customers and staff.

Every customer who walks through the door is greeted like a friend, and many have become regular customers during the short six months Asian Pear has been open.

508 Central Avenue SW, 505-766-9405 facebook.com/AsianPearAbq

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The Anasazi Restaurant and Bar Juan Bochenski, executive chef at the Anasazi Restaurant and Bar, has just helped remodel and reimagine the menus and dining areas at the downtown Santa Fe Rosewood resort, Inn of the Anasazi.

Born and raised in Argentina, Bochenski brings a wealth of experience and intelligence to his work, and exercises great compassion and empathy for his staff. As a native Spanish speaker with a strong Argentine accent (for which his staff loves to tease him), Bochenski endears himself to his kitchen and dining room crews through a common language, and an ability to balance a good sense of humor, equanimity, and authority.

Happy Hour

Monday - Saturday 2pm - 6pm & 8pm - Close @ Bar

Live Music

Friday & Saturday Nights 6pm-9pm

Check Out Our Menu Online!

109 Gold Ave Sw - Albuquerque, NM 87102 - (505) 244-3344 www.soulandvine.com

Summer Delights!

This is a great time to plant Native Grass seed, as well as many Native and Adaptive trees, shrubs and perennials.

Visit our Nurseries for inspiration, and lunch at The Kitchen if you are at our Santa Fe location.

ER

TY G YM

LIB

Juan Bochenski

www.libertygym.com no initiation fees | new members receive free personal training orientation 505.884.8012 | 2401 Jefferson NE, Albuquerque, NM 87110

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As a child in Bahía Blanca, Argentina, Bochenski cooked at home with his two grandmothers—one Argentine and the other Polish— who both taught him about the foods they grew up with, including the empanada recipe he now uses at the Anasazi. He left Argentina for London at age nineteen, after completing a professional culinary program. From there, his career took him to Australia, where he lived for ten years and started his family.

Bochenski came to Santa Fe four years ago and feels very much at home in the community. After moving around the world, and learning numerous cuisines, he increasingly feels pulled back to his culinary roots.

The new menus at the Anasazi Restaurant are traditionally Southwestern with strong Latin influences, and Bochenski has drawn on his Argentinean heritage to craft them. For example, he brings traditional Argentine grills onto the patio and grills meat in the traditional style for Sunday brunch. The patio menu also offers small bites inspired by his grandmother’s cooking, such as revuelto gramajo, chimichurri, and empanadas.

Bochenski appreciates how Argentine cuisine involves simple foods with strong flavors, as well as complicated dishes with modern techniques. “The food also reminds me of home and where I’ve been in life, and this sense of place is nice to see on a plate,” he says.

As much as he is committed to expressing his heritage through his menu, he is committed to supporting local purveyors, and can regularly be found shopping at the Santa Fe Farmers Market.

Rasa Offering organic plant-based foods and cold pressed juices, innovative detox and cleansing programs from the Ayurveda, conscious eating and live food movements.

He is excited that Anasazi Restaurant is unveiling a new design, and is proud to have played a role in creating the new menus that accompany the new look. Anasazi has added a new lounge area, which increases the bar seating and creates a smaller, more intimate area for the dining room. The lounge now features a new dedicated tequila table, where guests can take part in tequila tastings, special tequila and food pairings, and cooking classes with Bochenski.

113 Washington Ave, Santa Fe, 505-988-3030, bit.ly/WuwAMP Get Chef Juan Bochenski's recipe for roasted baby chicken with sal de pino pictured below at www.ediblesantafe.com/recipes.

815 Early Street

505 989 1288

www.rasajuice.com

Photo by Genevieve Russell at Story Portrait Media

Roasted Baby Chicken with Sal de Pino

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ALBUQUERQUE

MIUM PRE

Authentic

LO

Delicious

CA

L LY S O U R

D

EAT LOCAL GUIDE CE

colombian bistro

now open

tuesday-saturday 11am-8pm

3216 Silver SE, Albuquerque 505-266-2305, www. ajiacobistro.com

2929 Monte Vista NE, Albuquerque 505-554-1967, www.amoreabq.com

Ajiaco’s varied Colombian cuisine is influenced by a diverse flora and fauna found around Colombia.

Cultural traditions of different Colombian ethnic groups play a roll in our choice of ingredients.

New Mexico's only certified authentic, handcrafted, wood-fired Neapolitan pizza. Handmade mozzarella, dessert pizzas, local beers, Italian wines. Casual atmosphere and rooftop patio.

5

The

Brew by

villa myriam

311 Gold SW, Albuquerque 505-814-1599, www.villamyriam.com

8917 4th NW, Albuquerque 505-503-7124, www.farmandtablenm.com

5901 Wyoming NE, Albuquerque NEW: 1710 Central SW, Albuquerque 505-821-1909, www.5starburgers.com Fresh beef, free of hormones or antibiotics. Best burger in New Mexico says USA TODAY. A wide selection of sandwiches, salads, a kid’s menu, beer and wine. Happy hour 4 - 6 every day.

Family owned from farm to cup, we are steeped in three generations of coffee excellence.

A wonderful dining experience! Enjoy delectable seasonal dishes created from scratch, sourced from local farmers and our beautiful on-site farm.

300 Broadway NE, Albuquerque 505-265-4933, www.hartfordsq.com

11225 Montgomery NE, 505-271-0882 3403 Central NE, 505-266-7855 10701 Corrales NW, 505-899-7500 www.ilvicino.com

Our seasonal menu features local ingredients and changes weekly—enjoy the variety! Breakfast, lunch, and dinners-to-go. Sunday Brunch. Specialty coffee. Wonderful baked goods. Catering.

A contemporary Italian Trattoria, offers authentic Italian wood-oven pizza, entrées, salads, sandwiches, baked lasagna and more. Enjoy our own micro-brewed ales and home-brewed root beer.

Rooted in organic ingredients from our own farm and the Rio Grande Valley region. Join us at La Merienda, Wed-Sun 6-9pm, by reservation only.

125 Second NW, Albuquerque 505-923-9080, www.hotelandaluz.com

4003 Carlisle NE, Albuquerque Downtown Growers' Market every Saturday 505-884-3625, www.nmpiecompany.com

1403 Girard NE, Albuquerque 505-792-1700, www.piattininm.com

A culinary creation by Chef James Campbell Caruso, MÁS offers a fresh reinvention of traditional Spanish cuisine located in one of Albuquerque’s most iconic spaces, Hotel Andaluz.

Handmade sweet and savory pies with an emphasis on simple, pure flavors, and premium ingredients. Locally roasted coffee and espresso drinks compliment our pies.

Piattini, “small plates” in Italian, serves small and large plate Italian creations in a warm and friendly neighborhood atmosphere, using local, fresh ingredients and featuring a beer and wine bar.

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4803 Rio Grande NW, Albuquerque 505-344-9297, www.lospoblanos.com

ALBUQUERQUE eat local guide New Mexico has its own unique food traditions —from Hatch to Chimayó—and we’d like to help you find some of the area restaurants and chefs that create the distinctively New Mexico dining experience. Restaurants are chosen for this dining guide because of their emphasis on using local, seasonal ingredients in their menus and their commitment to real food.

10601 Montgomery NE, Albuquerque 505-294-9463, www.savoyabq.com

2031 Mountain NW, Albuquerque 505-766-5100, www.seasonsabq.com

California wine country in the Northeast Heights.

Farm-to-table dining from the area's best farms.

Wine tastings and happy hour.

Oak fired grill, local ingredients, and the best patio dining Old Town has to offer!

109 Gold, Albuquerque 505-244-3344, www.soulandvine.com

88 Louisiana SE, Albuquerque 505-268-0206, www.talinmarket.com

600 Central SE, Albuquerque 505-248-9800, www.thegrovecafemarket.com

Come experience traditional American-style tapas.

We serve beautiful wines and local craft beers.

We invite you to fall in love with our ambiance, food, drink, and staff. Cheers!

Talin T-Bar Traditional flavors Made quickly and with love Ramen. Thursdays and Fridays: Dumplings!

The Grove features a bustling café experience serving breakfast, brunch and lunch. Local, seasonal, organic foods, Intelligentsia, coffee and tea, beer, wine, and signature sweets.

2933 Monte Vista NE, Albuquerque 505-433-2795, theshopbreakfastandlunch.com

1828 Central SW, Albuquerque, 505-842-5507 www.vinaigretteonline.com

3109 Central NE, Albuquerque 505-268-9250, www.yannisandlemoni.com

Come in for breakfast or lunch, creative American classics with Latin and creole influences, made from local and organic ingredients.

Our salad-centric philosophy focuses on bold flavor combinations and savory proteins to compliment a huge variety of organic greens.

Yanni’s and Lemoni Lounge, located in Nob Hill for twenty years, serve the freshest seafood, steaks, chops, pasta, gourmet pizza, and homemade desserts.

Support these restaurants, and support local food communities.

LOS LUNAS

3423 Central NE, Albuquerque 505-255-8226, www.zacatecastacos.com Zacatecas features recipes handed down from generation to generation with flavors that are true to the history and culture of Mexico.

Zacatecas is a real taqueria.

3009 Central NE, Albuquerque 505-254-9462, www.zincabq.com

5 Thomas, Los Lunas 505-866-1936, www.greenhousebistro.com

A three level bistro featuring contemporary cuisine with a French flair. Dinner daily, weekend brunch, fabulous cocktails, and tasty bar bites!

Good food always puts you in a good mood!

Fresh, seasonal ingredients provide the basis for a meal that promotes healthy living.

WWW.EDIBLESANTAFE.COM

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SANTA FE

502 Old Santa Fe Trail, Santa Fe 505-469-2345, www.bangbitesf.com Fresh. Local. Tasty.

A bunch of food enthusiasts obsessed with serving the very best crafted food we can get and delivering it the way it was meant to be enjoyed.

233 Canyon Road, Santa Fe 505-820-7996, www.caffegrecosantafe.com

2860 Cerrillos Road, Santa Fe 505-471-0043, www.drfieldgoods.com

Caffe Greco is nestled on the first block of historic Canyon Road boasting a beautiful patio, authentic New Mexican cuisine, sandwiches, salads, Lavazza coffee drinks, and winner of Local Flavor's reader's choice best Frito pie.

Mouthwatering creative daily specials, locally sourced produce, house-made sausages and meats butchered daily, rotating selection of fifteen beers on tap, hand muddled sake cocktails, executive chef-owned and operated.

5 222 North Guadalupe, Santa Fe 505-954-1635, fireandhopsgastropub.com Upscale pub food in a casual setting. Eleven craft beers on tap, select wines, and artisanal ciders.

604 North Guadalupe, Santa Fe 505-983-8977, www.5starburgers.com

95 West Marcy, Santa Fe 505-984-1091, www.ilpiattosantafe.com

Fresh beef, free of hormones or antibiotics. Best burger in New Mexico says USA TODAY. A wide selection of sandwiches, salads, a kid’s menu, beer, and wine. Happy hour 4 - 6 every day.

A local favorite since 1996, boasting an authentic Italian farmhouse experience, sourcing its ingredients directly from local farms, dairies, and ranches. Extensive wine list.

A NA SAZ I RESTAURANT 321 W San Francisco, Santa Fe 505-986-8700, www.ilvicino.com

113 Washington, Santa Fe 505-988-3236, www.rosewoodhotels.com 500 Sandoval, Santa Fe 505-466-1391, www.infiernosantafe.com

A contemporary Italian Trattoria, offers authentic Italian wood-oven pizza, entrées, salads, sandwiches, baked lasagna and more. Enjoy our own micro-brewed ales and home-brewed root beer.

Great food, unique wine list, international beers on draft, patio seating, late night dinning, happy hour—come see why Infierno is the place to be.

428 Agua Fria, Santa Fe 505-982-1272, www.josephsofsantafe.com

100 East San Francisco, Santa Fe 505-982-5511, www.lafondasantafe.com

Joseph's is the latest incarnation of Chef Joseph Wrede's mission to bring together the finest ingredients, artistic vision, and delightful, surprising flavor to every dish.

Showcasing contemporary interpretations of old favorites with New World influences and classic New Mexican cuisine, accompanied by an award-winning wine list.

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The recently redesigned restaurant and bar celebrates the creative spirit of Santa Fe with a new chic, sophisticated design that complements the buildings’s legendary architecture. Featuring Southwestern cuisine with regional Latin influences.

L’OLIVIER 229 Galisteo, Santa Fe 505-989-1919, www.loliviersantafe.com Chef Xavier Grenet creates elegant and refreshing cuisine combining classic French culinary techniques with southwestern flavors and ingredients.

SANTA FE

CAFFÉ BAR TRATTORIA

228 Old Santa Fe Trail, Santa Fe 505-989-1904, www.mangiamopronto.com

901 West San Mateo, Santa Fe 505-820-3121, www.midtownbistrosf.com

1494 Cerrillos, Santa Fe 505-983-1411, www.mudunoodles.com

Enjoy fresh, authentic, Italian street food; house-made gelato; Lavazza espresso; and wine & beer all day long on our beautiful sidewalk patio.

Midtown bistro, featuring executive chef Angel Estrada, offers Santa Fe gourmet fine dining with a Southwest flair.

Seasonal Pan Asian cuisine featuring organic and natural meats, accommodating a wide range of dietary preferences; a beloved Santa Fe institution for seventeen years.

505 Cerrillos and 1098 South St. Francis, Santa Fe 505-982-9692, www.ohoriscoffee.com

544 Agua Fria Road, Santa Fe 505-820-6440, www.raagacuisine.com

The original specialty, local micro-roasted coffee source since 1984. Along with our fresh beans, we serve espresso, pour-over, teas, pastries, donuts, burritos, chocolates, and more.

Raaga (“sweet melody”) prides itself on offering superior taste and flavor. With each mouthwatering bite, guests can distinguish and savor the finest spices and the freshest herbs.

815 Early, Santa Fe 505-989-1288, www.rasajuice.com

20 Buffalo Thunder, Santa Fe 505-819-2056, www.buffalothunderresort.com

An organic juice bar and café committed to offering delicious plant-based foods, cold pressed juices, and innovative cleansing and detox programs.

Red Sage at Buffalo Thunder is perfect for your next romantic night out. Fare rotates seasonally. Enjoy the extensive wine list.

304 Johnson, Santa Fe 505-989-1166, www.terracottawinebistro.com

653 Canyon Road, Santa Fe 505-982-4353, www.compoundrestaurant.com

A smart, casual restaurant located in a charming one-hundred-year-old adobe.

Seasonally-changing, globally-inspired cuisine and an extensive, valued-priced wine list.

The Compound Restaurant has a heritage rich in history and regional influences. Chef Mark Kiffin continues to preserve a landmark tradition of elegant food and service at his Canyon Road institution.

300 Santa Fe County Road 98, Chimayó 505-984-2100, www.ranchodechimayo.com Celebrating our fiftieth anniversary this year as a treasured part of New Mexico’s history and heritage—a timeless tradition. Serving worldrenowned authentic New Mexican cuisine in an exceptional setting since 1965.

505 Cerrillos, Santa Fe 505-780-5073, www.talinmarket.com Talin T-Bar Traditional flavors Made quickly and with love Ramen. Monday: Dumplings!

709 Don Cubero Alley, Santa Fe, 505-820-9205 www.vinaigretteonline.com Our salad-centric philosophy focuses on bold flavor combinations and savory proteins to compliment a huge variety of organic greens.

WWW.EDIBLESANTAFE.COM

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PLACITAS

TAOS

nt to a w e W rom hear f ! you

Creative Casual Cuisine

221 Highway 165, Placitas 505-771-0695, www.bladesbistro.com

124 F Bent Street, Taos 575-758-0606

Chef and owner Kevin Bladegroen brings together fine and fresh ingredients, artistic vision, and European flair in every dish. Sunday brunch, fabulous cocktails, and an award-winning wine list.

THE BEST COFFEE IN TAOS! Fair trade, organic espresso, chai frappes, smoothies, gelato, and pastries. Featuring the only ROCKBAR ever! Come on in and drop a rock in YOUR drink!

TAOS

5 125 Paseo Del Pueblo Norte, Taos 575-758-1977, www.taosinn.com Serving lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch.

Patio dining, fresh local foods, award-wining wines, and margaritas. Try our signature chile rellenos.

1032 Paseo Del Pueblo Sur, Taos 575-758-8484, www.5starburgers.com Fresh beef, free of hormones or antibiotics. Best burger in New Mexico says USA TODAY. A wide selection of sandwiches, salads, a kid’s menu, beer, and wine. Happy hour 4 - 6 every day.

edible

Reader’s Survey We want to know you better, hear your feedback, and find out what content you enjoy most.

Take the survey now. ediblesantafe.com/survey Participants are entered to win gift certificates to some of our favorite local restaurants.

Calling all

TAOS DINER I & II

Farmers and Chefs!

TAOS, NEW MEXICO

103 East Taos Plaza, Taos 575-758-1994, www.parcht.com

908 Paseo del Pueblo Norte, 575-758-2374 216B Paseo del Pueblo Sur, 575-751-1989 www.taosdinner.com

/pärCHt/= the physical condition resulting from the need to drink wine, eat good food, and shop…in Taos.

Home to New Mexican and American homemade, homegrown, and organic breakfast, lunch, and dinners. Gluten-free choices. Beer and wine.

Field-to-Fork Project

Chef/Farmer Mixer This June—RSVP at:

ediblesantafe.com/fieldtofork 100 Kachina Road, Taos Ski Valley 575-776-8020, www.thebavarian.com Genuine Bavarian cuisine, German beers on tap, and magnificent mountain views make the Bavarian the perfect place to gather after a day outdoors in the cool mountain air of Taos Ski Valley.

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103 East Taos Plaza, Taos 575-758-8866, www.thegorgebarandgrill.com Our menu is straightforward yet eclectic, and chock full of favorites made from scratch using as many fresh and local ingredients as possible.

edible notables ALBUQUERQUE MUSEUM COMMUNITY DAYS: SUSTAINABILITY Community Days take place on the third Sunday of the month from 12pm to 4pm throughout the summer. Community Days are a series of programs developed in conjunction with Albuquerque Museum’s new exhibition, Only in Albuquerque. These programs are designed to help visitors make connections to the exhibition’s main themes—spirited, courageous, resourceful, and innovative. The first Community Day, held on June 21, will focus on sustainability where a number of partner organizations will explore our deep, rooted, and personal connections to food. edible has teamed up with La Montañita Co-op to bring some of Albuquerque’s finest chefs—Jonathan Perno of Los Poblanos and Jason Greene of The Grove—to demonstrate cooking techniques that focus on sustainable and seasonal food.

SeedBroadcast, a nonprofit that encourages communities to keep local food and culture alive will be on site with the Mobile Seed Story Broadcasting Station to gather and share stories. Throughout the day you can also take part in an ongoing performance by the Vecinos Artist Collaborative. www.albuquerquemuseum.org

out to move our conversations in new and unforeseen directions. In Unprocessed, Kimble raises the bar for literary food writing one more notch, while exploring how the raw becomes cooked, why whole foods matter, and, not least of all, how the money we spend shapes our communities.

—Gary Paul Nabhan

EDIBLE SANTA FE PRESENTS: THE GREEN CHILE CHEESEBURGER SMACKDOWN Let the Smackdown Begin! edible Santa Fe proudly takes the reigns of the Green Chile Cheeseburger Smackdown to bring you some of New Mexico’s most notorious burgers and world class chefs. Last year’s event sold out and this year promises more contenders, more beverages, and more fun. Restaurants will compete for the chance to reign as the City Different’s Green Chile Cheeseburger Champ. The first round of voting to choose the lucky seven restaurants begins July 27. The event is slated for Thursday, September 10 from 5:30pm to 8:30pm in Santa Fe. Get all the details at www.edibleSmackdown.com.

A YEAR UNPROCESSED AN INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR Gary Paul Nabhan talks to edible Baja Arizona’s managing editor, Megan Kimble, about her book, Unprocessed: My City-Dwelling Year of Reclaiming Real Food (William Morrow 2015).

While the amount of reportage on local food production and procurement has increased exponentially over the last two decades, the amount of elegant, compelling, and memorable prose about food has not. Megan has an graduate degree in creative writing from the University of Arizona, as well as years of experience as a working journalist; as she interviews a range of farmers, ranchers, millers, winemakers, and beekeepers, she coaxes out of her interviewees original, honest information about their lives and livelihoods, while at the same time embedding them into a literary narrative as cohesive as a good novel. As managing editor of edible Baja Arizona, Megan has already become a voice in the food world that thought leaders seek

Why did you write this book?

I’m not entirely sure why I stopped eating processed food. There was the environment—I’d come of age in an era when global warming was all but assumed, when natural resources were suddenly scarce and our food system increasingly dependent on fossil fuels. There were political reasons, as I considered the enormous influence food companies wield in our national politics. And there were economic reasons—I wanted to spend what little money I earned endorsing my local food system, one that I hoped was visible, accountable, and scalable. I was also broke, tired of reading about what I should do. I wanted, instead, to explore what I could do, given limited resources of money and time.

I also happen to love process—how this becomes that, and how that gets from there to here. It’s why I got into journalism—to figure out how the world works, unseen and assumed. I love digging into the seemingly simple questions of our food system. How does a melon get from the soil in Sonora to a Safeway supermarket? How does muscle become meat? These are no longer simple questions with simple answers and I wrote Unprocessed to start to untangle these networks and to understand how I might sustain myself just a little closer to home.

Read the full interview at: www.ediblesantafe.com/unprocessed WWW.EDIBLESANTAFE.COM

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last bite STRIKE'S 8 LANES RASPBERRY-CHIPOTLE TEQUILA COOLER Recipe from Enrique Guerrero of Bang Bite, Strike Bowl & Brew, and 500 Market Community Bistro. Read about these eateries on page 10.

Spice up your cocktail with adobo sauce and your sure to roll a strike.

Serves 8 Lemon Simple Syrup 1 cup sugar Zest of 1/2 lemon 1/3 cup lemon juice Chipotle Salt 5 tablespoons chipotle powder 3 tablespoons kosher salt Cooler 12 ounces raspberry puree 12 ounces silver tequila (I like Chamucos Tequila) 4 ounces lemon juice 4 ounces lime juice 1 ounce chipotle puree (just the adobo sauce

from the canned chipotles) 6 ounces simple syrup For the simple syrup, in a saucepan over medium-high heat bring to a boil sugar, 1 cup water, and lemon zest. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 5 - 7 minutes. Strain and cool. Stir in lemon juice. This will make more than you need, so refrigerate for up to two weeks in a sealed container, Mix chipotle with salt in a sealable container.

For the cooler, stir together the raspberry puree, tequila, lemon juice, lime juice, the chipotle puree, and 6 ounces simple syrup.

Moisten the edge of the cocktail glass with a reserved lemon wedge. Dip in the chipotle salt. Fill the glasses with ice, and then pour over the raspberry-chipotle cooler.

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Anybody

who doesn’t think that the best hamburger place in the world is in their hometown is a: a) nincompoop

d) dunderhead

b) numskull

e) fool...

c) schnook

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THE DAUGHTER OF THE REGIMENT RIGOLETTO SALOME

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LA FINTA GIARDINIERA COLD MOUNTAIN

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Composer Jennifer Higdon Librettist Gene Scheer

Robert Godwin photo

JULY 3 – AUGUST 29

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