Early Summer 2018: Groundswell by edible New Mexico

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SANTA FE ®· ALBUQUERQUE · TAOS THE STORY OF LOCAL FOOD, SEASON BY SEASON IN NEW MEXICO

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groundswell THE WOMEN & FOOD ISSUE

ISSUE 56 · EARLY SUMMER · JUNE / JULY 2018

photo: doug merriam

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FA RM I N SPI R ED C UISIN E

GROUNDSWELL: JUNE / JULY DEPARTMENTS 2

GRIST FOR THE MILL By Willy Carleton and Candolin Cook

41 EDIBLE CRAFT COCKTAIL Cactus Heart by Quinn Stephenson

ON THE COVER

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42 EDIBLE COMMUNITY

Women of Radiance by Julia Mandeville

SANTA FE ®· ALBUQUERQUE · TAOS

CONTRIBUTORS

LOCAL HEROES

EDIBLE TRADITIONS

88 LAST BITE

BACK OF THE HOUSE

AT THE CHEF'S TABLE Nourishing Simplicity by Jenn Shapland

FACES OF FOOD Women Farming in the South Valley by Robin Babb

FORAGED Spruce Tips by Ellen Zachos

BEHIND THE BOTTLE Chefs Talk Wine with Carrie Eagle

Cherries and Apricots

81 SOURCE GUIDE / EAT LOCAL GUIDE

Eat with your Hands, Speak with your Food by Candolin Cook

46 COOKING FRESH

Marie Yniguez, Jane Stacey, Sarah Wentzel-Fisher

Attending Grain School by Deborah Madison

THE STORY OF LOCAL FOOD, SEASON BY SEASON IN NEW MEXICO

#EDIBLENM

Rose Hip Cordial by Stephanie Cameron

FEATURES

MEMBER OF EDIBLE COMMUNITIES

groundswell THE WOMEN & FOOD ISSUE

ISSUE 56 · EARLY SUMMER · JUNE / JULY 2018

56 NATIVE SISTERS By Roxanne Swentzell

58 WHERE MANY GARDENS GET THEIR START

Annamaria O'Brien of Dolina. Photo by Douglas Merriam.

Kathi Caldwell and Rio Valley Greenhouses by Marjory Sweet

62 ADD THE AGRICULTURE INDUSTRY TO THE #METOO MOVEMENT By Sayrah Namaste and Florencia Asbury

68 #CHEFLIFE

Seven Badass Women Talk About Their Kitchens Virginia Scharff, Moderator and Introduction · Briana Olson, Transcription WWW.EDIBLENM.COM

GRIST FOR THE MILL PUBLISHERS Bite Size Media, LLC

In this issue of edible, we recognize a few of the hard-working, creative women who are shaping New Mexico’s cuisine. We note their work among an increasingly audible chorus of voices demanding equity and respect—a groundswell of long-building efforts born generations prior—to celebrate the positive gains but also to highlight the many steps that remain on the path toward equality. We seek stories among the increasing number of women who have taken leadership roles in historically male-dominated professions. We celebrate their achievements with a clear eye on the ongoing issues of harassment, wage disparity, and societal preconceptions of traditional gender roles that not only make these women’s work all the more impressive, but also point to the long path toward solving these issues that remains. This is by no means a comprehensive portrait of the roles women play in our state’s food economy. There are many more farmers, chefs, restaurateurs, and food advocates doing important work, not to mention the many women who work as ranchers, dairywomen, front-of-the-house workers, policy makers, and food brokers shaping our culinary landscape daily. But this is a start, and we at edible pledge to continue telling their stories in every issue. We encourage you to take an active role in supporting these women-owned and womenled businesses and organizations through your patronage, advocacy, and word-of-mouth recommendations. We call on the many supportive and proactive men of the food industry to act as allies and to speak up when they see harassment and discrimination. And we encourage the diverse women in leadership roles in these communities to “link arms” (as restaurateur Cherie Montoya says in our “#Cheflife” feature) with women who are just starting out or are in less powerful positions to ensure that we continue to lift each other up. We are glad, in our own small way, to spotlight a handful of women here and to let them know we are cheering them on.

Stephanie and Walt Cameron

EDITORS Willy Carleton and Candolin Cook

COPY EDITORS Margaret Marti and Briana Olson

DESIGN AND LAYOUT Stephanie Cameron

PHOTO EDITOR Stephanie Cameron

EVENT COORDINATORS Natalie Donnelly and Gina Riccobono

DIGITAL CONTENT MANAGER Joshua Hinte

VIDEO PRODUCER Walt Cameron

SALES AND MARKETING Kate Collins, Melinda Esquibel, and Gina Riccobono

CONTACT US Mailing Address: 3301-R Coors Boulevard NW #152 Albuquerque, NM 87120 info@ediblesantafe.com www.ediblesantafe.com Phone: 505-375-1329

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Willy Carleton and Candolin Cook, Editors

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Stephanie and Walt Cameron, Publishers

Bite Size Media, LLC publishes edible Santa Fe six times a year. We distribute throughout central and northern New Mexico and nationally by

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subscription. Subscriptions are $32 annually. Printed at Courier Graphics Corporation Phoenix, Arizona No part of this publication may be used without the written permission of the publisher. © 2018 All rights reserved.

edible Santa Fe | EARLY SUMMER 2018

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A TASTE OF AUTHENTICITY RED CHILE MADE FROM SCRATCH SINCE 1926

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CONTRIBUTORS FLORENCIA ASBURY Florencia Asbury is originally from Hobbs. A mother of six girls, she works for the College Assistance Migrant Program at the University of New Mexico, is the secretary of the Recuerda a Cesar Chavez Committee, and is the granddaughter of New Mexico farmworkers. ROBIN BABB Robin Babb is the Food + Drink editor at the Alibi. She loves writing about the farmers and ranchers of New Mexico and the particular environmental issues they face. When she's not writing, she's usually either in the kitchen or the mountains, getting lost and enjoying it. STEPHANIE CAMERON Stephanie Cameron was raised in Albuquerque and earned a degree in fine arts at the University of New Mexico. After photographing, testing, and designing a cookbook in 2011, she and her husband Walt began pursuing Edible Communities and they found edible Santa Fe in their backyard. Today, Cameron is the art director, head photographer, marketing guru, publisher, and owner of edible Santa Fe. CANDOLIN COOK Candolin Cook is a history doctoral candidate at the University of New Mexico, an associate editor for the New Mexico Historical Review, and editor of edible Santa Fe. On Saturdays, you can find her selling Vida Verde Farm produce at Albuquerque's Downtown Growers' Market. Follow her farm life on Instagram @vidaverdefarmabq and @candolin. DEBORAH MADISON Deborah Madison is a cookbook writer and former chef who came back from Grain School in January enthusiastic and ready to bake. SAYRAH NAMASTE Sayrah Namaste is the program director of the American Friends Service Committee New Mexico, which trains small-scale organic farmers and incubates farmer cooperatives across the state. She serves on the Recuerda a Cesar Chavez Committee and was a boycott organizer for the farmworker union FLOC.

edible Santa Fe | EARLY SUMMER 2018

BRIANA OLSON Briana Olson teaches English at CNM, copyedits for edible Santa Fe, and is lead editor for The New Farmer’s Almanac, a miscellany of writings and art by farmers, ecologists, and other land-loving types. Her writing has appeared in Salt Hill and Pindeldyboz, among other places, and she enjoys long mountain walks, taking risks in the kitchen, and seeking out new and interesting things to eat, from Bangkok to Albuquerque. VIRGINIA SCHARFF Virginia Scharff is a historian and novelist, and Distinguished Professor of History at the University of New Mexico. JENN SHAPLAND Jenn Shapland is a nonfiction writer living in New Mexico. Her work has appeared in Tin House, THE Magazine, Electric Literature, and elsewhere. Shapland teaches creative writing at the Institute of American Indian Arts, and she designs and makes clothing for Agnes in Santa Fe. Her first book, The Autobiography of Carson McCullers, will be published in 2019 by Tin House Books. MARJORY SWEET Marjory Sweet has been growing vegetables in Albuquerque’s South Valley since 2011. She owns and operates Otter Farm and her produce can be found at many local restaurants, as well as the Downtown Growers’ Market. She also co-owns Rosebar, a farm-to-table catering company, and hosts a rigorously seasonal dinner series that celebrates local products. @rosebarfoodandfarm @otterfarm_abq ROXANNE SWENTZELL Roxanne Swentzell is a member of Santa Clara Pueblo. She co-founded the nonprofit Flowering Tree Permaculture Institute, which works with sustainability and cultural preservation. Swentzell is a sculptress and owns the Tower Gallery in Pojoaque. She also builds, homeschools her grandchildren, teaches sculpting, runs a small farm, and partakes in the ceremonial life of the pueblo. www.roxanneswentzell.net ELLEN ZACHOS Ellen Zachos is the author of seven books, including The Wildcrafted Cocktail and Backyard Foraging: 65 Familiar Plants You Didn’t Know You Could Eat. She also works with RemyUSA, teaching foraged mixology workshops across the US for The Botanist Gin. Zachos shares recipes and tips about foraging at www.backyardforager.com.

LOCAL HEROES An edible Local Hero is an exceptional individual or organization working to create innovative, vibrant, and resilient local food systems in New Mexico. Last fall, edible readers nominated and voted for their favorite food artisans, growers, and advocates in nearly two dozen categories—including six new awards. Each issue of edible will contain interviews with several of the winners, spotlighting the important and exciting work they do. It is imperative to the local food movement that we come together as a community to support each other, our local economy, and our environment. Please join us in thanking these local heroes for being at the forefront of that effort.

marie yniguez SLOW ROASTED BOCADILLOS BEST CHEF, ALBUQUERQUE Photos by Stacey M. Adams

Chef Marie Yniguez of Slow Roasted Bocadillos was tired of chasing others’ dreams when she decided to open her own business. Although Yniguez has developed a variety of cooking styles over the years, what keeps people returning to Slow Roasted is her flair for flavor and her commitment to sourcing local, quality ingredients. With a passion for 6

edible Santa Fe | EARLY SUMMER 2018

traditional New Mexican cuisine, Chef Yniguez is internationally recognized for her creative cooking on Food Network’s Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and as a 2017 Chopped winner. She believes we have a responsibility to our community and shows her gratitude by participating in local fundraising events and through food donations and sponsorships.

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Top row: 505 Philly with slow-roasted beef, green chile, fire-roasted bell peppers, and buttered mushrooms. Middle and bottom rows: Duke City Reuben with corned beef, housemade kraut, and chipotle 1,000 Island dressing.

edible Santa Fe | EARLY SUMMER 2018

How did you get to where you are now? What’s the backstory, and what was the moment that brought you to your current work? Pure luck! But honestly, I put in the work. I started as a dishwasher,

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I was a server, and now here I am! There was a moment I realized I was tired of working for someone else. Luckily, I have an awesome wife and awesome daughter who support me. We were able to come together to make these dreams come true. What makes Bocadillos sandwiches so special? ALL THE LOVE and time we put into them!! What’s the last thing you ate that made you say “wow”? Those Goat Cheese and Cherry Waffles at La Waffleria! But my wife made me chicken tacos the other night that I couldn't stop eating! What is a local food issue that is important to you? Supporting our local farmers. People don't buy enough local produce/ honey/flowers/herbs/etc. from local growers. What gets you fired up? My dope customers! Also, talking with other local chefs, seeing what we are all doing, and all of the great press we are getting! What was the best part about being on the Food Network’s Chopped? What was the worst?

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The best part was being chosen out of thousands of people. I had the opportunity to make my friends, family, and state proud by showing everyone what New Mexico is all about. The worst part was selling out of food after the show aired because we couldn't keep up with all of the new business. There were times we had to turn people away, which was such a bummer. Fill in the Blank: When I make ANYTHING, I always add all of the love in my heart . . . and cumin to make it extra delicious. I am most proud of my crew when it comes to my work and my passion because they have full confidence in my ideas and I have full confidence in their ideas. My favorite thing about New Mexico is New Mexico! What else can I say! Is there anything else you'd like to share with edible readers? Keep eating local! Keep trying new places! You might discover your favorite place. New address: 200 Lomas, Suite 110, Albuquerque, 505-243-3995, www.bocadillos505.com

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LOCAL HEROES

jane stacey OLLA AWARD, LOCAL FOOD HERO Photo by Stephanie Cameron

Jane Stacey is program director for Cooking with Kids, Inc., and has worked for the organization from its beginnings, twenty-two years ago. She has co-created programming and curriculum, and supported CWK educators who are the heartbeat of the program. She appreciates working with the women and men who make school food for so many of Santa Fe’s children, but who do not make the rules for the National School Lunch Program that funds it. Jane has the great fortune of being a mother to two inspirational daughters. She loves apples, dogs, and watching the light change. 10

edible Santa Fe | EARLY SUMMER 2018

What was your reaction to having the community select you as this year’s Olla Award winner? I was both flabbergasted and tickled. I have been given so much more than I gave. How did you get to where you are now? What’s the backstory, and what was the moment that brought you to your current work? While earning an education degree, I became a baker and pastry chef. I fell in love with the creative and intuitive aspects of working with food.

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Later, on the East Coast, I went to cooking school and then had the amazing experience of doing catering, food styling, and recipe development for Martha Stewart. Working behind the scenes was fascinating and fun. After moving to New Mexico and having children, I met Lynn Walters just as Cooking with Kids was being born. So for more than twenty years, I’ve been able combine my passion for food with meaningful education for kids. Why should kids know where their food comes from and how to prepare it? Kids should know about food because food connects all of us to each other in such a basic way. Food is entwined with the stories of who we are. I find it interesting that there is widespread concern about exercise and diet, but much less emphasis on learning how to prepare food and nurture ourselves and each other. As a culture, we are focused on the “fix.” With the myriad food choices we make every day, it’s both satisfying and grounding to be able to know something about the food you are eating, where and how it grows, and to savor those details. Food is one of the strongest ways we can build and enjoy healthy communities. How has being a part of Cooking with Kids enriched your professional and/or personal life? Cooking with Kids has been woven into so many aspects of my life since I first met Lynn Walters and heard about the work she wanted to do. After years of working in the food industry, it felt so right to be in the classroom with kids. When kids are given the chance to learn by doing, are allowed some choice and given real responsibility, there are so many joyful moments to notice. Children's enthusiasm and curiosity is contagious, so my own curiosity and enthusiasm has grown, too. C

What other local food issues are important to you?

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I am interested in learning about the complex strands of issues involving food access and income disparity. Tell us about your life outside of Cooking with Kids. What else are you involved in? I’m pretty much a homebody. I love exploring the nooks and crannies of this extraordinary town [Santa Fe] and its surroundings. I love gardening and I garden poorly . . . but I am learning. What question do people always ask you, and what question would you like them to ask instead? People always ask me about recipes. But I wish they’d ask me about how to cook and how to talk about this question: "What is good food?” Another question people ask is, “Why can’t schools make better food for kids?” I wish they’d ask, “Why have we developed a food system that does not value what we feed our children?"

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Is there anything else you’d like to share with edible readers? I have never doubted the meaningfulness, the truths in the work that Cooking with Kids does. While there is so much turmoil in the world of education and in the world in general, Cooking with Kids really does provide a bright spot in so many kids’ days. www.cookingwithkids.org

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LOCAL HEROES

sarah wentzel-fisher BEST FOOD WRITER

Photo by Stephanie Cameron

Sarah Wentzel-Fisher, executive director of the Quivira Coalition, has worked for nearly a decade in food systems and agricultural and environmental planning as a way to cultivate healthy, enduring communities. She is a committed champion of the local food movement and of resilient agriculture in New Mexico. She co-authored Agrarian Apprenticeship, a guidebook of best practices distilled from a survey of agricultural training programs across the country. Wentzel-Fisher is on the board of the Rio Grande Agricultural Land Trust and was an editor for edible Santa Fe from 2012 to 2017. In her free time, she enjoys visiting farms and ranches, experimenting in her kitchen, and keeping chickens in her backyard. Readers selected Wentzel-Fisher’s winter 2016 article “A Taste of Love and Laughter: Aceto Balsamico of Monticello,” about Old Monticello Farm’s communal grape harvest, as the edible Local Hero article of the year.

lands. We foster ecological, economic, and social health through education, innovation, and collaboration. More specifically, this means we work with ranchers to improve land management strategies for watershed and soil health, and to train the next generation of food producers.

How did you get to where you are now? What’s the backstory, and what was the moment that brought you to your current work?

My path has taken me many directions, but it’s always primarily been traveled by companions and colleagues who care deeply about the culture, people, and land of New Mexico. I’ve done everything from front desk work at tax offices to set dressing for the movies to archiving New Mexico treasures to teaching art classes to kids. In graduate school at the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of New Mexico, I was fortunate to work with Tim Castillo and Esteban Arellano on a research project in Dixon in 2009. This project inspired me to think more deeply about food and agriculture in New Mexico. Since then, I’ve managed to hold all manner of jobs related to culturally and environmentally improving our regional food systems.

I’ve been the executive director at the Quivira Coalition since January 2017. For those who aren’t familiar with the organization, the Quivira Coalition builds soil, biodiversity, and resilience on arid working

Why do you think your article “A Taste of Love and Laughter: Aceto Balsamico of Monticello” resonated with edible readers? The best food is grown, gathered, and shared in community—it also

edible Santa Fe | EARLY SUMMER 2018

is a reflection of place. I tried to tell a story that captured these two big ideas. Everybody eats. Second only to breathing and drinking, eating is the most fundamental activity of existence. Food becomes a tool and metaphor within culture and community. Historically, land development patterns are directly linked to availability of food sources. Types of available food, the practices of cultivation and land stewardship, and food preparation and preservation directly reflect the culture of a place. Often agriculture and food production require a collaborative effort by many community members. Though the primary focus of these activities may be food production, often the beneficial byproduct is routine community gatherings that provide forums for discussion of other issues that the community must face as a group. As a former editor of edible Santa Fe, what do you think makes for a good piece of food writing? Personal stories with gory details make for the best reading, in my opinion. I really love when I get a sense of a writer’s personality and can almost taste what’s being served. You’ve written many articles for edible over the years, what is your favorite article and what was your favorite on-assignment experience? This is an impossible question to answer! From stories that come out of short phone interviews, to long road trips for travel issues, I always make new friends and learn something when I write for edible. Traveling to the northwest corner of the state to report on food from Farmington to Gallup presented some wonderful surprises, including a blizzard that landed us at the Sweet Meats Butcher Shop that catered to the cultural needs of Navajo and Hispanic communities in the area, and the last two dinner reservations on a Saturday night at the Ancient Way Cafe in Ramah.

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What local food issues are most important to you? While I really try to see how local food issues are connected, I’m most interested in how we can improve the situation for ranchers and farmers who are committed to engaging in local markets and who are working to build soil health, and to the folks working to improve the infrastructure for those markets. Secondarily, I’m interested in how we can reduce and better reuse industrial food waste in New Mexico. What is your favorite guilty food pleasure? I’m a firm believer that all eating should be a celebration of what’s being consumed, even if its ingredients are of questionable origin. If you’re asking if I eat anything that I know would raise an eyebrow, I do love to put just about any plant in my mouth when I’m on a good long hike, just to understand what that place tastes like. Is there anything else you’d like to share with edible readers? Editing edible magazine was one of the most rewarding jobs I’ve ever done. From farmers and chefs who have amazing stories to share, to the writers who put heart and soul into capturing them, to readers like you who wait in hungry anticipation for the next issue, in my opinion, you’re the greatest group of folks around. WWW.EDIBLENM.COM

EDIBLE TRADITIONS

attending grain school EXPLORATION INTO THE WORLD OF HERITAGE GRAINS By Deborah Madison Â· Photos by Nanna L. Meyer

edible Santa Fe | EARLY SUMMER 2018

Imagine a room full of farmers, millers, bakers, and eaters. We’re all ages, everyone is energetic and friendly, and we’re at the annual University of Colorado − Colorado Springs (UCCS) Grain School course to learn about ancient grains. Colorado Springs is cold in January, so our morning breakfasts of breads, pastries, cereals, and grits—all whole grains and many of them old varieties —are especially warming. In spite of eating a great deal of grain for three days, we find that it does not weigh us down. Rather, we feel light and well nourished. About six of us from Santa Fe attend as students, and two others, Miguel Santistevan and Emigdio Ballon, are speakers.

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Nanna Meyer heads up Grain School. Smart and warm, she is a professor at UCCS and has introduced admirable changes in the foodscape of the college, such as replacing the campus food service with one that has more local concerns. Meyer describes Grain School as a “living, learning laboratory that combines experiential learning along the grain chain, integrating farmers, millers, bakers, chefs, brewers, and educators and scientists.” She promises that at the very least we will build new friendships and kindle a passion for diverse grains. And we do. The Rocky Mountain Seed Alliance (RMSA) co-hosts the conference with UCCS. Their involvement makes us think about the seeds we use, and the benefits of growing with seeds that have been tested in the arid southwest. (My small garden this year will be planted with these Rocky Mountain tested seeds.) Ancient grains are a group of grains and seeds that have not changed the way more widespread cereals such as modern varieties of corn, rice, and wheat have, due to selective breeding. Examples of ancient grains include wheats domesticated over ten thousand years ago (einkorn, emmer, and spelt), old varieties of barley and rye, ancient corns, amaranth, quinoa, sorghum, buckwheat, teff, rice, and millet. All of these grains are tall. Modern wheat from the Green Revolution is extremely short. In one of his talks, Dr. Stephen Jones of the the Bread Lab at Washington State University speaks about the loss in mineral content in modern wheat versus pre–Green Revolution wheat. Not only is today’s wheat significantly lower in nutrients, whole heritage grains are about three times higher in fiber than processed grain or rice. Modern wheat is also high in gluten and, if Roundup has been used, glyphosate. Glyphosate—now believed to cause cancer and interfere with gut health—is also used as a drying agent in areas where the climate is wet. Shorter modern wheats can take spraying with pesticides whereas the old, taller grains will fall over, or lodge. When it comes to the flavor, the ancient grains are stunningly robust and delicious. The growers are the most interesting participants at Grain School. They express a real passion for the grains they grow plus they have the challenge of growing something on which there is little advice. Every farmer-speaker said they have to convert machines to work for older varieties. A grower in South Dakota said he’d adapted an old rice huller to use with his einkorn, and that he wished he could get his great-grandmother’s advice on these grains. That virtually everyone has such stories spoke to me about what a

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Left: Display at the Grain School. Right: Deborah Madison at the Grain School.

brave new frontier growing ancient grains is today. But ancient grains are not only for those with a farming background or a lot of acreage. One speaker, who teaches at the Air Force Academy, showed slides of his backyard plots of ancient grains, which he grows each year for his family and harvests with a pair of scissors. That was encouraging for those of us who garden but don’t farm.

home having a mill. It needn’t be large. Mock Mill sells one that attaches to your mixer and easily grinds enough flour for most domestic uses. I came home with one and it is a joy to use! It takes seconds to grind enough flour for bread or pancakes and the flavor is so much better. One of the Colorado farmers who spoke at the conference sold us spelt berries to grind, so we arrived home ready to mill and bake.

Millers are another interesting group. Kris Gosar of Mountain Momma told us a colorful story about his parents moving to Colorado, then explained how he dresses his millstones, and mentioned that he delivered flour to a bakery in Santa Fe, which turned out to be Sage Bakehouse. Jeff Zimmerman, who owns Hayden Flour Mill in Phoenix with his daughter Emma, gave a moving and quirky talk. When I visited his mill in November, he told me that he sends a lot of his semolina to pasta companies in Italy because their semolina is so weak; it just doesn’t have the protein necessary to produce good dried pasta. Ironically, einkorn, the most ancient of the grains, is raised mostly in Italy. Zimmerman’s mill is big, but Paul Lebeau, who is the CEO of Mock Mill in Germany, stressed the importance of every

Sometimes farmers fall in love with their grains, then they start to mill them, and then they start to love to bake, so it turned out that a number of people were wearing three hats at once. One grower, Jacob Cowgill from Montana, opened a bakery in his small community. A friend of mine who was attending Grain School raises wheat that he bakes into bread and serves at his well-known Black Cat restaurant in Boulder, Colorado. But Cowgill (and others) also stressed the importance of community in these endeavors. Most of the time the grower depends on finding a nearby miller and then a baker if the effort is to make any sense. In the commercial wheat world, berries are combined, shipped long distances, milled on roller mills, then sent out for distribution thousands of miles away. When you buy commercial whole-wheat

edible Santa Fe | EARLY SUMMER 2018

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University of Colorado − Colorado Springs Grain School 2018.

flour, the bran and germ that are added back after processing don’t necessarily come from the original berries. (And the flour is old compared with what you might mill yourself.) As for the bakers, one said he baked in a wood-fired oven in his backyard. Another had baked in his garage until he could open a bakery. One focused on making pizza, flatbreads, and crackers, and another created pasta made from kamut during the Grain School. One baker explained that at their bakery, they make “naturally leavened breads and superb pastries with shop-milled, organic heirloom grains from small farms, and we do some nice pizzas on Saturday afternoons with local and seasonal produce”—a statement that could probably apply to all the bakers to one extent or another. But Grain School isn’t just about wheat. Sonoko Sakai, who is wellknown for her soba noodles, taught a class on buckwheat noodles. Emigdio Ballon, from Tesuque Pueblo, talked about quinoa, and Miguel Santistevan, from Taos, spoke on amaranth. Nor was brewing 18

edible Santa Fe | EARLY SUMMER 2018

neglected. And there was a stunning presentation by Rafael Mier on Mexican corn. He showed all the tortilla brands we commonly eat with their lists of bizarre ingredients. “Corn tortillas should just be corn flour, water, and salt!” he cried. He ended his colorful slide show by saying that America deserves a better tortilla. He then made some rustic tortillas for lunch that were redolent with the aroma of corn and absolutely delicious. One thing I learned is that today’s rock star bakers are not baking like many of us used to. There’s very little yeast involved, sourdough is often used (reducing the power of gluten and making wheat more digestible), the doughs are wetter, they’re folded rather than kneaded, and, once baked, they are absolutely gorgeous and delicious. And this is all within our grasp, too. Grain School is held each January in Colorado Springs. Visit: www.rockymountainseeds.org/attend/grain-school

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BACK OF THE HOUSE

Eat with your Hands, Speak with your Food TALKING DRUMS GIVES ALBUQUERQUE A TASTE OF AFRICA By Candolin Cook Â· Photos by Stephanie Cameron

edible Santa Fe | EARLY SUMMER 2018

Camera-shy Toyin Oladeji lets her food do the talking: injera plate.

“I’m boring!” insists Toyin Oladeji, chef/owner of Talking Drums, as I pepper her with questions about her life and business. She is too modest. Although the soft-spoken, Nigerian-born grandmother of three lacks the braggadocio of many Americanborn chefs, the bold flavors she creates in her spice-forward African and Caribbean dishes suggest she is anything but insipid. Oladeji grew up in a family of eight children—“one boy and seven brides.” She says, “There was a lot of cooking in my house. Because there were so many girls, we had to take turns—that is very traditional in Nigeria—but the boy was not spared in my family. My father believed you have to know how to take care of yourself.” In 1986, Oladeji and her then-partner left West Africa for Canada where she lived for a decade. “Back home I was a midwife, but when I moved to Canada, midwifery was illegal back then, so I stayed home. I [eventually decided] to move to the United States to find work. Albuquerque was the first place where I found a job,” she explains. “I loved it here.” In 2000, Oladeji opened Zenith African Caribbean Market, the only African store in New Mexico at the time, offering clothing, jewelry, beauty products, and art. By popular demand, they also began stocking African groceries like palm oil and yams. Oladeji says, “I used to go to El Paso to find African food and items. Someone suggested ‘Why not add food to your store?’ Then they started asking what if they wanted to taste the food?” So, in 2012, Oladeji and her business partner Alex Ogunsanya created Talking Drums, which is now situated next to Zenith Market on Central Avenue, near University Boulevard. Oladeji’s transition into restaurateur came as a surprise to her. “I’m not a food person, I’m not picky, I’ll eat anything. I enjoy the art of cooking now, but for the longest time food was the last thing on my mind.” She says she simply started making the food she’d grown up eating: pepper soup with goat, yam and corned beef stew, moin moin (Nigerian steamed bean pudding), and oxtail. Pressed to pick a favorite, Oladeji selects fufu, a West African staple. Fufu is a starchy dough ball made from boiled and pounded grains or starchy vegetables like cassava, yams, or plantains, which is dipped into a soup. At Talking Drums, diners have the option of picking their fufu flour and soup—including peanut, bitterleaf, palmnut, spinach, ewedu (jute leaves), and, Oladeji’s favorite, okra. As for the flour selection, Oladeji explains that pounded yam has the tendency to “weigh you down, which goes along with how we eat back home. We don’t snack throughout the day. We eat a bigger meal because there is a lot of walking around and manual work, so it gets burned up. So here, people might like the amala [toasted yam], which is earthier and lighter.” As with many of the dishes at Talking Drums, Oladeji encourages diners to use their hands to eat fufu. “That is the authentic way,” she says. Adds Ogunsanya, “God made hands long before cutlery.” Along with their fufu, diners receive a bowl of water to moisten their fingers, making it easier to pull off pieces of the sticky dough. Pressing your thumb into the dough creates a spoon of sorts to then dip into the soup. You place the morsel on your tongue and let it slide

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BACK OF THE HOUSE

Jerk chicken.

down your throat. “Don’t chew your fufu!” Oladeji instructs. While the menu is full of authentic and flavorful West African fare, the most popular items at Talking Drums come from Ethiopia—the injera—and the Caribbean—jerk chicken. While these dishes may be more familiar to Americans, Oladeji has put her own twist on them, incorporating Nigerian spices and techniques. “I believe in whatever you’re doing to make it your own. I don’t believe in messing up East African food or Caribbean food, but if I can make it better I think that’s great. I’ve had Caribbeans tell me they prefer my jerk chicken.” Talking Drums is a family-friendly restaurant and a family affair for Oladeji. As she speaks with me one of her grandsons is swaddled to her back by vibrant turquoise fabric. “This one is here most of the time,” she says. “I’d rather have him with me than at a daycare. And he likes to eat, so he loves it.” Her daughter Loretta is a nurse, but will also help cook, especially when they have events. Though not related, she calls Ogunsanya (also originally from Nigeria) her brother— “Back home we only have sisters and brothers, doesn’t matter if you’re really my cousin [or friend]”—and credits him with keeping Talking Drums going. “If Alex [Ogunsanya] is not here, we can’t open. I think 22

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he is the reason people come here. He is too friendly. I think he could run for mayor of Albuquerque and win. I’m not as much of a talker, but I like coming here every day to be among people. Otherwise I’d just be at home—[being here] is my day off,” she chuckles. When asked the meaning behind the name Talking Drums, Oladeji says, “They use drums to communicate back home. The drummers will interact through playing the drums: ‘Good morning, how are you today,’ and the other will respond. Probably, historically, they used it in times of war. Alex picked the name. I didn’t really like it at first because I don’t think talking drums has anything to do with food.” Looking at the plate of smokey, West AfricanCaribbean jerk chicken before me, I say, “Well, maybe, the way they speak through their drums, you similarly communicate through your food.” “That’s what Alex said!” Oladeji says with a surprised laugh. Based on all the food I tasted at Talking Drums, this is a conversation you’ll want to join. 1606 Central SE, Albuquerque, 505-792-3221, www.talkingdrumsabq.com

SuMmEr DiNiNg ReInVeNtEd. Los Poblanos is proud to offer several unique dining experiences this season. Not to be missed is our annual Lavender Long Table Dinner, a four-course experience highlighting the ďŹ&#x201A;avors of lavender and summer in the North Valley hosted on the breathtaking La Quinta Portal. Or, join us for Campoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s monthly Wine Dinner Series, featuring wines carefully curated by our resident sommelier and thoughtfully paired with an exceptional Rio Grande Valley menu crafted specially for the evening. Tickets and additional information are available at lospoblanos.com/events-calendar. WWW.EDIBLENM.COM

AT THE CHEF'S TABLE

Nourishing Simplicity WITH A SLOVAKIAN TWIST AT DOLINA By Jenn Shapland · Photos by Douglas Merriam

Left: Borscht made with beets, sauerkraut, potatoes, yogurt, and coriander sauce. Right: Makovnik, a rolled yeast bread with ground poppy seed and grated apple.

Annamaria O'Brien is standing by a twotop across the room, deep in conversation with her customers. She seems to know them well. After she sits and talks with me for a while, she moves on to another table of people she recognizes as they dig into soups and Slovakian baked goods. O'Brien hands us each a glass of turmeric lemon juice, spicy with cayenne and ginger. "A cleanser," she tells us, which she drinks through the winter to boost her immune system. Like everything on offer at Dolina, the juice becomes a nourishing and thoughtful gesture. 24

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The range of dishes on Dolina’s menu is unusual for Santa Fe: borscht and bone broth tucked in beside salmon tartines and ricotta pancakes. As with her childhood in Slovakia, where she grew up in her parents' restaurant, O'Brien's life revolves around sharing fresh ingredients and heartfelt meals. Her grandmother's nearby farm "would supply us with fresh chickens, and fresh vegetables, and she had walnut trees and cherry trees, and she would preserve jam." After moving to the US to learn English, O'Brien realized how difficult it can be

to find fresh food. At Dolina, she keeps her food simple and her ingredients local. For the first months at Dolina, she went to the farmers market herself, sourced meat and bones locally, and worked with Green Tractor Farms and Rebel Farms for their "wonderful sprouts." Dolina has recently teamed up with Owl Peak Farm in La Madera, who will grow most of Dolina's produce. This spring, they're revising the menu, which throughout the winter emphasized hearty stews and soups such as O'Brien was raised on—think sauerkraut and kielbasa—

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AT THE CHEF'S TABLE

Left: Annamaria O'Brien. Right: Kolaches filled with housemade strawberry-rhubarb preserves and a Slovakian sweet cheese called tvarog.

and leaning into some springier chilled soups, a good potato salad, and stuffed schnitzel. "When I first opened," O'Brien explains, "I wanted to fill up the menu with Eastern European dishes, but I played it safe with things that people are more used to. As I started to introduce more and more Eastern European food, it started bringing people our way, who would tell me they grew up with this, or their grandma used to make it for them." My own grandmother was Slovak, so I asked O'Brien about the cookies my mother’s mother baked––kolaches. O'Brien explains how she learned from a customer that Texas has its own version of the kolache, in essence a sausage roll or pig-in-ablanket—certainly a far cry from Dolina's tra26

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ditional Slovak version, a delicate pastry filled with jam and tvarog, a probiotic cream cheese that O'Brien makes in house. She insists that her kolaches are best right out of the oven, to the point that sometimes she just gives them away. "I tell people, now is the time to eat them, I just want you to experience it." Refusing to serve day-old baked goods, Dolina takes any excess to a nearby homeless shelter. Baking is at the heart of Dolina's project, and O'Brien describes it as her strength and what she really wants to pursue. Currently, their breads come from Wild Leaven bakery in Taos, because they don't have a bread oven "just yet," but O'Brien has a plan. Bread is her main baker Maureen McCarthy's "passion and love," she says, "so I

want to nourish it and hopefully incorporate it into the program down the road." Like her food, O'Brien and her café reflect a cultivated simplicity. The space she has created at Dolina is warm and quiet, with grayscale walls and sound-proofing panels on the painted white ceiling. It feels markedly different— more serene, less chaotic—than many spaces in Santa Fe. The walls are decorated like a pantry, with a few dried garlic braids and some dried mushrooms on string. O'Brien made these herself, thinking of her grandmother's pantry, and was astonished at the intricacy of threading dried mushrooms—a labor of love, she calls it. O'Brien herself is tall and radiates an incredible ease, dressed in layered linen,

Cornmeal waffles and buttermilk fried chicken with green apple and fennel slaw.

shades of gray like her walls. "Simple isn't always good to people," she concedes, "but it keeps me calm." Unlike some in the food industry, who prize rapidity and extreme machismo, O'Brien maintains a balanced lifestyle, riding her bike from home to start baking around 5am and then biking back to take her kids to school. Though it can certainly be overwhelming at times, O'Brien has found immense support in the women of the Santa Fe food industry, who lift one another up and send friends to each other’s restaurants. She has recruited locals, like designer Emily Henry for Dolina’s interior, and help from back home, including an indigo textile artist in Slovakia to make fab-

ric for pillows. For a few months this year, O’Brien’s mother traveled from Slovakia to bake alongside her. With a committed community behind her, O’Brien is able to keep her attention on details. The pillows, she notes, are printed with flowers from the lipa tree, from which she grew up making tea. "It really brings me back home," she muses, as we savor the poppy seed cake and warm apple strudel she's just whisked out to us. In every aspect of Dolina, O'Brien's philosophy is clear: making food is a way of taking care of people. 402 North Guadalupe, Santa Fe, 505982-9394, www.dolinasantafe.com

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FACES OF FOOD

Women Farming in the South Valley SPEAKEASY GARDENS AND LOS JARDINES INSTITUTE GROW FOOD AND FOSTER SOLIDARITY By Robin Babb Â· Photos by Stephanie Cameron

edible Santa Fe | EARLY SUMMER 2018

When I show up at SpeakEasy Gardens, I’m surprised to see some teenage girls working in the hoophouse. They don’t look like farmers: None of them have the telltale tan, and some are even wearing jewelry. One girl has music playing from a phone in her back pocket. When I find Berenika Byszewski, the manager of SpeakEasy, she tells me that the girls are visiting from New York. It’s a kind of work exchange program from a high school there that sends students to work on farms in Albuquerque’s South Valley each year. It’s a Friday and the end of their week here—the girls are going back home the next day, and they’re not thrilled about it. “It’s snowing in the city! Again!” one of the girls moans, and she shows me photos of the snow-covered rooftops around her home. On the farm, though, it’s seventy degrees, and they’re all wearing shorts. Byszewski gives me a brief tour of the farm and its history—the Armijos, the family who originally developed this piece of land, moved to the South Valley from the Manzanos in the 1870s. As we walk into an ancient-looking building on the southern side of the property, she tells me about the reason for the name of the farm: “[The Armijos] grew mostly grapes and made wine here. So during Prohibition they made this into a dancehall and speakeasy.” Listening back to my recording of the visit, I can hear myself utter a breathless “wow!” as I step onto the creaking floorboards of the old dancehall. It’s cool and dusty inside, with string lights hanging from the high ceiling beams. Byszewski says that she hopes to hold lots of events here after she’s gotten the building totally cleaned up, including talks on the future of farming in the South Valley. “I’d like SpeakEasy to be an incubator space for people who want to do their own projects, especially for women,” she says. Although Byszewski wants to be as involved with the farm as possible, she also has a full-time job as an archaeologist and environmental planner—thus, she’s actively seeking people who have the time and vision to use her land. Typically, the only people working the farm are herself and Zaba Angel, a farm-

hand she employs part-time during the growing season. Farming isn’t wildly profitable work, so she tries to keep her overhead as low as possible. One of the ways she does so is by being a member of the Agricultura Cooperative Network (ACN), a network of nine member farms in the South Valley that pool risk and reward by sharing resources, pursuing contracts together, and selling their produce in a joint CSA. One of the other member farms of the ACN, Los Jardines Institute, is hosting a communal lunch for all the students the day that I visit, so I end up driving there with Zaba and a couple of the young women. Byszewski promises to introduce me to some of the other farmers there. When we arrive at Los Jardines, there are already dozens of other students there. Byszewski takes me aside to see the fields and to meet Sofía Martínez and Richard Moore, the folks who run Los Jardines. Martínez and Byszewski commiserate about the strong winds that have recently blown the plastic off hoophouses at both farms and made them impossible to repair. As Martínez shakes Zaba’s hand, she asks, “Are you a farmer?” then immediately answers the question herself, clasping Zaba’s hand in both of hers—“Ah, yes, your hands are like ours. You’re a farmer.” Martínez, who’s originally from Wagon Mound, grew up on a rancho where gardening was always a part of how the family provided for itself. She was a teacher in Wagon Mound and in Albuquerque for many years before she and Moore opened Los Jardines together, and addressing environmental and racial justice issues has always been a big part of her life. One of her latest projects was creating the Environmental & Economic Justice Strategic Plan for the Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge, an exhaustive list of recommendations for the refuge to implement in its development to make it safe and sustainable for both the wildlife and the community who live in the area. “I’m not really a writer, so it was hard,” she tells me. “But I’m proud of it. I hope it can be a model for other [environmental justice] efforts in the future.”

Opposite page: Sofía Martínez of Los Jardines Institute.

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FACES OF FOOD

Top left, clockwise: Zaba Angel, Berenika Byszewski, and Tita Berger at SpeakEasy Gardens. Byszewski gets ready for spring planting (photo courtesey of SpeakEasy Gardens). Berger harvests chive flowers. School kids volunteer at the farm (photo courtesey of SpeakEasy Gardens).

edible Santa Fe | EARLY SUMMER 2018

As we walk around the farm together, Martínez shows me the different projects that students have worked on over the years they’ve been doing the work exchange program. There’s a cob oven that was made several years back, a deck and wash station, and a fire pit with a circle of benches perfectly suited to late night storytelling. Though she professes to feeling some activist burnout, I sense energy radiating off of Martínez in waves—she is the kind of person who, without seeming to try, motivates the people around her to make change happen. “If you ever need any writing help in the future . . .” I find myself saying to her, and she smiles. “Yes, I’ll definitely let you know,” she says.

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The women farmers in the South Valley exhibit a strong, and perhaps unique, sense of community and working solidarity. Many of these women have worked with, studied under, or broken bread with one another, and they each share a feeling of pride in each other. Commercial agriculture has long been a male-dominated occupation, but we’re starting to see that change in New Mexico as more women are becoming interested in farming as a way to support themselves and feed their communities. This trend comes with fresh perspectives on farming and community. “We don’t want this to be a ‘man vs. nature’ kind of place,” Byszewski tells me while we’re walking the rows on her farm. “There are ways to farm the land where both nature and people can benefit.” At the risk of making a sweeping generalization, I have found many women to be profoundly nurturing and supportive— thus, perhaps, making us well-suited stewards of the land. This is not because of any essential common denominator of womanhood, but because women have historically been put into nurturing roles, and had to support each other through generations of living in a patriarchal world together. If this gauntlet of being second-class citizens has won us a little more patience and tenderness—well, at least something good has come of it, I suppose. Facebook: Los-Jardines-Institute www.agri-cultura.org Facebook: speakeasy.gardens.5

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This summer, El Rancho de las Golondrinas Living History Museum presents two events for lovers of local food, wine, and beer. June 30–July 1 Santa Fe Wine Festival Celebrate your freedom with handmade wines from the New Mexico Wine Country. Enjoy a delicious meal and dance to live music. August 4–5 Panza Llena, Corazón Contento: New Mexico Food and Beer Fest Experience historic methods of food preparation, learn from food historians, attend workshops, and sample delicious locally made food and beer.

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A Sweet and Savory Wild Seasoning SPRUCE TIPS By Ellen Zachos

Photo by Ellen Zachos.

The mountains of northern New Mexico are chock full of stately evergreens. While most people know that pine nuts come from piñon pines, very few realize that spruce trees also offer up excellent flavor to the adventurous eater. We have two spruce species native to northern New Mexico. Both the Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii) and the Colorado blue spruce (Picea pungens) produce edible tips that contain loads of vitamin C and have a tart flavor that the creative cook can use in any number of ways. Spruce are large trees, generally pyramidal in shape, with attractive green/blue or gray/blue foliage. Their needles grow individually from the branch (similar to rosemary), rather than in bundles like pines. Depending on your altitude, you may harvest spruce tips anytime from April to August. In the Sangre de Cristos, look for the light green, soft, flexible tips to emerge in June. (It’s more important to note what the spruce tree says than what the calendar says.) All spruce trees produce edible tips as long as they haven’t been sprayed with something humans 32

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shouldn’t eat, such as insecticide. If you’re hiking above six thousand feet (the preferred altitude of the Engelmann spruce in New Mexico), it’s unlikely anyone has been out there spraying. In early spring, spruce trees produce new growth covered in brown, papery sheaths. Gently remove one of the sheaths to find small, young needles, just beginning to expand. These spruce tips can be harvested from the time they first emerge until they begin to stiffen and turn dark green. You’ll get more to work with if you wait until the tips expand, but the flavor is more intense when the tips are compact. As long as the dividing line between old and new growth is clear, both by sight and by texture, you’re OK to harvest. Because the new growth is soft, you’ll be able to pinch it off with your fingers, no tools required. Harvesting the tips removes the current year’s growth, so walk around the tree, taking just a few tips from each section of the spruce. That will keep the tree from growing in lopsided.

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Young spruce tips have a citrus-like flavor that complements both sweet and savory dishes. Even young needles are tough to chew, but there are plenty of ways to extract their unique flavor. Use them as a stuffing for chicken or fish, finely chop the spruce tips to use them in sauce or soup, or macerate them in water or alcohol to create a base for frozen desserts and beverages. To make spruce sugar or spruce salt, add equal parts sugar or salt and spruce tips to the bowl of a food processor, and pulse until the mix is finely chopped and thoroughly combined. Spread it out on a cookie sheet and allow it to dry at room temperature, then store your mixture in a jar. Sprinkle the spruce tip salt on root vegetables before roasting, and use the spruce tip sugar in spruce tip shortbread cookies. One of the easiest ways to enjoy the flavor of spruce tips is to infuse them in simple syrup, then use that syrup to make spruce tip ice cream or sorbet. It’s a refreshing and unusual way to end a meal: a dessert that embodies the flavor of northern New Mexico.

SPRUCE TIP ICE CREAM 1 cup water 1 cup sugar 1 cup spruce tips 2/3 cup heavy cream Combine water and sugar in a saucepan; heat over medium heat, whisking to dissolve the sugar. Add the spruce tips and stir to submerge them in the syrup. Remove saucepan from heat, cover, and let sit overnight. Strain off solids and measure the syrup; you should have 1 1/3 cups. Add cream to syrup and refrigerate mixture for at least four hours. Transfer the liquid to your ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer’s instructions. If you’d rather make a non-dairy spruce tip dessert, substitute water for the heavy cream (or half water, half ginger beer!), and make yourself a sorbet.

Older spruce needles are also high in vitamin C, but their flavor can be intensely resinous, and the texture of the older needles is stiff and sharp. If you like strong flavors, use them in applications where you’re not eating the actual tip, such as syrups and infusions. You may even reap a few medicinal benefits. Historically, spruce needle tea has been used to stave off scurvy, decongest lungs, and stimulate the respiratory system.

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BEHIND THE BOTTLE

Chefs talk wine FARM & TABLE AND CASA RONDEÑA Recipe by Carrie Eagle · Photos by Stephanie Cameron

Chef Carrie Eagle.

This year, edible takes you behind the bottle with chefs from around the state who are creating inspired pairings with New Mexico wines. Each chef creates a dish inspired by the wine and delivers a fresh recipe to our readers. In this issue, we sit down with Carrie Eagle, executive chef of Farm & Table in Albuquerque. Tell us about the philosophy at Farm & Table when pairing wine with your food. I have learned a lot from Farm & Table’s past and current wine curators. Our current wine curator, James Krejewski, is a real savant when it comes to all the finer points and nuances of wine. The wine pairings we do at our monthly special events has opened the door for both of us to better learn how to pair wine with food and visa versa. In regard to our philosophy around wine, just like with everything we do at F&T, we follow the lead of the farmers and the seasons. The vegetable that leads us to the plate then leads us to the wine. How do you navigate that connection of flavors between food and wine? 36

edible Santa Fe | EARLY SUMMER 2018

I feel really fortunate to have been gifted with a refined palate even though my history and background may not have been conducive to defining my palate. I have always let food lead me to what I want to drink with it, whether it’s french fries and bourbon or a Viognier with poached shrimp. Instinct leads me to the things that naturally go together. What’s your process around creating dishes to pair with a wine? I sit with Krejewski and our purveyors every other week to try the wines, take notes, and listen to the suggestions of the winemakers around food pairing. I will then take that information and pair it up with my instincts and the ingredients available that week. How important is it to have the chef involved with the wine program? If you are striving to highlight local food, it is imperative. A good chef is always going to try to achieve harmony in every way; from the ambiance, to how the flavors of a dish work together on an individual plate, to how that can really make a wine taste as delicious as it was meant to be. At F&T, it is all about the connectivity of the farmers, the vintners, the chef, and the diners.

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In your experience, is it hard to convince New Mexicans to drink New Mexico wine? Yes, I do think it is difficult to convince locals to drink New Mexico wine. There is a deeply ingrained idea that all good domestic wine has to come from California. It’s similar to how can you have a farm-to-table operation in the desert––these guys [New Mexico vintners] have figured it out. I’m really proud of the wines we show. We love featuring local vineyards and have half a dozen New Mexico wines on our menu at any given time. Do you enjoy wine on a regular basis? If so, which are your favorite styles? As a chef, I love big, bold, old world European wines—Châteauneuf-duPape is one of my favorite houses. But I also enjoy the lighter wines, like a Viognier, this time year. Tell us about your pairing and why you chose this dish for the Casa Rondeña Shining River. Spring is an exciting time of year at F&T—microgreens, herbs, peas—subtle flavors that add such kick to a simple pasta dish. What ties together the Shining River with the Spring Pea Pesto recipe is the verdant bright green earthiness of the pesto and the mineral citrine quality of the wine. This is a pairing where you get a nice seesaw going, where you take a bite of the pasta and it lingers on your palate and soaks in and hangs there because of the creaminess of the pesto, and then you go for a sip of the wine and you almost hear the word “boing” in your head, like a ball bouncing, and it lifts it up. The two qualities together strike a harmonic balance, almost as if you had the pasta alone, you would miss the wine, and vice versa. They go together, they make a nice little dance. Anything else you would like edible readers to know? Join us for Wine Tasting Wednesdays twice a month through October ––approachable wine classes paired with seasonal bites.

SPRING PEA PESTO Serves 2 1/4 cup toasted pecans 8 cloves of garlic 3 cups packed basil leaf 2 cups fresh or frozen peas 1 lemon, zest and juice 1 1/2 cups extra-virgin olive oil 1/2 cup canola oil 1/2 cup aged Parmesan, freshly grated 1 tablespoon salt 1/2 tablespoon pepper Pulse pecans, garlic, basil, peas, and lemon zest and juice in a food processor. Combine canola and olive oil, and drizzle in while blending. Add the cheese and seasoning last; blend until homogeneous. Toss the pesto with your favorite type of pasta and add tomatoes, marinated quartered artichokes, and additional spring garden vegetables to your liking. Enjoy with a crisp glass of Casa Rondeña Shining River! Place unused pesto in jar, top with olive oil, and store in refrigerator for up to one week. 8917 Fourth Street NW, 505-503-7124, farmandtablenm.com 38

edible Santa Fe | EARLY SUMMER 2018

cheese + charcuterie + small bites boutique wine + craft beer retail wine + specialty food shop full retail bottle shop + wine bar on the Taos Plaza located underneath The Gorge Bar and Grill

parcht.com (575) 758-1994 103 East Plaza | Taos, New Mexico

New Mexican & American Classics Margaritas, Cold Drafts, Full Bar

Patio Dining on the Taos Plaza thegorgebarandgrill.com

(575) 758-8866

#EDIBLENM ediblesantafe TAG us or use #edibleNM and your pics could be featured here. We always pick a favorite and send them a gift certificate to one of our favorite local joints.

WINNER

ashleymuirbruhn Rhubarb with roses for Motherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day. #hitherthithereat #food52grams #ediblemagazine #edibleNM

soupman1927 Today, I turn 91!! As you can guess, the secret to a long life is SOUP! (and hot dogs, those are good too) #soupman #soup #ediblenm ediblesantafe Happy Birthday Soupman!

madrefoods Summer Chilled Series flavor #2! Marine Phyto Stock (Vegan). Loaded with micro algae, seaweeds, locally grown basil and spinach, this sip is an alkaline and refreshing one! #edibleNM

southeastbysouthwest Starting naturally fermented sodas with local honey for the upcoming dinner!!! #edibleNM #naturalcarbonation #naturalflavors #localflavors #probiotics #guthealth #wildbrew

edible Santa Fe | EARLY SUMMER 2018

EDIBLE CRAFT COCKTAIL

CACTUS HEART

By Quinn Stephenson Beat our southwestern heat this summer with this colorful cocktail. Take the easy route and purchase some Perfect Purée Prickly Pear flavor, or raid your own cactus and make it from scratch—but be sure to protect those hands! 1 1/2 ounces Roca Patrón Silver 1 ounce Perfect Purée Prickly Pear (www.perfectpuree.com) 2 ounces fresh lime sweet and sour (recipe below) 1/4 ounce blue curaçao Edible flower, such as candied hibiscus flower, for garnish Lime sweet and sour 1 ounce fresh lime juice 1/2 ounce Patrón Citrónge or other orange liqueur 1/2 ounce simple syrup Mix 2 parts fresh lime juice with 1 part orange liqueur and 1 part simple syrup. Cactus Heart Pour the blue curaçao in a tall Collins glass. In a shaker pour the remaining ingredients and add ice. Shake briefly and pour into the Collins glass. Garnish with an edible flower.

Photo by Lois Ellen Frank. Photo by Lois Ellen Frank.

LAVA LAMP SEASON IN THE CANTINA IS HERE! CANTINA HAPPY HOUR 4 – 5:30pm, Monday – Thursday

$5 well drinks, $2 Mexican beer, $5 Cantina House Margaritas, 1/2 off tacos

132 W Water St, Santa Fe CALL FOR RESERVATIONS • 505-983-1615 coyotecafe.com WWW.EDIBLENM.COM 41

EDIBLE COMMUNITY

Women of Radiance CELEBRATING IMPACT AND COMMUNITY AT THE SHINE AWARDS By Julia Mandeville · Photos by David Sánchez

Custom Shine Award pendants commissioned from local jewelry artist Chela Gurnee.

Amid the exquisite tableau of lavender fields and cottonwoods at Los Poblanos Historic Inn & Cultural Center, friends, families, and collaborators gathered this March to honor some of New Mexico’s most extraordinary women. The event reverberated with the loving spirit and joyous energy of those in attendance, and marked the evolution of a longstanding annual tradition. For twelve years, Women & Creativity has brought together a broad consortium of partners to present a month-long program spanning Women’s History Month. In 2018, co-coordinators Dr. Shelle Sánchez, Valerie Martínez, Stephanie Cameron, and I reimagined our framework to highlight achievements in the creative fields, lift the efforts of innovative practitioners, and expand the landscape of local opportunities for formal recognition. Thus, the Shine Awards were born. This initiative elevates women’s contributions to the arts, creativity, entrepreneurship, and leadership with a shared vision. It celebrates artists across disciplines, creative businesses, and nonprofit organizations as well as established professionals and emerging leaders. The common thread is that they work with purpose and intention, shift how we see things, and make positive contributions to community. 42

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Inaugural awardees were selected following an open and public nomination process. At the ceremony on March 29, each was introduced by another woman of her choosing, and the invited presenters offered inspiring, powerful, and emotional testaments to the beauty and impact these award recipients generate in the world. They received generous prizes from local woman-owned businesses and gorgeous custom pendants—commissioned from local jewelry artist Chela Gurnee—to wear as daily reminders that they are seen, heard, appreciated, and adored. Women & Creativity and media partner edible Santa Fe are thrilled to feature the Shine Awards recipients for 2018, with excerpts from the many supporting narratives we’ve collected about each. Helen Atkins is an emerging artist from Albuquerque. She graduated from UNM in 2016 with a BA in studio arts and is currently artist-in-residence with ArtStreet (a program of Albuquerque Healthcare for the Homeless), program assistant and teaching artist with Harwood Art Center, project coordinator for Artful Life’s International District Youth Artist Team, and a curator and gallery assistant at Patrician Design. She was a lead apprentice with the Mayor’s Art Institute from 2012 to 2017.

Shine Award recipients, from left to right: Romy Keegan, Marya Jones, Helen Atkins, Molly Luethi, and Shira Greenberg. Not pictured: Zahra Marwan and Kei Tsuzuki.

“Helen continues to nurture her own creative practice alongside these many collaborative endeavors. Helen is innovative, questioning the status quo, and offering new ways of doing or thinking about things. She nurtures the creativity of others, offering support and encouragement, and working to make meaningful opportunities for other artists in our community.” —Staci Drangmeister Shira Greenberg created Keshet in 1996 and focuses on five interconnected pursuits: global-local exchange, juvenile justice, accessibility, community engagement, and arts entrepreneurship. According to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Multicultural Council, she cultivates “an environment where the medium of dance is used to build cross-cultural and social bridges to every aspect of society.” She has created over sixty dance works for stage and film, including “Ani Ma’amin,” “Nutcracker on the Rocks,” and “A Beast, An Angel and A Madwoman.” In 2013, she opened the 30,000 square foot Keshet Center for the Arts to house classes, performances, and community gatherings, and to serve as a residency site for dancers and choreographers from around the world. “Shira upholds the innovative idea that ‘dance is for everyone.’ Her leadership, drive, and commitment to this vision have transformed our community, creative economy, and the field of dance . . .

Shira’s approach has changed our understanding of the art form here in Albuquerque, and now has impact nationally, as well.” —Adrian Moore Trask Marya Jones is a writer, performer, musician, and founder of ABQ Zine Fest, now in its eighth year. Marya’s zines can be found in the collections of Barnard College, London College of Communications, and Tate Modern. She is a founder and lead curator at The Tannex, an independent performance venue and DIY safe space in Albuquerque, and she previously interned at the Hirshhorn Museum at the Smithsonian. In 2016, she was awarded an inaugural Fulcrum Fund Grant from 516 Arts and the Andy Warhol Foundation. This summer, Marya will bring zines to Massachusetts Institute of Technology as part of a team in the “Make the Breast Pump Not Suck Hackathon” and will travel to Scandinavia to perform at Titwrench Stockholm. “Marya works tirelessly to curate, maintain, and promote events at The Tannex. Zinesters come from around the country to present at and attend the ABQ Zine Fest. There is nothing else like either of these things in Albuquerque, and Marya deserves a Shine Award for her devotion to our city and its often overlooked/under-recognized creative activities.” —Nancy Zastudil WWW.EDIBLENM.COM

EDIBLE COMMUNITY

Julia Mandeville adorns Helen Atkins and Marya Jones with their Shine Award pendants.

Romy Keegan is the owner of Maple Street Dance Space, a community dance studio for independent, alternative, often international creatives of all kinds to develop, explore, practice, teach, and present their artistic forms and passions. As a dancer and choreographer, Romy’s greatest joy is sharing the transformative power of dance through her weekly classes in ballet and her own exuberantly graceful technique, Ballet-Afrique. As an artist, Romy loves engaging in projects that involve unique or unusual collaborations and venues—especially embodying jazz music through improvisation with her creative partner, vocalist Marietta Benevento. “Romy firmly believes that all of us have the potential to be dancers and that each of us has something unique to contribute. She creates an environment of openness and acceptance that allows every voice to be heard, acknowledged, and considered. Hundreds of people, including women of all ages, have been inspired to discover their own capacity for graceful movement and creative expression because of Romy.” —Natalie Voelker Zahra Marwan grew up in two deserts which vary drastically and have many similarities in culture—one close to the sea, the other close to the mountains. She studied the visual arts in France and continues various pursuits to further educate herself. Separated from her parents at seventeen when they returned to Kuwait, she draws often about childhood memories, the bond of family, and the yearning for closeness over miles of distance. She currently lives in the Barelas neighborhood 44

edible Santa Fe | EARLY SUMMER 2018

of Albuquerque and works in her studio at the Harwood Art Center, where she incorporates Kuwaiti culture into her daily life. “Zahra manages to convey a sense of magic and deep love with her drawings. She is a wonderful example of a young artist committed to her art, living a creative life in Albuquerque. She is constantly moving forward in her craft, developing her own style of illustration, while remaining curious about life and generous with her kindness and respect for all cultures. She is an inspiration to young artists looking to make a living with their artwork.” —Kei Tsuzuki Kei & Molly Textiles, LLC was founded in 2010 by Kei Tsuzuki and Molly Luethi to create both a printing studio dedicated to producing artisanal fabric goods as well as a vehicle to develop good jobs in the community. Working mainly with refugees and immigrants, they are devoted to creating a supportive and happy workplace. Kei, Molly, and the team—Yenisey Cortes, Remy Davis, Sarah Dewey, Esther Kapinga, Liberata Norora, Rainey Nunn, and Olga Sedaya— work closely together, taking turns at all the production tasks, and supporting one another outside of the work space. “Kei and Molly Textiles is a shining example of creative women running a successful arts business that not only produces both beautiful and useful products but also employs women, including refugees, in the community.” —Valerie Martínez www.womenandcreativity.org

F l avo r

Breakfast 7-11am

LVL 5

Beauty

Lunch 11am-2pm

from

the

Dinner 430-11pm

wilderness

Weekend Brunch 7am-2pm

in Hotel Chaco | 2000 Bellamah Ave NW, Albuquerque | 505 318 3998 | hotelchaco.com

Tranquil Setting | Globally Inspired Menu

Located at Inn and Spa at Loretto, 211 Old Santa Fe Trail, Santa Fe | 505.988.5531 | HotelLoretto.com

COOKING FRESH

DRESSING UP YOUR SUMMER BARBECUE WITH

Cherries and Apricots By Stephanie Cameron

edible Santa Fe | EARLY SUMMER 2018

It's summertime, and that means stone fruits have arrived, ready to brighten our menus. Dress up your outdoor soirées with these recipes starring early summer’s favorite stone fruits—cherries and apricots. In our climate, late frosts can often kill the blossoms necessary to get a big harvest. So, when we have a good year, it’s all the more reason to take advantage!

BASIL AND PISTACHIO CRUSTED LAMB WITH APRICOT REDUCTION 2 tablespoons pistachios, toasted 1 bunch (about 2 cups) basil leaves 3 garlic cloves, divided 6 tablespoons freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano 1/2 cup breadcrumbs Salt 2 racks of lamb (approximately 1 pound each) 1 tablespoon olive oil Apricot Reduction 1 large onion, diced 2 sprigs thyme 1 bay leaf Black pepper 1/2 cup white wine 1 1/2 cups chicken stock 1 tablespoon butter 3 fresh apricots, diced

Relax & Refresh at Inn on the Alameda Just 2 blocks from the Historic Plaza Comfortably elegant rooms Lavish buffet breakfast Nightly wine & cheese reception Agoyo Lounge for delicious dining & cocktails nightly 5–10 Private dining for up to 36 people

innonthealameda.com 303 E Alameda at Paseo de Peralta, Santa Fe 888.984.2121

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Pulse toasted pistachios, basil, 6 tablespoons parmigianoreggiano, and 2 cloves garlic, diced, in a blender or food processor until finely chopped. Stir in breadcrumbs and salt to taste. Set aside. Dry lamb with paper towels, then coat with the pistachio and basil mixture, pressing hard to ensure it sticks to the meat. Heat olive oil in a stainless steel skillet. Add the lamb, crust-side down, and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes or until golden brown. Flip and cook for another 3 minutes. Transfer the lamb to a baking sheet and roast for 6 minutes in the oven. Apricot Reduction Add onion, thyme sprigs, bay leaf, and 1 clove garlic, thinly sliced, to the skillet used to cook the lamb. Salt and pepper to taste, then cook over medium heat until the onion is tender. Add white wine, chicken stock, and apricots. Boil until the mixture is reduced by half, scraping up the brown bits in the skillet. Continue cooking over mediumhigh heat until the sauce thickens. Remove from heat and stir in butter until melted. Discard the thyme sprigs and bay leaf. To serve, drizzle lamb with apricot reduction.

We specialize in cured meat and cheese boards, pressed sandwiches and salads. We also feature an approachable wine list and craft beers you won’t find everywhere else.

115 Harvard SE, Albuquerque · 505-219-2001 · saltandboard.com WWW.EDIBLENM.COM

COOKING FRESH APRICOT BBQ SAUCE Makes 4 half pints This apricot BBQ sauce is sweet and tangy with a nice kick of red chile. It tastes great on grilled chicken or pork chops. 4 pounds apricots, pitted and diced 1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar 3/4 cup honey 1 cup onion, minced 2 garlic cloves, crushed 2 tablespoons red chile powder 1 teaspoon salt Combine all ingredients in a wide, non-reactive pot with a tightfitting lid and stir to combine. Place the lidded pot on the stove over medium-high heat and cook for approximately 10 minutes, until the apricots and onions have softened. Using a potato masher, break down the apricot pieces into a chunky pulp. Continue to cook, with the lid off, until the mixture has reduced by approximately half. Use more honey to adjust sweetness. About 15–20 minutes before the sauce is done cooking, prepare a boiling water bath canner and 4 half-pint (250 ml) jars. Remove the pot from the heat. Using a blender, immersion blender, or food processor, purée the mixture until smooth. If the sauce is nice and thick, it is done. If it’s still a little watery, return it to the pot and cook a bit longer. When finished cooking, remove the pan from the heat. Funnel sauce into prepared jars. Wipe the rims, apply lids and rings, and process in a boiling water bath canner for 15 minutes.

APRICOT AND CHERRY MOSTARDA Makes 2 pints This Italian condiment can be served alongside grilled meats or fish, or with bread and cheese. 1/3 cup dry white wine 1/4 cup dry mustard 1 pound fresh apricots, sliced 1 cup pitted fresh sweet cherries 1 cup sugar 1 teaspoon coarse salt Zest and juice of 1/2 orange Put all ingredients in a small pot. Over medium-high heat, stir until the sugar dissolves, and allow to come to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. The fruit should be soft and the liquid should be syrupy. Let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until ready to use; keeps up to 3 days. 48

edible Santa Fe | EARLY SUMMER 2018

stay with us shop with us store gifts/accessories/baby 4022c rio grande blvd nw sarabandehome.com 505-344-1253

a bed and breakfast with a modern twist

WORSHIP THE SUN. THEN DRINK IT.

SUNSETTER FARMHOUSE STYLE ALE WITH AGAVE & LIME

5637 rio grande blvd nw sarabandebnb.com 505-348-5593

COOKING FRESH

CHERRY SALSA Serves 4 Brighten up grilled chicken, fish, or pork with a side of this salsa, or eat with your favorite corn tortilla chips. 3/4 pound sweet cherries, pitted and roughly chopped 1 tablespoon sugar 1/4 cup lime juice (about 2 limes) 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar 50

edible Santa Fe | EARLY SUMMER 2018

1 teaspoon minced garlic 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion 2 jalapeĂąos, seeded and finely chopped 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro In a large bowl, stir cherries together with sugar and let stand 5 minutes for the sugar to absorb. Stir in lime juice, red wine vinegar, garlic, and salt. Gently fold in red onion, jalapeĂąos, and cilantro. Chill for for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to meld. Serve cold or at room temperature.

al fresco sipping season is here

LUNCH • DINNER • BAR

Reservations: 505.982.4353 653 Canyon Road compoundrestaurant.com

©nadelbachphoto.com

Come try Agave’s fresh new menus

that reflect our love for local ingredients with bold clean flavors.

Located in Eldorado Hotel & Spa 309 W. San Francisco St. | 505.988.4455 | EldoradoHotel.com OPEN Sun-Thurs 6:30am-10pm, Fri-Sat 6:30am-10:30pm

COOKING FRESH

APRICOT SLAW Serves 4 Fresh apricots with sweet and spicy chile paste make this recipe stand out from your ordinary slaw. We recommend Kinnaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Laos Chile Paste, which can be found at La MontaĂąita Co-op or at www.kinna.net.

edible Santa Fe | EARLY SUMMER 2018

3 apricots, sliced 1/2 pound Napa cabbage, chopped 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped 2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped 1/4 cup rice vinegar 1 1/2 tablespoons Thai sweet chili sauce 1 teaspoon kosher salt Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and toss well. Best served cold.

Vanessie Congratulates Doug Montgomery on 35 years In the Summer of 1982 a recent Juilliard graduate ran into a new restaurateur on San Francisco St. Guy Laliberte needed a pianist to open Vanessie. So he asked Doug to play for his lunch at the Hilton. Before Doug finished, Guy introduced him to the gathering crowd as Vanessie’s new pianist. 35 years later, thousands of devoted fans across the country are Vanessie regulars thanks to Doug. On June 10, Vanessie will hold a private party to celebrate 35 years as Santa Fe’s piano bar. We will honor Hideko Amasaki’s 18 year management tenure. Her warm leadership turned Vanessie into the ‘Cheers of Santa Fe’, a bar where everyone knows your name. Then, we will celebrate Doug’s incredible 35 year career and introduce the new Fenix Restaurant.

434 W San Francisco St, Santa Fe • 505-982-9966 • vanessiesantafe.com

COOKING FRESH

ROASTED CHERRY SORBET Makes 1 quart 2 pounds of sour cherries, pitted 1 cup water 2/3 cup sugar 1 tablespoon lemon juice Kosher salt Preheat oven to 400°F. In a roasting pan with sides, mix pitted cherries with sugar and a generous pinch of salt. Toss well to evenly coat. Roast 30–35 minutes, until the fruit has softened and its juices are bubbling and starting to thicken. Add the water and roast for another 5–10 minutes, until the juices start to bubble again. 54

edible Santa Fe | EARLY SUMMER 2018

This step essentially creates a simple syrup in the pan. Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature. Transfer the cherries and all accumulated juices to a blender, and blend well. Add lemon juice. Note that the freezer dulls sweet flavors, so aim for a base that tastes slightly too sweet before churning. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer, pushing down gently on the solids to extract as much juice as possible. Scrape the underside of your strainer to get all of the purée. Straining is optional, but worthwhile to get a smooth, velvety sorbet. Cover and chill until very cold, at least one hour or overnight. Pour the chilled base into an ice cream machine and churn according to manufacturer's directions.

Pig + Fig Cafe breakfast + lunch + dinner

The Cellar

mon - sat 6am - 8pm | sun 8am - 4pm

11 Sherwood Blvd, White Rock, NM 87547 | (505) 672-2742 www.pigandﬁgcafe.com | pigandﬁgcafe@gmail.com

Tapas Beer & Wine

Join us at The Cellar for an exquisite dinner and exceptional wine presentation. Award-winning Chef James Duke and company are excited to bring you the best Spanish tapas in New Mexico.

Comfort food for everyone 1025 Lomas NW, Albuquerque 505.242.3117, thecellartapas.com

Whether you're strictly vegan or strictly meat and potatoes, our goal is to create comfort food for everyone using high quality, ethically sourced, seasonal ingredients.

It All Happens

Under Our Rf Premier Lodging, Dining, & Live Music Nightly

Voted “Best Bar” & “Best Margarita” Open for Lunch Tuesday-Sunday. Open for Dinner Everyday. Happy Hour Tuesday-Sunday 2-5 PM. 30 craft beers on tap. 614 Trinity Drive, Los Alamos • 505-662-8877 pajaritobrewpubandgrill.com

Native Sisters By Roxanne Swentzell Photo by Stephanie Cameron

â&#x20AC;&#x153;W

We are grounding our creation story in a lifeway our people once lived daily, by bringing back our sacred food that has proven to be our medicine, and educating in a prayerful manner to bring about healing from historical trauma.

edible Santa Fe | EARLY SUMMER 2018

others and food go together naturally. Our mother is our first nurturer. We grow inside her womb, keeping warm and fed from her body until we are born. We emerge to be held and fed from her body again until we are weaned. For many of us, her kitchen is where we are fed for many years. This is a common experience, one that has bridged people throughout the world throughout time. I sit in front of Marian Naranjo, one of my ba-deh (elders) of Santa Clara Pueblo. We’re treating ourselves to someone else’s cooking, for a change. I ask her how she would describe herself and without hesitation, she says, “Mother, grandmother of eight.” She speaks softly and dreamily, like a lullaby, but also carefully and with intention. After a lifetime of learning how to reach people with her message, Naranjo tells me, “I created H.O.P.E. (Honoring Our Pueblo Existence) so that there would be an indigenous women’s voice of why our caretaking of the environment and health issues are vital to our traditions.” One of the many projects Naranjo helped create in the pueblo is the Bu-wah-te-wah (traditional cooking house). The cooking house is an adobe structure that houses the flat stones and hearths used for cooking. Years ago, my organization, the Flowering Tree Permaculture Institute, joined with H.O.P.E. to test whether eating our precontact diet would help with health issues in our village. We were successful in proving without a doubt that the diet we ate before the Europeans arrived was very good for us. Along the way, we learned about our traditional paper-thin cornbread (buwah). Calling on mothers from other pueblos, who still knew how to make this bread, we learned how to make buwah again. As the cooking stones were coming back to life, Naranjo decided we needed a house where the stones could stay and be used again. As a community, we not only built the Bu-wah-te-wah, but also a second building for the grinding stones and the gathering of female energy— the Que-te-wah (women’s house). Naranjo’s spirit is strong and connected to the larger spiritual picture. Food is not just a meal; it is sacred medicine. Prayer and community education were integral to every step we took to create the women’s house. In Naranjo’s words, “We are grounding our creation story in a lifeway our people once lived daily, by bringing back our sacred food that has proven to be our medicine, and educating in a prayerful manner to bring about healing from historical trauma.” Flowering Tree and H.O.P.E. continue to walk down this path hand-in-hand, creating the mother space for nurturing through food and prayer. We believe that it is not just making good healthy food to eat, but how that food is prepared, gathered, grown, hunted, and prayed over that makes it healing. The whole process is how we create strong communities that can sustain themselves based on care and respect. One morning a few years ago, as a few of the community women gathered at the women’s house to grind cornmeal, I listened while Opposite page, left to right: Roxanne Swentzell, Marian Naranjo, and Beata Tsosie.

a younger woman, Beata Tsosie, talked about a project she had dreamed up and was busy working on: The Española Healing Food Oasis. She had taken a permaculture workshop that Flowering Tree Permaculture and Traditional Native American Farmers Association (TNAFA) taught years ago. Afterwards, she exclaimed, “I saw the world in a whole new way.” One day Tsosie was in her car outside the Española library, watching the rain run off and erode the barren hillside just off the parking lot. The city had to repeatedly come in with heavy equipment and push the dirt back up the hill in order to protect the lot. Water is life, but Tsosie saw that this water was not valued. She wanted to apply what she’d learned about dryland food production and land reclamation on this abused hillside. In 2012, under the umbrella of Tewa Women United, Tsosie approached the city and convinced them to let her turn this “problem” into a food forest. The Española Healing Food Oasis was funded and approved to start breaking ground in 2016. “It started in a good way,” Tsosie said. “It started from a prayer and permission.” Tsosie learned to become a manager, with some two thousand hours from community volunteers to keep her busy. Recently, we sat on a stone banco that borders the lower end of the Food Oasis while Tsosie’s young son ran around with a dried seed head from last year’s harvest. The hillside is contoured to catch any rainwater. Catchments are mulched with straw or rock, and a large variety of shrubs, fruit trees, and grasses dot the once barren hillside. Footpaths make it accessible and friendly. So many people give up in the face of big industry and powers that seem uncaring, but Tsosie humbly took on one forgotten eroded hillside and, with her love and vision, nurtured life back into it. When I asked about her vision, Tsosie said, “I pray we one day have complete independent food sovereignty from colonizing and military institutions. Our youth need to have clean water and a connection to spiritual land-based education, and a place to honor indigenous values.” It takes many caring people to create a healthy community. I love these two women for the way they have behaved as mothers. When mothers lead, we always have food and a feeling that everyone and everything matters. When mothers lead, everyone wins. Beauty surrounds us when mothers care for our environment. I stand with my sisterhood to help carry us into a future of caring communities, not just for humans but for all nature’s diversity. For more information or donations: Flowering Tree Permaculture Institute www.floweringtreepermaculture.net 231 Below Obsidian Rd, Española, NM 87532 Honoring Our Pueblo Existence (H.O.P.E.) mariann2@windstream.net The Española Healing Food Oasis beata@tewawomenunited.org www.tewawomenunited.org

WWW.EDIBLENM.COM

Where Many Gardens Get Their Start KATHI CALDWELL AND RIO VALLEY GREENHOUSES By Marjory Sweet · Photos by Sergio Salvador

“T

Kathi Caldwelll at Rio Valley Greenhouses.

“They call it a nursery because you have to be here all the time,” Kathi Caldwell says. She is sitting in a kingdom of seeds, soil, and plants in various stages of infancy. It’s a ton of future food in a deceptively small space.

edible Santa Fe | EARLY SUMMER 2018

@TravelNewMexico

“I

t’s amazing to see the amount of food that goes out of here. You never think about it when you’re just looking at these little trays, but then you realize the amount of food they hold.” I am not at a grocery store or a farmers market, or even in a cultivated field. I am sitting in one of the greenhouses at Rio Valley, Kathi Caldwell’s plant nursery, hidden at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac in Albuquerque’s South Valley. As we weave through aisles of plants, I read labels: Barese chard, Thai Bird chiles, Mars celery, anise hyssop, Ceylon tomatoes. If you want to get an early start on making your seasonal shopping list, go see Caldwell in late April. It is likely that your favorite local grower relies on her to start at least some of their crops, and a significant portion of these plants will end up at the Downtown Growers’ Market. “They call it a nursery because you have to be here all the time,” Caldwell says. She is sitting in a kingdom of seeds, soil, and plants in various stages of infancy. It is late morning on a unusually warm Tuesday in April. Fans are turning on and off to regulate heat. An elderly local walks through the door looking for tomato plants. Caldwell directs, “House with the red door, along the back wall.” Two young employees are potting up kale and transferring trays from one house to another. Periodically, Caldwell interrupts herself to redirect them on another task or double check their work. Rio Valley is comprised of six greenhouses. Each one holds at least a couple thousand trays, 288 plants to a tray. For my farm alone, Caldwell is starting over fifty different varieties of vegetables. Over the course of a season, she works with thirty to fifty different farmers from as far south as Socorro to as far north as Medanales. Additionally, she starts plants for her own sales on site and at market. It’s a ton of future food in a deceptively small space. Her first job, in 1976, was in law enforcement with a specialty in social work and dealing with gang members. She received her training in South Central Los Angeles. That was followed by years as a program director for Youth Development Inc., then as a preschool educator. Not what you’d expect from someone who now looks after kale plants all day, but the more time you spend with her, the more you see how those past lives fortified Caldwell for her role as a greenhouse manager. She has a fierce mother bear quality. You get the feeling you shouldn’t mess with Caldwell. At the same time, you want to come to her with all your problems—which is exactly what growers often find themselves doing. I ask Caldwell if she hears about everyone's garden gripes. “Oh, definitely,” she quickly responds with a smile. She points to some late chard seedlings going to a farmer who lost his first planting to pests. We then pass by several trays of lush baby okra: “This farmer told me every time he seeds okra straight into the field he loses it. So this year we are trying something different.” Caldwell grew up in the North Valley and first developed a love of plants as a child in her grandfather Florencio’s garden. “He grew chile, squash . . . and corn along the fence. Whatever we could eat.” She remembers helping him make compost tea by mixing manure and water in fifty-five-gallon tubs. He would shout, “¡No te derrames, o hueles a mierda de vaca!” (Better not spill or you’ll smell like cow shit!). Her parents also kept a kitchen garden. Her father, also Flor-

encio, tended fruit trees, too. When Caldwell became a police officer, she grew vegetables as therapy for the intensity of the shift. Every year, she purchased her plants from Rio Valley. The same family had owned it since 1952 (the original hand-painted wooden sign still hangs on the front gate). “One year when I came to get my starts, there was a for sale sign. They were worried somebody was going to buy it and develop it. I saved it.” It was September 2006. At the time, she had been running a home preschool. She enjoyed the work, but her own children wanted her to be more involved in their school, and she wanted a workplace where her kids could spend time after school. Her husband, a full-time trucker, was often traveling. With the greenhouse, Caldwell could work and keep an eye on her three children. Her husband grew up in the South Valley and went to Rio Grande High, while Caldwell went to Valley High in the North Valley. “The sign on this place said Rio Valley,” she says with a smile. It made sense. When she first took over Rio Valley, she mostly grew wholesale plants for local retailers. Eventually, she started dedicating space to local growers. Vida Verde Farm was the first to special order seedlings. Over the years, more and more farmers have found their way to Caldwell. Her dedication to “farmer food,” as she says, is distinctive. There are other nurseries in the city, but they mostly sell landscaping plants and don’t provide the custom services she does: sourcing specialty trays and using seeds provided by the grower, for example. Caldwell says that for her working with farmers is more interesting and more meaningful. “For one thing, you know you are helping to feed people, and I think there’s a real need to specialize in growing food.” Caldwell also provides plants for some of the pueblos. “Santo Domingo, San Felipe. They come here for their chile.” She rattles off the various headaches these (and all) growers face: pests, poor germination, too hot, too cold, too dry. Caldwell is ready at all stages with seedlings and support. “They are so determined. They are going to get a crop one way or another.” This spirit of positive persistence is compatible with her own. Caldwell doesn’t simply grow plants for farmers; she grows plants with farmers. You hear her say “we” more than “I” when referring to her work. “We keep trying until we get there, right?” she says more than once during our conversation. Teamwork and trust are inherent to her philosophy of work and community. Occasionally, customers will approach her with questions about why she is not organically certified. She understands their concern, but is less interested in government regulated titles than personal relationships. “This isn’t California,” she says, referring to a state with more rigorous and widespread organic programs. “We have small farmers here and people know how they grow and trust their practices. Maybe we’re just a different kind of people in New Mexico. We get to know our farmers. People ask me, ‘Do you use organic soil?’ No, not necessarily. ‘Do you use organic seed?’ Well, depends on what the farmer brings me. I let them make those choices. Maybe other places don’t have those relationships and they have to rely on official seals of approval. Here, it’s all about trust. We’ve been a farming community since . . . forever. And it’s always been a trust thing. Whether you’re down south or up north, you buy and share and trade with your neighbors and local farmers. I love that.” WWW.EDIBLENM.COM

Rio Valley Greenhouses.

An obvious synergy exists between Caldwell’s work in the nursery and a farmer’s labor outdoors. “While you guys are getting your fields ready, I’m getting your plants ready,” she says. “And then when I get to see you at market, it’s a really good feeling to know that what I see on the tables got started in my greenhouse. I get to see the plants come to life.” She also shares many of the farmer’s headaches and concerns: constantly monitoring temperature, soil moisture, plant health, and root growth. She recalls one particularly cold night when a heater broke. “I had a feeling I should come back to check on things. I brought my kids and my husband and we ended up having to literally drape entire tables in white cloth in the middle of the night.” She insists there is no typical day in the greenhouse. “There are 60

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so many variables. Hot days, cold nights. You lose a heater, you lose a thermostat. A broken water pipe can throw things into chaos. You just got to do whatever it takes to keep them happy.” “Some years are better than others,” she says reflecting on the unpredictable nature of the work. “If I see problems in the greenhouse—bad germination—you come back and tell me you’re having problems in the field. Seed germination kind of foretells the future of each plant.” She pauses, “The seed holds the secret of where we’re headed.” 2000 Harzman SW, Albuquerque, 505-350-6414 www.facebook.com/RioValleyGreenhouses

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Add the Agriculture Industry to the #MeToo Movement By Sayrah Namaste and Florencia Asbury

edible Santa Fe | EARLY SUMMER 2018

hen we bite into a New Mexican chile pepper, we seldom think about the farmworkers and the harsh conditions they endured to bring us this simple pleasure. Many of these farmworkers are undocumented and have very little recourse when they experience violence and harassment in the fields. In New Mexico, roughly one third of these workers are women. The sexual exploitation of farmworker women is coming into the national conversation as the #MeToo movement spreads far beyond Hollywood. Alianza Nacional de Campesinas, the first national women’s farmworker organization in the US created by current and former farmworker women, along with partnering organizations and allies, is raising awareness of this problem. Armed with the symbol of a white bandana, the previously muffled voices of women farmworkers are rising to the forefront and trying to hold sexual predators accountable. To understand the severity of female sexual exploitation in the fields, we reached out to women who have worked closely on the plight of farmworker issues and conditions. Women who come to the US seeking work in the fields in the hope of a better future are frequently preyed upon in exchange for the promise of securing that future. When Hollywood actresses began speaking out about their experiences of sexual harassment, Alianza Nacional de Campesinas sent a letter in solidarity, representing 700,000 farmworker women who have experienced workplace sexual harassment and/or assault. The letter, which was published in TIME in November 2017, also aimed to publicly recognize that this is an industry full of women working long hours under the blazing sun and enduring exposure to pesticides, low wages, and substandard living conditions, who have begun shielding themselves with white bandanas in hopes of escaping sexual advances. “We wish that we could say we’re shocked to learn that this is such a pervasive problem in your industry,” wrote the farmworker women. “Sadly, we’re not surprised because it’s a reality we know far too well. Countless farmworker women across our country suffer in silence because of the widespread sexual harassment and assault that they face at work. We do not work under bright stage lights or on the big screen. We work in the shadows of society in isolated fields and packinghouses that are out of sight and out of mind for most people in this country. Your job feeds souls, fills hearts and spreads joy. Our job nourishes the nation with the fruits, vegetables and other crops that we plant, pick, and pack.”

“C

We asked Mily Trevino-Saucedo, the co-founder and vice president of the Alianza Nacional de Campesinas, how the letter to Hollywood #MeToo activists came about. “We farmworker women understood what happens when women speak up and we understand the courage it takes. The main intent of the letter was to give a message that they are not alone, that we understood what they experienced—and that we believed them.” Trevino-Saucedo started working as a farmworker with her family at the age of eight, first in Idaho and then in the fields of California not far from the glitzy world of Hollywood. She would never have expected that a group she co-founded would, decades later, receive a powerful response signed by three hundred actresses and published as an open letter in the New York Times. This led to the formation of the Time’s Up initiative, and a member of the Alianza appeared alongside celebrities Taylor Swift and Ashley Judd as part of the TIME magazine 2017 Person of the Year, “The Silence Breakers.” Trevino-Saucedo has been organizing farmworker women— campesinas—for thirty years. “It was easier to talk about topics like how spraying fields with pesticides impacted women’s health and reproduction. And the problem of low wages and the discrimination against women worsened as they aged. That was easier to talk about than sexual abuse,” she explained. “So we used theater to talk about the taboo topics like sexual harassment in the fields.” She described theater vignettes in which women acted out different scenes and a facilitator would pause and ask the audience what they observed. This was the way to bring up the painful but daily reality for so many women farmworkers who were sexually harassed. A 2012 Human Rights Watch study found that approximately eighty percent of women farmworkers reported having experienced some form of sexual violence on the job. In comparison, between twenty-five and fifty percent of all working women have experienced at least one incident of sexual violence on the job, and approximately one in five women in the United States has been raped. The terrible conditions for farmworker women are the result of the tremendous imbalance of power in agriculture. Farmworkers are arguably the most exploited workers in America, as they are exempt from most labor laws and have the highest rates of poverty compared to workers in other industries. Opposite page: White bandana worn by women farmworkers represents fighting back against sexual violence. The white bandanas featuring an illustration of Dolores Huerta were worn in celebration of Cesar Chavez Day in Albuquerque this year on April 5. Photo by Stephanie Cameron.

Countless farmworker women across our country suffer in silence because of the widespread sexual harassment and assault that they face at work. We do not work under bright stage lights or on the big screen. We work in the shadows of society in isolated fields and packinghouses that are out of sight and out of mind for most people in this country. WWW.EDIBLENM.COM

@TravelNewMexico

La Marcha de Justicia during the twenty-fifth annual César Chávez Day Fiesta at the National Hispanic Cultural Center. Photo by Stephanie Cameron.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission staff in Fresno, California, reported that hundreds, possibly thousands, of farmworker women were forced to have sex with supervisors to get or keep jobs. Most had to put up with propositions for sex and constant, inappropriate touching by supervisors. Often women dress like men in order to protect themselves in the fields. Many farmworkers do not have documentation of their legal status, and supervisors know they won’t report the abuse because of fear that immigration authorities could deport them. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), “[Undocumented women] are often the primary caregivers for children, making them less likely to assert their rights for fear of being fired or, worse, being deported and separated from their families. And because of their fear of being reported to immigration authorities, they are reluctant to report wage violations, sexual violence, or gender discrimination, or to take legal action to stop it.” When Trevino-Saucedo and the Alianza tried to access help from local police departments, crisis centers, and women’s shelters, they discovered that these agencies were ill-prepared to assist farmworker women. Most of their materials were written, and many of the victims did not read English or Spanish. Yet the agencies were often unwilling to hear feedback from campesinas about how to improve their services. 64

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Mónica Ramirez, co-founder of the Alianza, created the White Bandana Project in 2007 while she was the project director of Esperanza: The Immigrant Women's Legal Initiative of the Southern Poverty Law Center. The Bandana Project is a public awareness campaign addressing the issue of workplace sexual violence against migrant farmworker women. White bandanas are decorated and displayed to symbolize the sexual abuse of farmworker women because they have said that they use their clothes, including bandanas, to protect them from sexual harassment and assault at work. A coalition that included the SPLC created the Farmworker Sexual Violence Technical Assistance Project in 2008 to provide legal assistance and safety plans for farmworker victims. New Mexico−born Dolores Huerta, who co-founded the United Farm Workers Union with Cesar Chavez in 1972, talked with us about the sexual harassment of farmworker women while celebrating Cesar Chavez Day in Albuquerque this year. “This happens all the time because farmworker women are so isolated when they are in the fields. I think there is a little bit more awareness now, but way back there when we were organizing it was really, really bad. You know? It was really bad.” And what about now, we wondered? “Some of the same issues are still there,” Huerta said. “Women are afraid to report any sexual harassment because they are afraid they will lose their job. And because you have families who work

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Dolores Huerta speaks during the twenty-fifth annual César Chávez Day Fiesta in Albuquerque. Photo by Stephanie Cameron.

together, when they fire the woman, they won’t just fire just her but they will fire the whole family.” Huerta’s work with the United Farm Workers Union was historic in its effectiveness at improving the wages and working conditions of farmworkers, as well as raising the consciousness of American consumers. Many people think unions aim simply to improve wages, but they are also vehicles to make workplaces safer and to provide recourse for abuse. The movement Huerta helped create continues in its efforts to create dignity and justice for the people we rely on for the food we eat. The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), a worker-based human rights organization in Florida, is recognized for its achievements ending gender-based violence in the agricultural industry. Their Fair Food Program is a unique partnership among farmers, farmworkers, and retail food companies. Like the United Farm Workers Union, the program works to ensure fair wages and working conditions for the workers who pick fruits and vegetables on participating farms. The producer of the PBS Frontline documentary, Rape in the Fields, described the Fair Food Program as “unique in the country for preventing sexual violence.” Since 2011, they have resolved more than 1,800 complaints by workers. 66

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Regionally, some wonderful organizations support farmworker women. One is the Border Farm Worker Center in El Paso, which provides New Mexico and Texas farmworkers with services including a medical clinic, showers, food, English classes, arts programs, and recreation for both children and adults. The center is open seven days a week from 4pm to 6am, offering an alternative to sleeping outside on a piece of cardboard, as many farmworkers in the area did before it opened in 1993. The center also educates workers about their right to a fair wage and safe work environment. Alicia Marentes, the center’s director of social services, helps women farmworkers document complaints of sexual misconduct. This work and education is crucial if we are to break the silence and cycle of sexual violence perpetrated against this vulnerable population. When farmworkers organize and consumers support them, change can happen. If you’d like to support local farmworker women, consider donating to the the Border Farm Worker Center. Donate online at www.paypal.me/centrosinfronteras or send donations to Border Agricultural Workers Project, 201 East Ninth Avenue, El Paso, TX, 79901.

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#cheflife SEVEN BADASS WOMEN TALK ABOUT THEIR KITCHENS Virginia Scharff, Moderator and Introduction · Briana Olson, Transcription Photos by Stacey M. Adams

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Top left, clockwise: Marie Yniguez, Eliza Esparza, Jen Doughty, Nelle Bauer, Noela Figueroa, Carrie Eagle, Cristina Martinez, and Cherie Montoya.

It's that bond that women create in the kitchen. They're not just employees; you grow together, you move together, it's this cohesive family, this awesome dynamic that women bring. It kind of rocks the boat; people have to get their brains completely rewired. But once it happens, it's like, "Yes!" 68

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On a balmy April afternoon, I sat down at Farm & Table in Albuquerque’s North Valley with a group of some the most accomplished chefs in New Mexico. We discussed a wide range of topics, from leadership skills to New Mexico’s food scene to what the #MeToo movement means for the restaurant business. Though their personalities, training, experience, and opinions vary widely, they share the thoughtfulness, professionalism, and drive for excellence that produces great food and memorable hospitality. As it happens, they are all women with a keen understanding of the challenges for success in the macho, buccaneering culture that is today’s #cheflife. They see what women bring to restaurant kitchens, even as they prefer to be known simply as “chefs,” cooking soulful food you’ll want to eat. —Virginia Scharff VIRGINIA SCHARFF, Distinguished Professor of History, University of New Mexico CHERIE MONTOYA, Owner of Farm & Table in Albuquerque CARRIE EAGLE, Chef at Farm & Table in Albuquerque

ELIZA ESPARZA, Sous Chef at Farina Pizzeria in Albuquerque JEN DOUGHTY, Chef at the Palace Restaurant and Saloon in Santa Fe

NOELA FIGUEROA, Chef/owner of Bodega Prime in Santa Fe CRISTINA MARTINEZ, Chef at El Monte Sagrado in Taos MARIE YNIGUEZ, Chef/owner of Slow Roasted Bocadillos in Albuquerque NELLE BAUER, Co-owner and co-chef at Frenchish in Albuquerque VIRGINIA: What's your first food memory? NOELA: I cooked a scrambled egg. I think I was four because I pulled a chair up to the stove, and my mother snapped a picture of me, and I look horrified that she'd discovered me. MARIE: I was gonna say chorizo and eggs. My mom worked constantly so it was me and my sister and my brother. My sister used to make us flautas, tacos, just normal New Mexico cooking. . . . Or my mom and my grandma in the kitchen, making tortillas— CRISTINA: My grandma always had a stack of tortillas. Beans and chile going all the time, for anyone who dropped by. JEN: My first time eating real food—I grew up in a military family, so we had all this commissary-style food—but eating something for real was cabbage and sausage. But I'd say the most formative was coming to New Mexico at seventeen, and the food drew me . . . and the culture and atmosphere that comes with the food. ELIZA: I would say red chile enchiladas; I even have a burn from trying to help my mom fry the tortillas. I recall just sitting on the stool, watching her. Making red chile took awhile so we'd hang out, talking. That's the first time I saw the love you put into food. CRISTINA: That's what's awesome—from the female perspective of cooking, it's so emotional. My grandma put love in, and my mom put love in; it's like the best part of having kids, for them, was the feeding time.

VIRGINIA: It's interesting how you're talking about emotions, saying cooking is love, yet every one of you runs a business in the toughest business I know about. How do you find the will to persist? MARIE: It's a love-hate relationship. If you're lucky you've got friends and family who push you to keep going. And then you have those people that doubt you, that think you can't do this, and it's gonna push you, and you prove them wrong. And that's one thing for me that's a force. Being lesbian, being brown, being a single mom . . . it's been hard. When I read articles about people like you guys, I'm like, damn! NOELA: I've worked under male chefs in male kitchens for the majority of my career. Very rigorous environments where people would holler. The man I apprenticed under would wave knives and make people cry. . . . It was important to rewrite that dynamic in my own business because it was so heartbreaking and it would cause me to question why I was in this industry. Part of what keeps me going is that I feel I have a responsibility to my crew—it is a team. MARIE: You're not just feeding yourself, you're feeding all their families. JEN: And I think there's a need for the women superpowers to start taking control, putting our voices out in the community. We need more family atmosphere. CRISTINA: It's that bond that women create in the kitchen. They're not just employees; you grow together, you move together, it's this cohesive family, this awesome dynamic that women bring. It kind of rocks the boat; people have to get their brains completely rewired. But once it happens, it's like, "Yes!" CARRIE: And that's a huge part of our responsibility—passing along this sense of, yeah, we can be badasses, we can be the best crew around, and we can turn out the most beautiful plates, but it doesn't have to be a cutthroat environment. And the guys on our core crew— we tease them, it's the kitchen of brotherly love. VIRGINIA: What I'm hearing is there's a different style of leadership when women are in the lead. At the same time, I know my mom had a look she would give me when I was out of line. She didn't have to say a word, she'd just give me the look, and that was all I needed. So how do you lead while cultivating that more sensitive, egalitarian, family-driven, caring culture? NOELA: We have an open kitchen. NELLE: You can't throw things, you can't yell. NOELA: There's no reason for that kind of talk, and there is no discord between the front and back of the house because there's nowhere to hide. And when people get steamed up, I just look at them and say, "Go take a walk." MARIE: You give them the look! You know, you give them that look. CRISTINA: I have always just wanted respect. Don't stop listening because I'm a woman. It's our duty as chefs, and as women chefs, to teach. Teach people, teach cultures, teach respect. WWW.EDIBLENM.COM

Left to right: Eliza Esparza and Virginia Scharff.

CARRIE: When you're in those moments, you know we talked about the guys with the sharpest knives—we have to rise to the occasion and show every male in our kitchens. And there is an element, of, yeah, I am a woman, and, yeah, I'm gonna push that much harder to drive the point home. But the skill has to be there.

and we'll see which one comes out better. That's how you learn. I still learn every single day. I have an all-girl crew. We have one girl . . . [to Eliza] she's like you were, she's afraid to get her voice across because she doesn't want to be the mean one.

ELIZA: When I graduated culinary school, my friend got me a job at Farina, and the sous chef at the time, he was—he's my good friend now—but he's the one who I'd say lit the fire for me because he would pick at everything I did. In a way, he motivated me to grow a shell; when I first started, I was very timid and quiet, I was scared, and it was a lot of males, and the oven guy was known as the a-hole, and they were all kind of mean, and I'd like to give them credit. To a certain extent, they pushed me to rise up.

CARRIE: It's that dance, that little gender dance . . . she's got to find her strength.

JEN: And that's where I appreciate all those guys who talked the smack, who pushed and poked, until I was like, you know what, I'm just gonna start working circles around you. I think that's what makes us all better leaders. NOELA: I also think it's important—I know what I can do, what I'm capable of, as does my crew, but if I don't know something, I think it's okay to say, “I don't know, but I'm gonna find out” or “What do you know about that?” MARIE: I've had the guy with the sharpest knife in the kitchen and everything, and I'll say, okay, you do it your way and I'll do it my way, 70

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CRISTINA: It takes time.

JEN: I loved breaking that stigma as a line cook. I would not allow the guys to push me around, and I think that's how I got a lot of great gigs, with a lot of great chefs. I see a lot of young chefs, even men, they're intimidated—I'm like, no, you've got to be confident if you want thick skin in this. CRISTINA: I think the vulnerability, though, is something that's beautiful too. MARIE: You've got to be able to talk to each other. If somebody's going down on your time, on your line, they better say, “hey, I'm going down, come help me.” That's a problem with a lot of the egos that go around in the kitchen, they're like, “I can do this.” No—bro, you need help. NOELA: I always ask—and this is not typical from the male chefs I've experienced—but I ask, what do you need from me? How can we make this so that, when you're in the weeds, you can call me?

MARIE: Sometimes you just gotta let ‘em go down. You let ‘em go down so you can say, okay, what did you do wrong. NELLE: It doesn't have to be a “what did you learn from this?” It can be me telling them, this is what happened, and then this happened, and this is what you needed to do, but you didn't, so this happened, and this was the bonfire. Because when you're in the middle of the weeds, you can't see anything. VIRGINIA: We have such a close food community in this state. How might working in New Mexico be different from other places you've worked? What does it mean to be here? JEN: Organization. I cooked in Oregon for a while, and the farmto-table organization was incredible. Here I've found it harder to bridge that gap. It's easier for the public, but it's harder for a restaurant. [For example,] depending on that person to deliver your lamb every Tuesday. CARRIE: I think Albuquerque, our local farmers, everyone who participates in that Downtown Growers’ Market, they have dinners, they work together, they try to communicate so that not all six farms I'm ordering from in June have just braising greens. There's a greater collaborative effort coming from our small farmers, and it's getting better every single season. NOELA: We're doing that, with Beneficial [Farms CSA]. They're doing a dinner in a couple weeks, with industry professionals and farmers, because they cull from all over the state, and it's to have that conversation, how are we gonna plan for the coming season?

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CRISTINA: Albuquerque is amazing—everyone's connected in some way, and it's all kind of through food, and that's a beautiful part of the culture. In Taos, and it's not that far away, but it's like another world. Moving away made me gain appreciation for everyone that's impacting what's happening here. VIRGINIA: Eliza, you came out of CNM's culinary program, which is, I think, expanding. Is that making an impact, locally? CARRIE: We sat on a panel where we opened a dialogue on how do we get our students into your restaurant. A big issue is that if you have Cheddars offering eighteen dollars an hour because you have a culinary degree, that's not an applicant I can even look at. NOELA: I did an apprenticeship, and I worked and worked and worked, and I didn't go to culinary school. And I would get these kids out of a nine-month culinary school, and they were like, I'm a chef, and I'd say, actually, you're gonna be my plater. I felt sometimes the culinary programs were instilling ideas about what their career was going to be like without giving them the opportunity to hone their skills and prove themselves. JEN: When I have someone that's all fancy out of culinary school, I'm like, you're starting on dish, minimum wage. To humble them a little bit. That's how I started; in high school, I was a dishwasher. MARIE: Parents aren't teaching their kids how to go to work anymore; nobody's out there pulling weeds anymore. In culinary school, that's what they need to teach them, is this is how you work. WWW.EDIBLENM.COM

Left to right: Noela Figueroa and Jen Doughty.

ELIZA: I appreciated culinary school. I learned from the people I was with. They were like, I'm gonna graduate, I'm gonna be on the Food Network, I'm gonna be a star, and I was kinda like, I don't think so. But I did get to network, I did get to meet some people working in the industry, and I got to learn from them. But I think the media, stardom, #cheflife, has a lot to do with kids graduating and not knowing that you have to work for some pretty crappy money, and go home achy, and not have a life, in order to be the #cheflife. JEN: I did culinary school as a woman cook, because I was having issues where I'd go in kitchens, and they'd put me on pastry. Oh, you're a chick, so you're gonna do pastry. But it got my foot in some doors, having that piece of paper and that self-discipline. CRISTINA: I went to Le Cordon Bleu and every day was a struggle with male instructors grading me lower just based off my being a female. That was the start of, wow, this is what I'm getting into, and it's too late, because I already signed that loan, so I'm gonna finish. But CNM offers an inexpensive program. They have beautiful facilities and great instructors. The only thing is they have these six-foot tables, and they have their own mixer…

VIRGINIA: The biggest news in the business is all the bad behavior on the part of some of the celebrity chefs. How do you feel about this [#MeToo] moment? How do you advance the conversation about creating more power and more creative moments for women in the food business? JEN: Obviously, the cycle is a problem; we need to get clever to break that cycle. CRISTINA: I think it's amazing that people are finally being held responsible for what they've done. In this industry, men have been completely untouchable; you can go around as a man screaming and fondling and sexually harassing your staff, and that's just "the culture." In the real world, men can't go around grabbing women, but they're still doing that in kitchens. I don't think it should ever be forgotten. It should be constantly brought up so it will never happen again—so no matter how rich you are, no matter how many restaurants you have your name on, you will be held responsible.

JEN: This is not reality.

CARRIE: Fostering the sense of community and the collaborative environment we're talking about, and teaching our young men, who work for us—it's as important as bringing along the young female chefs because growing that awareness impacts everyone who interacts with it.

CRISTINA: You're gonna get used to duct tape, when you're a real chef.

NOELA: I used to work with this French, James Beard–award winner. He was big and he would come in and stare right at my breasts

edible Santa Fe | EARLY SUMMER 2018

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Left to right: Cristina Martinez, Noela Figueroa, Jen Doughty, Eliza Esparza, Virginia Scharff, Carrie Eagle, Nelle Bauer, and Marie Yniguez.

and say, “hello, Noela, how are you today,” and I'd say, “Well, Chef, I'm a little tired, but my breasts are fine.”

meticulous. His attention to detail, his food, is awe-inspiring to me— we push each other to try new things.

JEN: That's what I mean about being clever . . . you're bringing humor and clarity to the situation.

CARRIE: We're losing our pastry chef, and I'm looking for someone, but in the interim, I'm looking forward to getting my hands back into making bread every day. On the other side, we end up with a surplus of local produce, and I want to extend our preserving and our pickle program.

NELLE: I try to remind our staff that we're in the hospitality industry. To be welcoming and open to our guests—that's our job. If they're treating each other a certain way, it gives me pause, that they would treat our guests that way. We're not slinging something across a counter. You're feeding these people, nourishing them, and their experience has to be welcoming and loving and caring. Yes, we're in a kitchen, but that kitchen is part of a restaurant. VIRGINIA: So, what's next? What are you most interested in learning about food—a style, working with new ingredients, a technique, what's lighting your fire right now? NOELA: Butchery. I loved it right from the first time I started doing it.

ELIZA: I'm working on a bar menu for Farina. I'm excited about the farms offering more produce so we can pickle more. I have a place in the walk-in, they call it Eliza's pickle shelf. Also, I bake our bread and mix our pizza dough on the weekends . . . I don't really have time to read, but when I do get time, I'd like to read more about baking. VIRGINIA: Is there anything we haven't talked about that you want to talk about? CARRIE: Looking around the table, I feel like everyone's in a strong moment. It feels like we're all in the stream of what makes us happy.

MARIE: I'm learning noodles right now. I'm in love with the noodle bowl.

CHERIE: I want to give a shout out to other women in the industry—I want to make sure we can remember to link arms. We need to help be that platform and help shore up other women.

JEN: I love sauces. All the different moles, chiles . . . that's something [Mark] Miller taught me. He made me study a hundred different chiles before I could touch his sauces. I'm trying to continue to do that. . . . My chile is no joke.

CRISTINA: I think it's our responsibility. I've been through a lot in this industry. When you start off young as a female, and you want to please everyone, you go through a lot, and I think if you make it out, and you feel stronger, it's your responsibility to share that.

CRISTINA: My husband pushes me. He's also a chef, and he's crazy

This discussion has been edited for brevity and clarity.

edible Santa Fe | EARLY SUMMER 2018

Art, Culture, History and Beyond

Join The Circles Explorers, the Museum of New Mexico Foundation’s newest membership level, tailor-made for those with an adventurous spirit. We’re pioneering a new way to engage in the art, culture and history of our four state museums in Santa Fe and seven historic sites statewide.

Become a Circles Explorer today! For more information call Cara O’Brien, Director of The Circles, at 505.982.6366, ext. 118, email cara@museumfoundation.org or visit museumfoundation.org/explorers

SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 10AM — 5PM AT THE GUTIÉRREZ-HUBBELL HOUSE IN ALBUQUERQUE

Buy your tickets now!

$20 for general admission BENEFITS THE HUBBELL HOUSE ALLIANCE

fermentation workshops • chef demos • kimchi mob • cheese mob • fermented beverages food trucks • fermented foods and product vendors • museum tours • kids' activities culture swap • book sales • bike valet • live music by Zoltan and The Fortune Tellers 76

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edible Santa Fe | EARLY SUMMER 2018

presented by

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www.gutierrezhubbellhouse.org

GET CULTURED! TWENTY EDUCATIONAL WORKSHOPS Fermented Drinks • Hot Sauces • Hard Cider • Sourdough Bread • Mead • Sake Fire Cider • Cocktails/Spirits • Nut Yogurt • Beer • Healthy Gut • Wine • Cheese Kombucha • Kefir • Kimchi • Fermented Herbs from the Wilds • Kids' Workshops COME AND TASTE THE FERMENTED FOODS & BEVERAGES OF NEW MEXICO • Algodones Distillery

• Freanna Yoghurt

• New Mexico Hard Cider

• Arizona Sake

• Grow the Growers

• NM Ferments

• Artemesia Herbs

• Gruet Winery

• Old Monticello Farm

• Barrio Brinery

• Happy Cat Pottery

• Old Windmill Dairy

• Beneficial Farms

• Honeymoon Brewery

• Oni Noodles

• Bookworks

• Kombucha Kamp

• Picaflor

• Bosque Brewing

• Kombucha Project

• Planty Sweet

• Bow & Arrow Brewery

• Leaf & Hive

• Pristina

• Box Car Farm

• Left Turn Distilling

• Santa Fe Probiotics

• Coonridge Organic Goat Cheese

• Los Poblanos

• Street Food Institute

• Los Ranchos Bakery

• Sheehan Winery

• De Smet Dairy

• M'tuccis Market & Deli

• Still Spirits

• Drinking Horn Meadery

• Marble Brewery

• The Art of Cheese

• Eldora Chocolate

• Mudslide Stoneware

• Victor's Homebrew

• Finches Cafe

• My Sweet Basil

• And more...

Get Funky at the Fermentation Festival #NMFERMFEST · @NMFERMFEST A LIVE CULTURE CONVERGENCE