August 2012

AUGUST 2012

Eye

of the Native art now

Santa Fe | Albuquerque | Taos A Taste of Life in New Mexico

LAU R A S HE P PHERD ATELIER

photosantagto.com

Collection of accessories, jackets, dresses & bridal created locally out of exquisite world sourced textiles. Shown with Masha Archer jewelry.

Our Sale continues‌ New things being added!

65 w. marcy st santa fe ~ 505.986.1444 ~ laurasheppherd.com

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Bien Shur Celebrates the

Wines of Freemark Abbey ć VSTEBZ "VHVTU t QN Special guest speaker Irby Wood of Majestic Fine Wines Few Napa Valley wineries can match the rich heritage and storied history of Freemark Abbey. Josephine Tychson kicked off a history of innovation back in 1886 becoming one of the first women winegrowers on record. Over 100 years later, the winery still stands where she originally established it in St. Helena, and the commitment to inviting, refreshing and food-friendly white wines, and rich, voluptuous reds, now highlighted by the powerhouse Sycamore Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon has not wavered over the years.

Cheers!

First Course Dragonfruit %JWFS 4DBMMPQ 1SPTDJVUUP -FNPOBEF (BTUSJRVF 2009 Freemark Abbey , Sauvignon Blanc, Napa

Second Course “Peaches N Cream� Salad $BOEJFE 8BMOVUT "SVHVMB 1FBDI 7BOJMMB 'PBN 2010 Freemark Abbey, Chardonnay, Napa

Third Course Ras El Hanout (Moroccan-spiced) Pork en Sous Vide $PČ FF i4PJMw 8JME .VTISPPNT 0SFDDIJFUUF 1BTUB .JOU %FNJ (MBDF 2009 Freemark Abbey, Merlot, Napa

Fourth Course Brown Sugar Cured Filet Mignon $SFBNTJDMF 1PUBUPFT "TQBSBHVT #MVFCFSSZ 1BJOU 2005 Freemark Abbey, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sycamore Vineyard, Rutherford

Fifth Course Peach Infused Angel Food Cake #MVFCFSSZ 4PSCFU *UBMJBO .FSJOHVF 2008 Freemark Abbey, Late Harvest Riesling, Napa

QFS QFSTPO QMVT UBY BOE TFSWJDF DIBSHF

For reservations or information please call 796-7500 .ĎĿİ 2łĜĝğĝIJŀ $ľIJij ĹIJ $łĜŀĜĝIJ

I-25 & Tramway | Albuquerque, NM | 505.796.7500 | 877.272.9199 www.sandiacasino.com

ON OUR COVER:

INSIDE

CANNUPA HANSKA LUGER The Buzz

by Kelly Koepke | 10

Get in on all the latest news from Santa Fe, Albuquerque and Taos. Everybody reads the buzz…

On Our Cover: Cannupa

by Gail Snyder | 14

Cannupa Hanska Luger is one of the most extraordinary and exciting young artists to ever grace our cover. His words and his art are as unforgettable as that piercing gaze behind the mask.

Indigo Crow Café

by Erin Brooks | 18

Discover the hidden gem of Corrales—a quintessential neighborhood cafe that positively stole our hearts.

Through the Photographer’s Eye

by Tania Casselle | 23

To celebrate the debut of a beautiful new book entitled Contemporary Native American Artists, photographer Kitty Leaken shares her experiences on the other side of the camera.

Serpent Trail Dancers

by Denè Shelton

| 28

The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center provides the perfect venue for the young members of the Serpent Trail Dancers to express a commitment to their Native roots. It’s also the perfect venue for non-Natives to experience the genuine flavor of New Mexico.

La Casa Sena

by Greg O’Byrne

| 33

A Santa Fe landmark since 1983, the newly imagined La Casa Sena is ready to win your love all over again.

Flirting with Rosé

by James Selby | 36

Once you flirt with rosé, that delicious wench of a summer wine, you just may be surprised to find yourself falling in love.

The Santa Fe School of Cooking

by Gordon Bunker | 38

The Santa Fe School of Cooking has a brand new home. We paid a visit to the mother-daughter team of Susan Curtis and Nicole Ammerman at their fabulous new digs to find out where all the energy and ideas come from.

Still Hungry?

by Melyssa Holik | 44

Photo: Kitty Le aken

Four Albuquerque chefs share their favorite recipes for staying out of the kitchen. Hey, it’s just too hot to cook!

AUGUST 2012 ~ Publishers Patty & Peter Karlovitz Editor Patty Karlovitz Publisher’s Assistant Melyssa Holik Art Director Jasmine Quinsier Cover photo: Kate Russell Advertising: Santa Fe: Mary Brophy 505.231.3181. Christoper Romero 505.670.1331. Lianne Aponte 505.629.6544. Albuquerque: Leslie Davis 505.933.1345.

Prepress: Scott Edwards Ad Design: Alex Hanna Distribution: Southwest Circulation LocalFlavor 223 North Guadalupe #442, Santa Fe, NM 87501 Tel: 505.988.7560 Fax: 988.9663 E-mail: localflavor @earthlink.net Website: www.localflavormagazine.com localflavor welcomes new writers. Send writing samples to localflavor@earthlink.net localflavor is published 11 times a year: Feb, March, April, May, June, July, Aug, Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec/Jan. Subscriptions $24 per year. Mail check to above address. © Edible Adventure Co.‘96. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be used without the permission of Edible Adventure Co. localflavor accepts advertisements from advertisers believed to be reputable, but can’t guarantee it. All editorial information is gathered from sources understood to be reliable, but printed without responsibility for erroneous, incorrect, or omitted information.

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Thanks to our Gala Chefs!

The Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival gratefully acknowledges the exceptional chefs whose contributions made our 40th Anniversary Chefs’ Gala possible: CHEFS’ GALA PREMIER SPONSOR: Kongsgaard Wine The Festival especially thanks Kongsgaard Wine and Maggy and John Kongsgaard for generously donating all Gala dinner wines and two cases of magnums for the Chefs’ Gala Auction.

Chef Eric DiStefano

Chef Eric DiStefano

Chef Lesley B. Fay Chef Jennifer James

Chef Patrick Gharrity

A heartfelt thank-you to Corey Fidler, Food and Beverage Director at Hotel Santa Fe, for his invaluable contribution as coordinator of the Gala dinner.

Chef Alain Jorand The Festival thanks Kim Otis and the Albuquerque Catering Company for contributing the hors d’oeuvres and Southern Wine and Spirits for contributing liquor and wine for the cocktail hour.

Chefs Mark KifďŹ n & Kim MĂźller Chef Marja Martin

Chef Patrick Kline

Chef Andrew Nichols Many thanks to floral and event designer Andrea Soorikian for donating her time and talent toward table dĂŠcor.

Chef Catherine O’Brien

Chef Jonathan Perno Chef Fernando Olea

Chef Anthony Smith Chef Brett Sparman

Intimate. Compelling. Unforgettable.

Marc Neikrug, Artistic Director

Concerts Continue Through August 20, 2012

Chef Ruben Tanuz Chef Joseph Wrede

4BOUB'F$IBNCFS.VTJD DPN t

Los Lunas, NM Meet your local growers!

Join us for delicious food and loads of fresh picked local chile

Live music provided by big named musicians and hometown favorites Rail Runner transportation, Beer Garden, Arts & Crafts, Chile contests, Corn and Chile roasting

Family friendly fun for all ages!

U-Pick garden, hay ride tours, pony rides, petting zoo, corn maze

Taste the flavor of New Mexico at VIVA New Mexico Chile Festival Saturday, Sept 8, 10 am - 9 pm Sunday, Sept 9, 10 am - 7 pm 1420 Desert Willow Rd. (behind Walmart), Los Lunas, NM

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AUGUST 2012

Photo: Kate Russell

vivachilefestival.com 505-459-0719

As we go to press with our annual Indian Market issue, the vibrant and spirited Spanish Market is still in full swing on the plaza; Arabella, the fifth and final opera production of the summer premiers this weekend; the Chamber Music Festival is in full swing and there’s a dozen other performing arts groups on stage all over town.

It’s summer in Santa Fe and it’s not for the faint of heart. (Especially if you’re a local who crisscrosses through the center of town several times a day, or if you’re a magazine editor who feels a moral obligation to attend every performance or see every performer you’ve ever written about.)

Not for the faint of heart. But definitely for those who love the creative energy and excitement of living in a town that attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the world to experience the world we are fortunate enough to live in.

The mysterious masked man on the cover is Cannupa Hanska Luger. If this is the first time you have heard his name or seen his art or listened to his words, I guarantee you it will not be the last. He is an articulate and original thinker with sensibilities and insight far beyond his years and his art is fearless— breathtaking.

The photography of Kitty Leaken has appeared many times this past year in localflavor--much to the delight of everyone she works with and everyone who sees the stories that she covers. Naturally, when Kitty stopped by one day last winter, filled with excitement about a book that she was working on, we knew we wanted to do a story on it. Contemporary Native American Artists (already in its second printing) is a visually stunning book that speaks for itself. The story that we wanted to tell was what photographer Kitty Leaken experienced and felt on her journey to bring this book to life.

Native dance is one of the oldest expressions of Indian culture in New Mexico and remains an important part of the spiritual life on pueblos today. Many of these same dances are performed throughout the summer at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque for all to experience. Our story centers on the Serpent Trail Dancers, eight young people from the Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo who range in age from nine to eighteen. You will be fascinated by their ability to move effortlessly between two cultures, two worlds.

Even in August New Mexicans love their al fresco dining and two of the most beautiful patios in the entire state are covered in this issue. Indigo Crow in Corrales is one of those hidden gems that tourists dream of stumbling across. Locals in the Albuquerque area prefer to keep it a secret, but not after this story. Our favorite patio in Santa Fe on the other hand, La Casa Sena, is a landmark property with an international reputation.

What’s new to write about? The new La Casa Sena. The chef and management team have pulled off a transformation that will have you fallling in love with it all over again.

Enjoy the issue and enjoy every moment of our madcap summer!

LETTER

Presented by Wagner’s Farmland Experience

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Tullivers Tullivers

Natural Pet Food

Guess what's cookin’ at Tullivers?

Only the most nutritious, natural, & high quality pet foods!

807 Cerrillos Road, Santa Fe: 505-992-3388 7900 Carmel Ave NE, Albuquerque: 505-797-7080 www.tulliverspetfood.com

A Taste of Life in New Mexico

AUGUST 2012

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A S AV O RY

S U M M E R AT ANASAZI R E S TAU R A N T New Three-Course Lunch Starter Tortilla Soup or Organic Green Salad Main Course New York Steak Sandwich, Galisteo Lamb Quesadilla or Vegetable Wrap Dessert Homemade Ice Cream or Sorbet $20 per person

113 Washington Avenue Santa Fe, NM 87501 (505) 988-3030 innof theanasazi.com

Chef Juan Bochenski

New Mexico’s 8th Annual Celebration of World Music and Culture

Ozomatli

and many more!

SEPTEMBER 20 - 22, 2012 National i l Hispanic i i Cultural l l Center

World Music Artists from 5 Continents on 3 Stages Over 2 Nights ights PLUS: The Big Spank (New Mexico, USA) s Bombino (Niger) s Canteca de Macao (Spain) pain pa in)) Freshlyground (South Africa) s Daniel Kahn & The Painted Bird (Germany) Karsh Kale (India) s La Familia Vigil (New Mexico, USA) Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto (Colombia) s Ali Akbar Moradi Ensemble (Kurdistan, n, Iran) Zeb & Haniya (Pakistan) More to be announced!

ÂĄGlobalQik! Dance Party! Thurs. Sept. 20 DJ sets in the Fountain Courtyard - Karsh Kale (India) and more!

FREE! Global Fiesta Sat. Sept. 22, 10:30 am - 4 pm m

Bettye LaVette te

Food, crafts, dance, workshops,music and hands-on activities for all ages.

Both eve events at the National Hispanic Cultural Center

www.globalquerque.org Plena Libre 8

R. Carlos Nakai Earth Sounds Ensemble

AUGUST 2012

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505-232-9868

theSpa

at encantado Anglo American Anne et Valentin Beausoleil Lunettes Dolce & Gabbana Etnia Barcelona FACE a FACE

Ronit Fürst Gotti Switzerland i.c!berlin Lindberg Denmark Oliver Peoples Loree Rodkin 2.5 Eyephorics

BOTWIN

The Spa at Encantado offers an innovative selection of spa and wellness services, honoring New Mexico’s indigenous healing traditions while paying tribute to Santa Fe’s established reputation for eclectic approaches to health and well being.

877.262.4666 fourseasons.com/santafe 198 state road 592, santa fe

GROUP

&

e y e s

Home of the Healing Arts

EYE

o p t i c s S A N TA

FE

505.954.4442 444 St Michael’s Drive, Santa Fe Monday thru Friday 8:30 ‒ 5:30 and Saturday 8:30 ‒ 12:30 by appointment www.BotwinEyeGroup.com

A Taste of Life in New Mexico

AUGUST 2012

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ALBUQUERQUE

Photo : amc.com

The hottest ticket in ’Burque these days (says Fox News, CNN.com, The Huffington Post, The Washington Post, USA Today and, of course, the local rags and TV) is the BaD Tour from ABQ Trolley Company. The threehour tour of featured Breaking Bad locations include Walter White’s and Jesse Pinkman’s houses, the car wash, the laundry, Saul Goodman’s law office, Tuco’s hideout, the Railyards, the Crossroads Motel, Los Pollos Hermanos and more. Win prizes in the trivia contest, too. The August tours are sold out, so cross your fingers for future dates. Visit www.abqtrolley.com or call 505.240.8000 to get their email newsletter, and get on board the tour that blue meth cooked.

|| Bryan Cranston of Breaking Bad

RIP Rancho de Corrales, the venerable special-events center that burnt to the ground last month. The historic hacienda, built in 1801, became Territorial House Saloon and later Territorial Steak House. It then became Rancho de Corrales, a successful New Mexican restaurant, before a painstaking restoration in 2005 turned it into a private events center. Its rustic charm delighted wedding, graduation and holiday partygoers for years. Renovations had recently been complete to the outside patio area, too, with new plantings and an area under the famous tree for photo ops. Rest in peace, casa linda.

Welcome to the latest endeavor from un-retired restaurant entrepreneur Dave Garduño. ChiliRio, a borderstyle cantina touting peddler carts, street tacos, hand held burritos, and churro desserts is now open along I-25 between Montgomery and Jefferson.

Says Theresa Kelly, co-owner of

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ChiliRio, “My father is already known for his award-winning margaritas, and ChiliRio is the perfect setting for sipping these margaritas, savoring a bold menu of flavors and delectable desserts in a chic urban cantina.” In the back of the house is George Abeyta, who served as master chef at Garduño’s for over 35 years. A mash-up of Mexican and New Mexican flavors, menu items range from $7 to $16. There’s also an extensive wine and beer list along with those fresh-squeezed and specialty margaritas and 25 tequilas. All sounds good to us! ChiliRio offers several gluten-free items, and many ingredients are organic and locally grown. Call 505.341.8005 for reservations, take-out or more information.

Think summer means vacation? Not for the members of the Albuquerque Theatre Guild. The ATG resumes A Taste of Theatre every Tuesday in August at St. Clair Winery and Bistro. Local theater companies showcase upcoming shows at 6 p.m. The St. Clair offers fine dining and excellent wine at reasonable prices. Throw in selections from local live theater productions and you’ve got dinner and a show! And watch this space for a special announcement about a late fall free night of theater. Get your cues for the best in local theater at www. abqtheatre.org.

Beat the heat with cool musical comedy from the Adobe Theater’s production of I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change.

This witty musical by Joe Pietro and Jimmy Roberts takes us through the terror of the first dates through weddings, babies and beyond from August 10 through September 2. A talented cast of two men and women perform nearly five-dozen roles. It’s the second longest running Off-Broadway musical, and it has been called the perfect date-night comedy for adults.

Yes, there’s lots of frank talk about sex, but nothing smutty—at least until you get home. Tickets are $15, students and seniors $13; call 505.898.9222 or visit www.adobetheater.org.

Sundays should always include worship at Sunday Chatter (formerly Church of Beethoven), Albuquerque’s weekly miracle of music, poetry, coffee and home-baked goodies. The 10:30 a.m. concert in the old barrel-arched warehouse christened the Kosmos, 1715 5th Street NW, lasts an hour—long magazine.com

enough for the devout, not too long for us heathens. The upcoming schedule includes appearances by the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, poet Hakim Bellamy, former UNM president and author Dr. Richard Peck talking about the “ultimate nerd literature” (that’d be science fiction), the Santa Fe Opera Brass and activist, KUNM personality and poet Mary Oishi. Limited tickets at the door: $15 for general admission, $9 for 30 and under, $5 for children. Visit www.chatterchamber.org for a complete schedule (plus information on the Sunday-evening incarnation for you late sleepers, Chatter Cabaret at the Hotel Andaluz, downtown).

|| The Kosmos

Prairie Star Restaurant’s director of food and beverage Shane Clark shot us this note. “Our newest buzz is this: We have a summer wine sale! Purchase a tasting card for $10 and taste six of the eight featured wines. With your $10 tasting card, you receive a $5 credit on retail purchases, and ten percent off six bottles, or 20 percent off 12 bottles.

Thank you!” No, thank you, Shane and everyone at Prairie Star!

The Range Café in Bernalillo (925 S. Camino Del Pueblo) is known for its great local food. Its Red Boot Gallery hosts some of the area’s best local talent.

Their latest honoree, artist Frank Fell, has been producing well-regarded folk art for more than 50 years and leads the list of celebrated artists displaying work in different media through the end of August. And swing by collaborating La Junta Gallery (413 S. Camino Del Pueblo), a former stagecoach stop and antique store dating from the 1840s.

The renovations on the historic building began three years ago by building and gallery owner Sean Brennan.

Rumors of the thick walls hiding treasures notwithstanding, pick up some local treasures all mediums. Call 505.867.9159 for more information.

Calling all chile heads and beer brewers! The world’s most competitive fiery foods contest is accepting entries for the 17th annual Scovie Awards competition. (I’ve judged this competition several times and can testify to the amazing sauces, dips, rubs, jellies, salsas and other products in more than 60 categories.) New to the Scovie Awards this year is a chile beer category, judged on the quality and flavor of the beers enhanced by different chiles and brewing styles.

Amateurs and professionals can compete in red chile, green chile and smoked chile divisions. Companies can submit their spicy foods and barbecue products through September 3, while brewers have until September 15.

Winners of the 2013 Scovie Awards will be featured at the 25th Annual National Fiery Foods & Barbecue Show, featuring over 1,000 products March 1-3, 2013 at Sandia Resort & Casino. Entry forms are available now at www.scovieawards.com.

SANTA FE Up, up and up again to Alto, Pranzo’s newest addition! To celebrate the restaurant’s 25th birthday, owner Michael O’Reilly has given us a present—a bistro offering an eclectic international menu, located on the top floor of the restaurant’s space in Sanbusco Market Center. With its amazing views on three sides, weekend music from Broadway pianist David Geist and a significantly different (yet equally scrumptious) menu of small plates and right-sized entrees (and reduced prices to match), Alto was designed for me! I love to nibble several different choices in an upscale and relaxed setting without breaking the bank. Because that’s how I roll.

Avanti ad Alto! Call 505.984.2645 for reservations.

As if we needed yet another reason to love it here in Santa Fe, our humble burg has taken the Best of the Road Best Food Town Competition title.

Yep, Santa Fe is the small city with the best food in the country according to the Rand McNally/USA Today Best of the Road Rally. The Santa Fe Convention & Visitors Bureau—with generous support from 13 restaurants, five hotels, a tour company, a cooking school, many small businesses and, of course, our friendly folks—tantalized

visiting Best of the Road judges Mike Shubic and Brian Cox with a bellyful of Santa Fe’s remarkable foods, memorable sights, and Southwestern charm. Perhaps you were caught in the footage the video crews from the Travel Channel captured of the judges devouring every delicious mouthful?

Welcome to Stu Dickson, the new owner of Café Café, at 500 Sandoval.

Former owners Kirstin Griffin and Donalee Goodbrod (highly respected in the Santa Fe culinary community and real sweethearts) moved back East to be closer to family. Per Stu, favorites will remain on the menu, and the kitchen staff will stay the same.

(We understand that bodily harm was threatened if the spumoni came off the menu.) Stu’s wife, Dominique Boisjoli-Dickson, realized her own dream of opening Boisjoli Fine Art Gallery on Canyon Road, and her paintings also adorn the walls of the restaurant. Stu and Dominique bring great energy and life to town!

Call 505.989.1730 or visit www. cafecafesantafe.com.

Photo: Kate Russell

You’ve got just a few more chances to catch the stunning quality, amazing energy and theatricality of Juan Siddi Flamenco Company at The Lodge at Santa Fe, Tuesdays through Sundays through August 12. Call 505.988.1234 for tickets, or book a dinner, hotel stay and concert deal at www.lodgeatsantafe. com. Your feet will want to stomp along, and we guarantee there will be plenty of synchronized handclapping from the audience, too.

|| Juan Siddi

A moveable feast until recently, the Nile Cafe has put down roots at 620 Old Santa Fe Trail, where Dish N’ Spoon was located. Owners Gigi and Dave Griffo now serve up a full menu of Egyptian and Mediterranean specialties at breakfast and lunch Monday through Saturday, and dinner on Fridays. Dip your toe into the breakfast waters—

photographing wildlife, and/or living out your fantasy of being a cowboy. Express UU Bar Ranches and Roadrunner Tours plays trail boss daily, and the St. James Hotel offers carriage rides on Saturday evenings through August.

Schedule your tour by calling 575-377-6416 and your carriage ride or hotel reservation by calling 575.376.2664. Bring the little buckaroos, too!

the Nile breakfast burrito, Egyptian pancakes and shakshuka (baked eggs)— then drift over to Greek salads and tabouli for lunch. For dinner, devour baked chicken with rice and roasted leg of lamb. Call 505.501.0612.

My husband won’t eat breakfast except at breakfast time. Me, I love breakfast any time of day. Lucky for me, Café Fina just opened at 624 Old Las Vegas Highway: omelets, breakfast burritos, huevos motuleños, ricotta pancakes and more! The shaded patio is open for lounging with a cup of Aroma coffee. And have you seen the garden? Spectacular! Call ahead for take-out delivered to your car, and when school starts the kitchen magicians will make your kids a healthy lunch box with a sandwich, fruit and a treat. Wait a minute, I want that, too! Call 505.466.3886 or visit www. cafefinasantafe.com. Open daily from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. (8 a.m. on Sunday) in the former Real Food Nation spot.

We’ve been remiss in bowing our heads at the passage of Real Food Nation back in March. Eldorado folks especially loved the organic, local and unfussy food, as well as the upscale Supper Club run by Blyth Timken and her husband chef Andrew MacLauchlan.

One of the few eateries in that part of the world, the pioneering couple and their sustainable concepts will be missed.

What’s better than spending hours in a museum? How about spending those hours for free? Museums all over the state are participating in Smithsonian Magazine’s Eighth Annual Museum Day Live! The best free ticket in town is just a click away starting August 1. Visit www.smithsonianmag.com/museumday to download tickets for two people per household to participating museums on September 29. Last year’s event drew more than 350,000 museumgoers to over 1,400 museums. This year, museums in Los Alamos, Santa Fe, Ruidoso, Albuquerque, Las Cruces and Hobbs are throwing open their doors.

August 10-16 marks the 33rd annual Whitehawk Antique Indian Art Shows at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center. That’s a great run for any antique show, but it is especially noteworthy because of this year’s passing of Whitehawk’s founding father and professional Indian art collector, Don Bennett. The shows boast over 150 dealers, as well as merchandise not seen anywhere else. The energy is high, the pace leisurely, the dealers passionate and eager to share their expertise. Worldclass. www.whitehawkshows.com.

While spa days don’t really require a reason beyond “I feel like it,” another motivation to book a treatment at The Spa at Loretto might be its top20 ranking in Condé Nast Traveler’s prestigious Top 75 Hotel Spas in the U.S. list. This award is the perfect complement to the 2012 Condé Nast Traveler’s Gold List: The World’s Best Places to Stay accolade the hotel earned earlier this year. Located in the Inn and Spa at Loretto (itself a AAA Four Diamond award-winning hotel, the Spa at Loretto beat out 250 other spas in North America, the Caribbean, Hawaii and at sea. Kudos to spa director Suzanne Chavez, an energywork specialist and ordained minister trained in natural healing. She infuses the curative spirit and traditions of Santa Fe’s Native American people into the Spa at Loretto. www. innatloretto.com or 505.988.5531.

TAOS Pets are people, too—especially in Taos, the most “fur-friendly town” according Taos Mayor Darren Cordova. Taos has more pet-friendly lodgings, amenities and eateries than any other comparably sized town or city in the Southwest. An astounding 84 percent of Taos’ outdoor patio eating establishments welcome pets, as do 76 percent of the town’s hotels and inns. The people of Taos know what they’re doing--93 percent of U.S. travelers expect to take at least one trip with their pet(s) this year, according to PetRelocation.com. So load up Fido and head north to the cool breezes of Taos. ** (http://exstjames.com/index. cfm?fa=photogallery# there are some cool shots of the hotel.) A day or weekend in Cimarron just got more attractive—if your daydreams include riding horseback through beautiful Northern New Mexico, A Taste of Life in New Mexico

|| St. James Hotel

Music from Angel Fire’s 29th season runs from August 17 through September 2, with 15 concerts celebrating the 150th anniversary of French impressionist composer Claude Debussy, and the 100th anniversary of the birth of the witty and charming composer Jean Françaix. Performances feature artists Ida Kavafian, Artistic Director, violin; Ani Kavafian and Pamela Frank, violin; Anne-Marie McDermott, piano; Peter Wiley, cello; Tara Helen O’Connor, flute; Karen Lindquist, harp; and Guillermo Figueroa, violin/viola.

The 2012 Composer-in-Residence is Steven Stucky, one of America’s most highly regarded and frequently performed living composers (as well as winner of the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for his Second Concerto for Orchestra). Don’t miss the 2012 Southwestern Art Benefit Auction on August 26 at the Lodge at Angel Fire Resort, and pick up the season poster created by celebrated artist Sylvia Ford from her painting titled Summer in Guadalupita. Pick dates in Angel Fire, Raton and Taos at www.musicfromangelfire.org or by calling 575.377.3233.

AUGUST 2012

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magazine.com

Full Bloom Boutique

Only in New Mexico.

Only at The Santa Fe Opera.

A Fun & Feminine Place To Shop

All of Your Favorite Lines...

Robert Godwin photo

Johnny Was 3 J Workshop

FIVE NEW PRODUCTIONS IN 2012 • through August 25

Biya Not Your Daughter’s Jeans Komarov

New Fall Fashions Arriving Daily 70 W Marcy Street Santa Fe 505-988-9648 Open 7 Days

TOSCA

Passion. Politics. Death.

PUCCINI

8:00 PM | AUGUST 8, 11, 15, 18, 21, 24

THE PEARL FISHERS

8:00 PM | AUGUST 10, 13, 22, 25

Vows Made. Vows Broken.

BIZET

KING ROGER

Good King. Bad King.

SZYMANOWSKI

8:00 PM | AUGUST 3, 9, 14

MAOMETTO II

The Heat of Battle. The Heat of Passion.

ROSSINI

ARABELLA STRAUSS

8:00 PM | AUGUST 2, 7, 16

Beautiful. Eligible. Broke.

8:00 PM | AUGUST 1, 6, 17, 23

Arrive early with a tailgate supper to enjoy the spectacular mountain and sunset views!

Kate Russell photo

Your Seat is Waiting!

505-986-5900 | 800-280-4654 or order online www.SantaFeOpera.org Visit THE BACK DECK, the Opera’s blog

Insightful interviews with General Director Charles MacKay and season artists at: YouTube.com/TheSantaFeOpera

A Taste of Life in New Mexico

AUGUST 2012

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YDER story by GAIL SN RUSSELL p h o t o s b y K AT E

B

ack what seems a lifetime ago, before phones were smart and airports had security guards, I remember projecting ahead to the time that is now. My friend Deb staunchly maintained that humans could and even surely would extricate ourselves from global crisis. “But it won’t be the scientists or techno geeks or politicians who lead the way,” she said, “it’ll be the artists.”

“How does a painting in every living room save the world?” I argued.

“Not just the art,” she said. “The process of making the art.”

Since then, the calendar pages have flown and a whole new generation has grown up in our midst, amongst them Native artist Cannupa Hanska Luger. Since graduating last year from the Institute of American Indian Arts, Cannupa (pronounced “Channupa”) has contributed to seven or eight exhibitions so far and, by the time you read this, he’ll have added four more.

“I usually wait till the last minute,” he says. Since it can stretch out to be endless lengths of time before he discovers what he’s making, he devotes a whole month to each show’s theme. “Failure is such a great teacher! I think I know, or I have several ideas, then in the process, maybe it doesn’t work out or I see something else I want to manifest, instead. I love to be lost in time. I’m a junkie for that feeling where you go, ‘Wow! Six hours just went by!’ Process,” he adds gleefully, “is my favorite part.”

Aha—process! It’s a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants approach to creating. Rather than imposing on your idea, you allow your idea to take the reins and pull you along with it. Kind of like being a mad scientist of the imagination, constantly reinventing the possibilities out of materials that started out as something else.

In contemplating the theme “Plant” for a show at Caldera Gallery, Cannupa wanted to focus on trees. Serendipitously, he found a toy logging truck and bought it, but then his installation idea burst through those original borders. Reluctantly leaving the little truck behind, he continued playing around, then abruptly switched gears, and suddenly his idea morphed into life-size clay trunks with chain saw marks marring their surfaces.

“And then I saw that the stumps can regrow, so I made these little paper nodes coming out of each one.” Having now introduced what he lovingly calls “insurgence,” he decided to slip cast a big group of bottles to hand out at the opening, impregnating each one with wildflower seeds in the new Molotov cocktail tradition of guerrilla gardening.

Cannupa has followed this inventive “Look Ma no GPS” process all his life. Born in North Dakota on the Standing Rock Reservation, he spent every summer working on his father’s ranch and the rest of the year with his mother, Kathy “Elk Woman” Whitman, a single mom who raised her five children on art. “I learned from her that an artist’s life is not an easy life.” Cannupa says. “You have to hustle,but there’s a lot of freedom in it.”

Throughout his childhood, he always drew, making comic books and “just edging by in school,” listening as his hand drew. (“I had more sketches in my notebooks than notes!”) After graduation, he took off with a buddy for the Pacific Northwest. “We got to Olympia and fell into the slam poetry scene, which we loved at first. But then we got bored; it was more about how you said stuff than what you said.” With a wider group of friends, he joined a band called the Saints of Everyday Failures. Before performances, “I started painting graffiti-style on found objects, everything from dumpster lids to water meter covers, and we’d sell those to people in the audience.”

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The hustling never stopped. “Things are cheap in Olympia, but there aren’t really many jobs, so even if you’re only paying $200 for rent, you still somehow have to come up with the $200!” So Cannupa bought a large quantity of small canvases, lined up a batch on the floor and, assembly line– style, color-washed them. “I figured that even if people couldn’t afford a big painting, who can’t pay $20 for a little one? So I’d toss a bunch into my bag before I left every morning, and whenever I had a few spare moments during one of my jobs, I’d pull one out and draw on it with paint markers. Each one was different. More often than not, whenever I was hurting for cash, somebody would buy a piece. My jobs weren’t always reliable for keeping me going but the art always came through.”

A self-taught artist save for those techniques he learned from his mother, Cannupa received a National Endowment for the Arts scholarship which he used to attend IAIA, “and, because I’d tried every other medium they offered there, I jumped on doing clay!” He took to clay, he says, like a duck to water. “It’s so plastic, so pliable. Clay calls all the shots. You’re only going as far as it lets you.” He also works in many other media, including paint, fabric, foam, photography and paper, which he cuts to create intricate 3-D structures.

Because he isn’t represented by just one gallery, he says, “I can stay as busy as I am, as opposed to the one or two shows a year I would otherwise have. Creating is what makes me happy.

Everything else is entropy.”

Cannupa made the wild and complex foam costumes and masks for the Meow Wolf performance piece The Moon is to Live On, while also performing several live rap numbers for it. He’s participated in shows for the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, the Tower Gallery, the Center for Contemporary Arts, Metallo Gallery, GF Contemporary and others. For last summer’s “I Love You to Death” show at the Eggman & Walrus Art Emporium, he explored the subtleties of intimacy between predator and prey. “A snowshoe hare and a great snowy white owl have evolved over time together,” he says. “Their relationship is more beautiful than tragic. Death can be seen as almost a reward for a life well lived.” The expressions on his ceramic animals’ faces, lovingly shaped with grace and naked wonder, locked in this final embrace, portray that difficult-tograsp dichotomy. Another of his sculptures along a similar theme, this one lifesize, has been purchased by the North American Native Museum in Zurich.

An upcoming group show, “Low-Rez: Native American Lowbrow Art,” opens August 17 at Eggman & Walrus. Owner Evan Glassman says it’s comprised of emerging and established Native artists working in the lowbrow genre of pop surrealism. Artists use pop imagery, he explains, along with subversive humor to counter the false fantasies of the Native American as “noble savage.”

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Cannupa hasn’t begun his Low-Rez piece yet but he’s playing with ideas.

In contemplating all the possibilities presented by the show’s theme, his responses shoot off in a fireworks display of directions. “Lowbrow art is not high-end,” he begins. “It’s quick and dirty, almost savant-style, accessible, something we all can recognize. Remember last year, there was a lot of talk about a so-called neo-Navajo line of clothing put out by Urban Outfitters?

They were playing with our iconography, making it faddy, but you know what?—wait a minute, that’s our creation story you’re putting on your panties and flasks!”

Then, taking it a level deeper, he continues, “But American culture is worshipped as much by Natives as by the greater American population, even though, with all the flour and sugar, the widespread diabetes, we’ve become apocalyptic figures—so those cultural icons like Betty Crocker and the Pillsbury Doughboy are a lot more menacing to us! But there’s still a complacency among Natives—after all the reservations and boarding schools, the blood quantification, forced assimilation—finally, after so many generations of us getting in queue, living under a system that wants to make us disappear—we’re the ones oppressing ourselves now!”

Shaking his head, Cannupa says, “I play a lot more in the contemporary art world. I love the idea of Native art but, at the same time, I don’t know how real it is. We can sell our songs, our stories, our prayers, all those things that are sacred, as artwork, and that’s strange to me. Let’s glorify being Native American now. We lost a country, we only got bits and pieces back, but we survived! What’s it mean to be Native American in America?”

Pausing, he adds, “What if, at Indian Market, you had to trade for everything? Like someone wanted to barter one of my sculptures for a year’s worth of work on my truck.” He laughs.

“Done and done! Imagine how amazing that would be! And that’s a Native concept.”

Cannupa and Ginger, his wife, just had a baby, a cheerful, Buddha baby who’s going on five months now. As a new dad, he’s eager to admit that with the birth of their child, he’s experienced a shift.

“We are the universe,” he says. “The universe does not want itself to fail.

Therefore, it doesn’t want you to fail. If you ask it, it probably will help you out!” This isn’t a new concept for Cannupa—it’s how he’s lived his whole life, with passion, curiosity, a willingness to not know and see what emerges. The shift is, humor. “If you can’t laugh at all the absurdity,” he says, laughing, “you’re going to hold onto it that much longer, and that would be tragic.”

“Low-Rez: Native American Lowbrow Art” runs from August 17 to September 1 at Eggman and Walrus Art Emporium, which has two venues: 131 West San Francisco Street, First Floor and 130 West Palace Street, Second Floor near the downtown Santa Fe Plaza. An opening reception will be held on Friday, August 17, 5:30 p.m to 9 p.m. A closing reception will be held on Saturday, September 1st, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Both events are free and open to the public.

“Plant” runs through August 10 at Caldera Gallery, 926 Baca St, Suite 6 in Santa Fe. The gallery is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.

A list of upcoming shows with Cannupa’s work is also available online at http:// cannupahanska.com.

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Indigo Crow story by ERIN BROOKS photos by GABRIELLA MARKS

Something magical happens when I turn left onto Corrales Road from Bernalillo on my way to interview Don Raber, the owner of Indigo Crow Café. Wide streets and subdivisions give way to a little two-lane road lined with cottonwoods and elms green from the Rio Grande with a view of the Sandia Mountains in the distance. As I cruise through the little village of Corrales, I feel a world away from the desert landscape and bustle of Albuquerque a few miles away. Giant, ancient elm trees shade the small building and right next door; horses swat their tails and drink water in a corral.

If you ask Don why he and his wife, Regina, decided to go into the restaurant business, he’ll tell you it was a little bit of insanity, not magic. “We moved here from the Bay area in 1998,” he says. “I worked in the door hardware business, and my wife worked in office solutions. I was a beer guy, and I wanted a pub. But this deal fell into our lap.” Don and Regina purchased the restaurant from the original owners in 2002. They knew the place well—their teenage daughter already worked there as a busser. Even then it was called Indigo Crow Café. “We weren’t crazy enough to change the name.

That’s one of the few sane things we did.”

Since then, the couple has let the Indigo Crow grow, watching it go from a mid-level concept eatery with soups and sandwiches to fine dining. Menu options, executed by Chef John Apodaca, include classics like filet au poivre and halibut for dinner; Southwestern-style chipotle turkey wraps and fresh summer salads for lunch; and chorizo burritos and Crab Cake Bennys (Eggs Benedict over crab cakes!) for Sunday brunch. Commenting on the transformation into fine dining, Don says, “We took it over and let it grow into itself until we figured out how the hell to run a restaurant.” Regina took over bookkeeping, and Don learned how to create a wine list, going from just a few wines to over a hundred, then back down to a manageable 75 bottles.

Having a passionate chef has certainly helped in this transition.

It’s easy to see why John Apodaca is simply called “Junior”—he is laid-back, down-to-earth and focused on having fun while doing what he loves. When I ask him why he became a chef he says, “I’ve just always been good at it. I enjoy it—I mean, who doesn’t love to eat? The way to everyone’s heart is food.”

Junior’s love for the game is reflected in the menu. He jokes that his style is “the essence of hobo—my food is made with lots of love, lots of flavor, seasoning, butter and bacon. Those are some of the finer things in life.” In lieu of fancy, over-complicated dishes,

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|

Chef John “Junior” Apodaca

Owner, Don Raber

|

Junior favors dishes like his lamb sausage ravioli with spicy New Mexico lamb or pork sausage ravioli topped with roasted garlic–sage cream sauce. Junior’s specialty is soups, which change from day to day. As we chatted together at the bar and the word “soup” was spoken, my fellow patrons’ ears perked up, and someone started to rave about the mushroom number from a few days ago. My hat’s off to anyone who can make a mushroom soup so memorable!

I had lunch at the Indigo Crow outside on the open patio. The Rabers considered covering it but decided it was better to be able to look up and see the elm trees during the day and the stars at night. Good move—the patio at the Crow is one of Corrales’ best-kept secrets. I enjoyed each bite in the shade of the elms, listening to the chorus of cicadas in the background. Each ingredient was distinct, light and fresh. The grilled romaine salad with chicken tasted of summer days spent in the garden and by the grill—the edges of the lettuce and tomatoes were charred and crisp, softened by melted Gorgonzola cheese and perfected with the tang of vodka vinaigrette.

A glass of Voga Pinot Grigio was just right for the patio atmosphere: mouth-watering and refreshing, with plenty of lemon-citrus acidity to complement the tangy, charred flavors in the salad. The crème brulée I had for dessert was exactly what this dish should be: a glassy sugar-crusted top and savory vanilla custard underneath, with a side of fresh strawberries.

For a beer lover (he used to brew his own), Don has done an extraordinary job creating a wine list with a wide selection and reasonable price tag. There’s something for everyone: Rombauer Chardonnay, Silver Oak Cabernet, Veuve Clicquot Champagne. For Don, the most important thing about the wine list is having basic selections that people recognize, and keeping the price around $35 to $60 for most bottles—more important than ever in an economic downturn that’s seen so many great restaurants close their doors. Don wants his customers to be able to enjoy dinner for two under $100. “When people get to fine dining they feel it’s okay to triple the price of the wine,” he says. “I’m not here to collect wine, I’m here to share it.”

I notice several New Mexico wines on the list, including some from Milagro, a winery just down the road from Indigo Crow. A special synergy exists between restaurant and winery, with each one recommending the other to its clients and keeping business in the village. This sense of community is what’s so charming about Corrales and its beloved eatery. During lunch my server (who also happens to be Don’s nephew; he has worked at the restaurant for ten years), played with some of the children on the patio having lunch with their parents and said goodbye to each of his guests by name.

I asked Don what keeps Indigo Crow chugging along during the hard times. Keeping food and wine prices stable is important (they’ve only just raised prices slightly in the last six months), but it’s the community that keeps the Crow alive. “We’re kind of a destination, and we get business from Albuquerque and Santa Fe,” he explains. “But our bread and butter is Corrales, the locals. We have this amazing community that’s very supportive.” The restaurant is open six days a week for lunch and dinner, with a Sunday brunch, and more often than not the 60 indoor seats and 50 patio seats are full.

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I get a sense of this small-town life as I sit at the bar chatting with Don. He pauses to say hello to everyone who comes in and knows the other customers at the bar by name. His friendly attitude doesn’t stop with the people coming through the front door. He gets along well with all the members of his staff, smiling and making jokes with everyone in the building. This is obviously a tight-knit family.

That’s what both owners and chef love best about the Indigo Crow and Corrales—the peaceful, quiet way of life, where everyone knows their neighbors and the community is tied together like family. Despite the fact that Don is in the restaurant from morning to night, six days a week, he loves what he does.

“It’s the people that keep me going,” he says. “I know when I come in that I’ll see a friend. I’ve developed amazing friendships with guests, and my staff has become a part of my family. When I’m working, it’s never really work.”

For those of us sitting down to eat, it’s not just a meal but also an experience. To be made to feel welcomed and appreciated in any restaurant is the crux of what fine dining is really all about.

Indigo Crow Café is located at 4515 Corrales Road in Corrales.

505.898.7000. www.indigocrowcafe.com.

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eye

THROUGH THE PHOTOGRAPHER’S s t o r y b y TA N I A C A S S E L L E

Y

ou’ve probably already seen the work of Santa Fe photographer Kitty Leaken, in books including Cooking with Cafe Pasqual’s and Cooking with Johnny Vee. Leaken also shoots for localflavor and for Native Peoples magazine, and one project particularly dear to her heart was The Art of Exile: Paintings

by Tibetan Children in India, published by Museum of New Mexico Press.

When publisher Gibbs Smith asked her if she had any other book ideas, Leaken most certainly did. The result is Contemporary Native American Artists, with photography

by Leaken and words by Suzanne Deats. It’s a colorful slab of a book, showcasing 18 outstanding artists, and portraying the artists’ work, the artists at work, and sometimes the artists at play. On a first flick through, you register that the production is gorgeous and the photography vibrant and powerful. But unlike so many lavish coffee table books that become a part of the furniture after an initial read (at least in my house), this one draws you back, draws you deeper, revealing new layers in the intimate visual and written portraits.

Perhaps this richness is a result of the book’s evolution over four years. During that period, Leaken visited and revisited the selected artists, a group originally assembled by Ken Lingad of Isleta Pueblo to exhibit together several years ago. The stellar lineup includes Ed Archie NoiseCat, Althea Cajero, Upton Ethelbah, Jr., Rhett Lynch, Fritz J. Casuse, C.J. Wells, R. Lee White and Kevin Red Star. They still come together to participate in Santa Fe Indian Market, working in media that range from pottery and painting to sculpture, jewelry, beadwork and clothing design.

It was Kevin Red Star who suggested Suzanne Deats as the writer for the book. Leaken knew Deats but hadn’t seen her for 15 years. “I knew Suzanne from the Santa Fe Reporter,” she says. “I was working there fresh out of college, and she was the arts critic. Suzanne Deats knows these people, she knows them inside out. So I called her up.”

|

photos by KITTY LEAKEN

There were some false starts as the duo came to grips with the project.

“And each one of the false starts made it better,” says Leaken. (Apparently so: The book is selling so well that it’s in its second printing.)

One turning point came when Leaken was working for the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts (SWAIA) at the Santa Fe Indian Market awards. She was shooting the award-winning art when she realized she was interested in photographing the artists themselves, not solely their work. “I wanted to photograph the winners with that excitement and victory on their faces,” she recounts.

“I had interns grabbing them away from the press crunch.”

Then she pulled their families into the photos, too. “The artists are not here alone. They’re not working alone, living in a vacuum.

Their work is a product of so many things: their family, the tribe, the culture. Their expressions changed when they had their family around them.”

Leaken was already working on the book, and her experience with these family portraits clarified her vision of it, her urge to go deeper into the artists’ lives and explore what it is that informs their work. She visited homes and pueblos, spent time at studios, watched the act of creation.

“I’d ask questions,” she says. “‘How did you do this? How did you make this?’ They were thoroughly engaged with my curiosity.” She also had to observe Pueblo etiquette and customs. “It’s hard to shoot in a pueblo; you’re usually not allowed to. I had to be sure that everybody was on board with the images.”

Although most of the artists featured are based here in New Mexico, Leaken traveled to Montana to photograph Kevin Red Star. “He’s Crow. He has a real distinguished air about him,” she says. “The book is dedicated to his daughter who passed away. He was deep in grief, but he said, ‘Come anyway.’” She describes how Red Star works on six canvases at once, rolling his chair among them; her photo of that scene in the book is evidence that a picture speaks a

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eye

THROUGH THE PHOTOGRAPHER’S thousand words. “All his warriors have a red star on them,” Leaken says, leafing through the book to show me. Then she finds one that doesn’t have a star. “Well, most of them!”

Several times she echoes the bridge metaphor that SWAIA Director Bruce Bernstein mentions in his foreword to the book. “The artists are a bridge between the old world and the new,” says Leaken, “the Native world and the non-Native world.

Able to go beyond the tradition of [their] craft, to evolve into something personal, modern, but also respectful of the tradition.”

The photo she’s most proud of shows a pair of half-open wooden doors, through which we glimpse Santa Clara Pueblo potter Jody Naranjo wearing a traditional manta dress, bending to tighten her moccasin straps. “It ties in with the bridge,” says Leaken, turning the page from this timeless image to another of Naranjo in modern jeans. “It’s just these two worlds.”

The book also nods to the future. Leaken points out a bronze called “Pueblo Deer Dancer,” by Joe Cajero, Jr., of Jemez Pueblo. “He said that the detail is so correct and intricate that children in the future can study this for their outfits.”

Leaken says she enjoyed witnessing the progress of the artworks.

For instance, she observed Dyani Reynolds-White Hawk creating the painting “Seeing” and later photographed the Indian Market judging process when that same painting won Best of Class. “Being involved like that with an artist is so exciting,” she says. “Dyani is going to be huge!”

Leaken was struck by the discipline exhibited by all the artists, citing Jody Naranjo as an example. “She’s a rock star now. She sells out in the first minutes of Indian Market. Jody has three children, and she’s raising them on her own. How she can find the time and energy to carve with such focus

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and discipline is impressive. It’s not like you go into a studio and shut the door and shut the world out. There are all these people coming and going, children and family and dogs. It’s the larger community in your work. It’s a flow, and I would feel part of it.”

Going with the flow is also important to Leaken’s own process as a photographer. “I don’t like to set things up,” she says.

“I’m a photojournalist by training, so I wanted to just respond. That’s really important. I’m the fly on the wall.”

Still, there must have been moments she missed with the camera and wished she could capture? She shakes her head.

“I had a great teacher at the Santa Fe New Mexican, Steve Northup, head of photography.

He was retired from Time Magazine and the Washington Post, and I’d make him teach me something every day. Say you’re shooting a press conference and someone’s talking, and they make a gesture and you miss it, chances are they’ll do it again. It’s more about sitting very quietly and watching.”

She emphasizes that a lot of her job is to honor the integrity of the people on the other side of the lens. It’s about, as she puts it, “being patient and waiting for an image.

You never go in with your camera on and ready. You always sit down and get to know the people. Getting that one shot is not as important as gaining trust. Steve said once, ‘If you’re shooting a whole bunch [of photos], it’s not working.’ It’s one quiet click, you know? And everything conspires.”

Kitty Leaken, Suzanne Deats, the publisher Gibbs Smith and artists featured in Contemporary Native American Artists will appear at a book signing benefit for SWAIA on August 15 at 4 p.m., at Collected Works Bookstore, 202 Galisteo Street, in Santa Fe.

| Contemporary Native American Artists by Suzanne Deats. Photographer: Kitty Leaken. Gibbs Smith Publisher, $50 list.

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A

long high note flexed rhythmically from inside Albuquerque’s Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. It was a cross between the noise a proud rooster would make at dawn and one that a crying coyote would send toward the midnight moon. It sounded sad, angry and defiant, a piercing mix that surprised the audience. Outside, people became still in their seats, and Ashkia Trujillo’s hand came down on the drum. He began chanting as the members of the Serpent Trail Dance Group made their presence known.

Ashkia, 17, is a member of the Ohkay Owingeh tribe. Along with most of the other seven dancers at the event, he lives on the reservation.

His black hair was cut short, and he was wearing a pale blue long-sleeved shirt buttoned to his collar; it was well-pressed and had dark blue tassels hanging from the front. His neck was adorned with beadwork, and a red, white and blue scarf was tied around his head. It was clear that these items were made for a purpose, each carrying symbolism that few people outside the tribe would fully comprehend.

Just minutes before, Ashkia had told the audience a distinctly New Mexican story—about land, food, religion and a violent clash between two cultures.

Many historically inclined New Mexicans know that Spanish settlers came to New Mexico in the mid 1500’s and found the vast and beautiful landscape inhabited by Native peoples. In 1680 the Taos, Picuris and Tewa tribes each rose up in their respective pueblos and resisted Spanish oppression, which had been in place for over a hundred years, most fervently in the form of often violently enforced Catholicism. The Native people were led by Popé, a Pueblo leader, and were so effective that the surviving Spanish settlers fled to Santa Fe. Popé remains something of a mystery, and it is said by some that after the revolt, he required all crosses and other signs of Catholicism to be burned or destroyed. The Spanish soon rebuilt their forces and successfully retaliated, and both sides suffering tremendous losses in a struggle that is still remembered today.

But Ashkia had a different story to tell the crowd that day. His throat was dry from the intense sun and from having just finished singing. He paused to ask for water. As he held the microphone confidently, each leg of his black pants sticking out from either side of a tall standing drum, red moccasins anchored in the dirt, Ashkia told the Comanche Dance story. It is a narrative riddled with the old wounds of a Spanish-Native conflict that goes back almost 500 years, and he delivered it with humor and pride.

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s t o r y b y D E N È S H E LT O N photos by GABRIELLA MARKS

After the Pueblo Revolt ended, Spanish leaders required each Northern New Mexico Pueblo tribe to perform their most sacred dance in honor of a Spanish saint selected for them. (This festive event eventually became known as Feast Day, and it is still celebrated by the Pueblo peoples today.)

For the Ohkay Owingeh, the Spanish chose Saint John. Had the tribe decided to honor St. John (or San Juan, as he is called in Spanish) with the dance that actually was most sacred to them, they would have chosen the Corn Dance. Corn was a major food source in New Mexico at that time, and the Corn Dance signified the giving of life.

Instead, the Ohkay Owingeh presented a dance from another tribe, the Comanches.

They performed the Comanche Dance, knowing that the Spanish would not be able to tell the difference between a sacred dance from Ohkay Owingeh and one from another tribe.

“We chose a borrowed dance, because we did not want to give up something sacred to us,” Ashkia explained. “The Comanche Dance is a war dance.

It was kind of like old-school subliminal messaging.”

The entire audience turned toward Maheengun Atencio, also 17. He led the line of dancers out the door. Maheengun’s broad shoulders filled out a bright green collared shirt. He was holding a yellow shield and wearing matching yellow moccasins, and his large red feather headdress increased his height by several inches. In his hand, he held a lightning stick made of wood. He appeared to be highly focused, almost tense. Of the group, he seemed the most connected to the movements and their meaning.

Like Maheengun, the rest of the group was lit up in an explosion of fierce summer color. Behind him was 13-year-old Shianne Valdez, a talented young Native poet with dark skin and medium-length black hair, wearing a turquoise dress and white moccasin boots. She, like the other girls behind her, held an arrow in each hand. Behind her was Jose Whiteman, 13, the shyest member of the group.

Ten-year-old Franki Maestas followed him, her black bangs swept down over her forehead. She seemed calm in her long pink dress. Behind her was Andrew Martinez, the initiator of that first memorably long note. Andrew is lean and athletic, and at 18 is the oldest one in the group. He cried out— again and again as the group performed. He was animated, the fiercest performer. His agile youth and natural dance ability made the appearance of the last little girl trailing him a quiet surprise; at nine years old, Lauren Valdez is the youngest member of the group.

Ashkia started Serpent Trail two years ago in secret, surprising both his parents. In 2010 on January 6, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, his tribe was to honor new officials with a feast. Ashkia stepped forward and told his father that he was “taking a group out to dance.”

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“You don’t even have a group to dance,” said his father. “How are you going to honor them [the officials]?”

“I have a group,” Ashkia explained. “We’ve been practicing.”

“Who is going to sing?”

“I will.”

“You know these songs?”

“I grew up with them.”

That day, Ashkia’s father drove him to the event where he and his friends Jude, Maheengun, Jose and Kyle performed the Bow and Arrow Dance. “Ashkia is very strongwilled when it comes to his tradition and culture,” explained his mother, Roz Carrol, a Navajo who married into the Ohkay Owingeh. “He gained this knowledge directly from the elders.”

In the circle surrounded by the grass of the Cultural Center’s courtyard, each child carried on this knowledge through dance. Maheengun, Jose and Andrew let out piercing yells, and the girls behind each of them moved arrows back and forth with their arms.

They handed them to the male warriors, whose colors and cries are meant to intimidate the enemy. The Comanche is indeed a war dance.

Earlier in the day in a dressing room downstairs, each child had been far more vulnerable, their parents looking tentatively into the cramped area and encouraging them as I asked questions.

“Franki made All Stars in softball and is going to State next week,” mother Patsy Maestas called softly into the room. I sat in the center on the floor, eight children around me. While I did not yet know of their potential for fierce performance, I learned quickly that each had a clear and unique voice.

Lauren Maestas, Franki’s twin brother, had not been feeling well and decided not to perform that day. His long hair lay around his head, which rested on thin arms covered in a white cotton collared shirt wrapped in yellow bands at the biceps.

“Sit up,” Patsy said, and Lauren obeyed politely. He has been dancing since he was two, and, along with the most of the other children, joined the group when it started.

Lauren dances because, as he said, “It’s part of my culture.”

Lauren’s sister Franki is a fan of Nicki Minaj, an eccentric female pop star. Both she and her twin brother are excellent in school, getting straight A’s.

Though they are steeped in cultural history, these children are also a vibrant part of the modern age. Little Lauren Valdez, who counts among her interests candy, clothes, reading, The Three Little Pigs and the Group Buffalo Dance, agreed with her friend. “It’s tradition,” she said.

Jose, so shy he barely made eye contact, leaned his head forward and ran his large hands over his close-cropped hair, saying that he liked dancing with Serpent Trail because it’s social, and the performance aspect allows him to step outside of himself and be seen.

Maheengun spoke with eloquence when expressing his passion for understanding, practicing and passing down the traditions of his tribe. “If it [tribal tradition] does go away, my culture will die, and there will be nothing left,” he said. ”It will just be gone.

The group [Serpent Trail] is an important way to hold onto that.”

Andrew, the fiercest of the dancers, is like Maheengun and Ashkia in that he feels Ohkay Owingeh tradition is “a part of me.” He called himself “a proud Native American” and is the teen who most seemed to integrate the old with the new. Andrew likes the drumbeat of the dances, the Group Buffalo, the joyful movements and high whistle in the Skipping Eagle Dance. He also conveyed that he sees this integration of old with new as a way of representing the younger generation’s uniqueness. He draws, plays baseball and football, and is a break dancer. He is a graffiti artist who participates in murals that represent Native culture, feeling that his heritage gives his art a story and that his murals “bring honor.”

The honor these young dancers are able to demonstrate in their lives is testimony to the power of understanding one’s cultural history. In a place like New Mexico, that history can be complex and filled with difficult battles. But these children are fighters, and their physical manifestation of a long-standing cultural resistance to the end of their heritage is brought forth in such a way as to make them, as Andrew said, “completely unique.”

As I left to join the audience, Shianne, the poet, asked to share one last thing with me before she went on stage.

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My Native Pride I will not hide.

My Native race I will not disgrace.

My Native blood flows hot and true.

My Native peeps, I will stand by you.

I yell this poem, louder than the rest, because everybody knows that Natives are the best.

So step aside, and let me through ‘cuz it’s all about my Native crew.

“It’s called ‘Native Pride,’” she said. The Comanche Dance was working.

The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center hosts a variety of native dance performances year-round. The IPCC is located at 24012th Street NW in Albuquerque. To check event listing, visit http://www.indianpueblo.org/ or call 505.843.7270 or toll free: 1.866.855.7902.

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THE NEW story by GREG O’BYRNE

I

f there’s one thing even harder than opening a new restaurant in today’s economic climate, it’s closing one to redesign and reinvent it. Yet that is precisely what La Casa Sena and La Cantina did this past June.

Santa Fe mogul Jerry Peters has owned La Casa Sena since he opened its doors in 1983, and his daughter, Erica Peters, who is more and more involved in his Santa Fe dining projects, took an important role in the makeover of the restaurant. The restaurant’s menu, creatively recast and updated by Chef Patrick Gharrity, is stronger than ever.

Fortunately, not everything has changed for this iconic Santa Fe eatery: The 100-year-old cottonwood tree still dominates one of Santa Fe’s best patios.

Named after Sena Plaza, which houses it, La Casa Sena is part of the historic hacienda that was the 1864 adobe home of Major José Sena, his wife Doña Isabel Cabeza and their 22 children, all of whom filled its 32 rooms long before New Mexico became a state. Quite the socialite, Major Sena entertained the dignitaries of the day (such as frontiersman Kit Carson), serving the finest cuisine of the region, including venison, rabbit, buffalo and native chiles.

Erica Peters respectfully points out that the histories of La Casa Sena and Sena Plaza are intertwined. “It is one of the oldest locations for dining in Santa Fe that is still in use,” she says. She also notes her own passion for the courtyard garden. “In this climate and culture, the protected courtyard and garden is an oasis that has allowed for some amazing trees.” Erica says that the Sena Plaza cottonwood tree was not in great shape when her father bought the place in 1980 but that the family has made it a priority to keep it healthy and strong. Barbara Fix, the courtyard’s head gardener has, with heartfelt care, nurtured the trees and gardens for many years; the redbud trees are twice the size of a normal redbud because of the courtyard protection. And the property’s vivid poppies, planted in the 1950s by Parker Wilson and Bernabe Martinez, are still thriving.

A Taste of Life in New Mexico

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THE NEW Of the business’s redesign Erica says, “It was a huge group effort with input from several individuals. Chef Patrick’s role was key. We wanted the design and concept to reflect his new menu, and it was in many ways based on his New American West culinary theme. It was feeling a little stuffy inside and needed a slightly younger, fresher and more contemporary look. Mainly it needed a new coat of paint and to have that awful purple carpet ripped up.” She continues: “There are so many layers to that building. Among many other things, under the bancos we found an old red and black brick floor in a unique pattern.”

The new design plays with the interplay of old and new. Designer Amie Hargrove, “did a wonderful job,” Erica says, adding, “I picked the art with input from the team.” Of the artwork, Erica is proud to say one of her favorite art pieces that reflects the old/new paradigm is the gold leaf sculpture above the fireplace in the main dining room.

“When I first saw it, I knew it had to go right there,” says Erica of the piece, which was created by her brother Devin Peters.

Some of the restaurant’s classic dishes have gone by the wayside.

The new menu, created by Chef Patrick Gharrity (who has been at La Casa Sena since he moved from Ohio to Santa Fe in 1999), features seasonally inspired New American West cuisine infused with Southwestern influences, such as the seafood sampler appetizer with lobster sausage, halibut ceviche, cucumber salsa, pasilla-crusted tuna sashimi and edamame-wasabi purée.

As Jeff Jinnett, president of Santa Fe Dining, points out, “The

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food and price point of the new menu reaches out for a broader audience, one not so concerned with fine dining as much as great food at great prices. We tried to recreate menus and ambiance that are comfortable to our guests on different levels.” Jeff, who played a major role in the makeover, has worked for Jerry for 16 years; his new role is one as project manager and developer of new concepts.

Aside from the design face-lift and new menu, other new features at La Casa Sena are an outdoor full-service bar and more casual tables along both sides of the portal. Jeff and the team expanded the restaurant hours to include around-the-clock service, so now guests can drop by in the middle of the afternoon and partake of a pre-dinner menu featuring casual snacks as well as some of the items from both the dinner and lunch menus.

The menu’s new dishes include Aztec Dusted Salmon, Grilled New Mexican Hanger Steak and Molasses-Adovada Pork “Palito” served with grilled peach sauce, rattlesnake beans and sweet corn salad, as well as the La Casa Sena Green Chile Cheeseburger, made with New Mexico beef, spicy green chile and Humboldt Fog blue cheese. From the Peters’ farm, Rancho Ciruelos, Patrick gets tree fruits, squash and tomatoes, and his menu is always influenced by what is local and available.

“The change at La Casa Sena seemed imminent to me,” Patrick says. “We had followed some pretty regular formulas there for a while.

Each chef and management team had made their tweaks, but a real re-channeling hadn’t been done for years. The menu format is what

I feel is most exciting. Our traditional items with signature touches mixed with some of my New American West creations allow for great variety.” Chef Gharrity also stressed that such an undertaking would not have been possible without the support and dedication of his sous chefs Alvaro Ramirez and Noe Sanchez.

Of his own favorite new dishes, Patrick says, “I could eat our mocha-dusted wild salmon with yellow (guero) mole almost every day. Another favorite is our burger with our signature green chile into which I fold Humboldt Fog aged goat cheese and thicken it with touch of masa to make it sing.”

Patrick sums up his perspective on the project. “It took a real team to make the changes over at Sena Plaza,” he says. “I love what we have done. I am thankful for our outstanding crew, who were solid through the transition and are continuing to produce what the new La Casa Sena is all about. We are working our tails off, no doubt, but for something we love. I have a great place to cook and am happy to see so many people enjoying our new digs and food. It really has created this new electricity through the place. I feel it a few blocks away myself.”

La Casa Sena is known for having one of New Mexico’s best and deepest wine cellars, and to go along with the contemporary design and more casual menu changes, wine director Jim Cook also built a shorter, more user-friendly wine list (sequenced in order of lighter- to heavier-bodied) that features 40 well-chosen wines. Amazingly, all are

available at $10 a glass or $40 a bottle. Of course, the full selection of over 2000 wines by the bottle from La Casa Sena’s noted wine shop is still available to more serious oenophiles, but the by-the-glass list is adventurous enough to satisfy anyone.

At night, La Cantina continues to be a festive place for song as well as food, and the singing wait staff begins to perform show tunes nightly at 5:30. La Cantina is still a wonderful place for a great Bloody Mary on a Sunday, but now you can also eat lunch all day long and watch a sports game, as two large screen TVs have been added to the decor.

Though the restaurant’s Palace Avenue location remains the same, La Casa Sena possesses a new energy that is both exciting and inviting. This buzz can be directly credited to those people helming the renovation. “I learned so much from the staff of La Casa Sena and Santa Fe Dining during this process and have a deep appreciation for those who have dedicated a decade or more to this project,” says Erica.

“La Casa Sena has had a few faces and will have more, but ultimately it will always be a beautiful historic building with rich history in an iconic location.”

La Casa Sena and La Cantina are located at 125 East Palace Avenue in Santa Fe. They are open daily from 11 a.m. until closing. The summer patio bar opens daily at 11 a.m., and La Cantina’s singing wait staff performs nightly at 6 p.m. 505.988.9232. www.lacasasena.com.

| Chef Patrick Gharrity, Jack Baudo, Jim Hargrove, Erica Peters and Jeff Jinnett

|

Cantina singers: Juli King, Chelsea Rountree, Ken Brown, Greg Grissom and Lesley Reveles A Taste of Life in New Mexico

AUGUST 2012

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Rosé

FLIRTING WITH

story by JAMES SELBY Let me give you some visuals. Any patio setting or comfortable table. A loaf of a thick-crusted bread.

A bowl of bouillabaisse peaked with lobster, fresh white fish and tomato, laden with a pungent garlicky aioli, tinted yellow-orange from saffron. Or a picnic with prosciutto and melon, marinated olives, salumi and cheese. A pan bagnat (meaning “bathed bread,” a sort of a Niçoise sandwich drizzled with olive oil; writer Calvin Trillin says when you eat a pan bagnat, the olive oil should run down your wrists).

Or a barbecue with sweet, spicy pork ribs and grilled chicken. Or beef and vegetable g kabobs accompanied by minty yogurt sauce.

Photo: Domaine de Fontsainte

I hope h I’ve hooked you in, because here is where I might lose you. Each of these dishes - their flavors and heavenly sccen scents ents ts - bellow for rosés. Before you turn to the next page, allow me to speak to the pleasures of these easygoing, jaunty wines. wine wi nes. s.

Do think pink. Think copper, terra cotta, amber, sun-burnt, coral, rare-to-medium-rare, salmon, watermelon— Don’t on ne of any number of colors that don’t suggest cotton candy or white Zinfandel. What is to be found in rosés both one humble hum hu mble l and divine is the sensation of biting into an early raspberry, a just-picked cherry, a ripe strawberry dotted with wild wi ld h honey o and sprinkled with lime juice. These are robust wines that can shoulder any strong flavor you throw at them. them th em m. Yet Y they are also refreshing afternoon sippers on their own. Bone-dry rosés can be hearty, masculine and spunky, li ike tho like those of Tavel, a small region across the Rhône from Châteauneuf-du-Pape, where rosés are produced exclusively.

Strapping, Stra St rapp p i bold versions made from Aglianico or Syrah come from Southern Italy, Sicily and Sardinia. Rosé can also bee ssassy, assy bright and flirtatious. Case in point: the 2011 Bodegas Muga Rosado from Rioja region of Spain, made with Garnac Ga Garnacha, Viura and Tempranillo.

All of this sounds terribly Mediterranean, but plenty of cold-weather regions produce rosés as well. Germany makes All refi re fine fi ned, ned deeply complex blush wines from the Pinot Noir grape, classified Kabinett (dry) or Spätlese (off-dry; a touch of ssweetness.) weee we These are sometimes labeled Weissherbst and achieve colors ranging from pale gold to magenta. The precious p pr ecio ec i u little rosé that Oregon releases each year is also made from Pinot Noir. It’s an expensive grape to grow, but the rosés, and elegant, are relative values. How do vintners manage to pull that off? ro osé sés, lean l To answer that, let’s address how rosé is made. I went one better than Google by contacting Philip de Give, a To lifelong lli ife felo long fine wine specialist in Santa Fe and frequent contributor to this periodical. “There are four ways to make rosé,” h repl he replied. “One is by blending red and white, really only done for cheap wine and, amazingly, Champagne! Two, maceration, or letting the grapes sit and ferment a short time on the skins to extract color. Third, saignée, French for m macera a ‘bleeding,’ where juice is ‘bled’ from the production of red wine, making the red darker and more intense—the by‘ble ‘b l ed din i

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Photo: Domaine de Fontsainte

Photo: Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant

product being rosé.” (This method accounts for Oregon producers being able to offer rosé at a reasonable price.) “The fourth,” said de Give, “is direct press of grapes. Some winemakers use a combination of methods.”

To be fair, not everyone is enamored with rosé. In a recent article entitled “Rosé Ros oséé Reluctance,” The New York Times’ Eric Asimov writes, “I don’t hate them. Theyy just ju ust don’t interest me.” Mr. Asimov is among my favorite wine critics. I was crushed heed like like a ab ber erne nett grape in a press. Similarly, I know a local couple who are drinkers of Napa Cabernet Sauvignons and spare no cost in collecting them. If I mention rosé, they lose enthusiasm for life. That’s all right. If we all liked the same wine it would be a dull dul ulll world.

Anyway, I have confrères. According to a Nielsen Report, sales of rosé increased by twenty-six percent in 2011, far outstripping regular wine sales growth. One of this summer’s best wine events was put on by Arroyo Vino, Santa Fe’s newest independent wine shop, on Camino la Tierra, an easy tenminute cruise from the north end of town. For a nominal entrance fee you could sample nearly fifty still and sparkling rosés from every region of the world. Tents were pitched amid piñon trees behind the store, a band played, and Chef Steve Lemon, from the O Eating House, made pizzas in an outdoor oven. Ladies in summer dresses and men in straw hats made an Impressionistic tableau. Brian Bargsten, the young and knowledgeable owner of Arroyo Vino, not only hoped to sell 130 tickets, he had a waiting list. He expects to stage an even bigger event next summer.

Rosés made in the previous year come on the market in mid-spring; 2011 is the current release. Generally lower in alcohol than most wine, they make a carefree, exhilarating starter. Pull one out of the refrigerator the moment you come home from work and are trying to decide what to make for dinner. Then, once you decide on rosé, you may as well keep with it. It easily pairs with anything that a light red or white wine would; it’s an especially good match for salads with palate-numbing vinaigrettes.

Despite the image of being only for spring and summer quaffing, rosé will enrich your culinary repertoire all year-round. On the first sharp autumn day, make a pot of mussels Provençal with fennel and herbs and chase it with a 2011 “Gris de Gris” from Domaine de Fontsainte in Corbieres. (“Gris” or grey on a label refers to wine made from lightly, green/grey grape varieties like Cinsault or Grenache Gris.)

If you have the wit and fortitude to drink Rosé in the winter, stock up early in the season. Ninety-five percent of all rosés are sold in the summer, and by September they become scarce. Buyers for retail shops often clam up on rosé purchases just as hot weather peaks, fearing they’ll end up with inventory they can’t sell in the fall. At that point, older rosés may be in stock, but it’s worth being somewhat wary of them, as their quality diminishes after a couple of years, losing the fruit and acid that makes them so lively. On the other hand, vintage Rosé Champagne can last decades. In the one-percent department, Rosé Champagnes, vintage or tête de cuvée (top of the line), are made from the best grapes, in the best vintages, often in exquisite bottles and can cost hundreds of dollars.

Ninety-nine percent of non-vintage sparkling rosé doesn’t require a refinance. There are domestic sparklers, cava from Spain, and Italian Prosecco. Many regions in France—like Alsace, Loire, Bugey, Burgundy, Limoux—produce versions that grant the double pleasure of bubbles and the rooted character of a red or “grey” grape. Cremant de Die from the Rhône is as charming and crisp as the sound of its name.

If actors were to play Rosé in all its moods, there’d be Laura Dern as Rambling Rose, Rita Hayworth as the one with gumption, and Neil Patrick Harris as the foxy sparkling variety. If ad men were clever, they’d give us Christina Hendricks on the French Riviera, lifting to her lips a chilled and dripping glass of Tempier Bandol Rosé. Don’t get your hopes up. As New Mexico only receives a dozen cases a year of this precious rosé—full-bodied and tart—the campaign would probably be overkill.

You can turn the page.

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The Santa Fe School of story by GORDON BUNKER p h o t o s b y K AT E R U S S E L L

S

usan Curtis, founder of the Santa Fe School ooll ooff C Cooking, ooking, aand nd N Nicole icole A Ammerman, mmerman, wh who ho rruns uns d dayayto-day operations, make a brilliant mother-and-daughter d d h team. “W “We love l to workk together,” h ” says Nicole with her ready smile.

Sitting on the patio in front of their building, at 125 North Guadalupe Street (which started as a Packard automobile dealership), Susan and Nicole brim with enthusiasm about the school’s new, larger location and the expanded programs it will offer. Nearby, water trickles over a massive carved granite fountain. The school’s previous location, in the Plaza Mercado on San Francisco Street, was the epitome of old Santa Fe, all vigas and adobe walls. The new place is clean-lined and contemporary, featuring ample space for sixty participants in the demonstration area and a separate kitchen for hands-on classes.

Even with renovations underway and amid all the commotion of a construction site, it is clear Susan and Nicole love what they do, and their genuineness is immediately apparent. The pair are all about reaching out to the culinary community, and ingredients for classes are locally sourced. “The public support and working with small farmers—those two things are the most rewarding aspects of this business,” says Susan. Local chefs teach the classes, and the school enjoys collaborative programs with the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum and Santa Fe restaurants.

Susan recounts the beginnings of the school. “Twenty-three years ago it was a midlife crisis,” she says, “and I hate to say it that way, because now it means I’m old! I had been a commercial real estate appraiser, my youngest was off to college and it was like, ‘What do I want to do?’ My husband and I had been very fortunate to travel a lot, and what we eat is really a focus of a trip. I was sick of what I was doing, and suddenly the idea [for the school] occurred to me in the middle of the night. I flew to New Orleans to consult with Joe Cahn, of the New Orleans School of Cooking. My husband was supportive, and that’s how it all started.”

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AUGUST 2012

Susan Curtis, Nicole Ammerman, James Caruso, Cheryl Jameson, Culinary Director Tracy Ritter, Chef/instructor Michelle Roetzer, and Kitchen Manager Noe Cano.

magazine.com

The school’s mission statement is succinct: “To celebrate the traditions of the culture and cuisine of New Mexico.”

“Before I opened the doors,” says Susan, “I knew I wanted to sell New Mexico products. Chile, I wanted chile powder. I felt like I was dealing drugs, because every little farmer heard I was buying chile powder, and they’d come to me with their bags full, and we’d line them up, tasting the quality and talking about where it was grown, how it was milled. We get going, bouncing around the countryside,” she continues. “I love that. I love to go and explore and find products that are not so common.”

Nicole tells a story. “We get in the car when it’s not really busy here and drive all around New Mexico. We went to Velarde a few years ago looking for…”

“El Guiche!” Susan interjects as she remembers the name of the tiny village.

“My mother said, ‘I’m almost positive this is where I got those wonderful chicos.’” says Nicole. “And I’m like, ‘You can’t just go randomly knocking on doors asking Is this where I got those amazing chicos?’ But she went up and knocked, and, sure enough, that’s where she got them!”

Beaming, Susan adds, “I woke the poor guy up from his nap, but he was delighted.”

“This is how you establish those real connections,” says Nicole. “We still work with some of the people my mother found forever ago, and it’s really something special. We love the farmers’ market and do farmers’ market classes, but it’s so much deeper than that.”

“Old traditional processing, old places ... It’s wonderful to go to these places and find things you’ve never even heard of, and you see how it’s done,” says Susan. “I love that.”

Most of the school’s students are visitors to Santa Fe. “The people who take a class here are interested in learning a little bit more than just going to a spa (which I love to do),” says Nicole. “They want to know why we eat what we eat here; they want to have an authentic experience. People love this town. We’ve always had a pool of chefs who work as teachers and always will,” she continues. “We encourage personal styles, but there are recipes: ‘This is what you’re making in this class.’ So it’s not like a specific chef ’s show, it’s really the red and green chile show. We’re celebrating New Mexico’s food history and where we are now with that. We set a sense of place in every class we do, because what we have here is so unique.”

The school has taught the regional secrets to a number of professionals over the years. “Eight chefs from the USS Enterprise spent ten days with us,” says Nicole. “They took every class we offered at the time, wanting to learn about this type of food so they could offer it on the ship. That was a highlight!”

Susan recalls a particularly memorable student and, laughing, adds, “One fellow got a cheffing job with the Forest Service based on his diploma from us!”

A Taste of Life in New Mexico

AUGUST 2012

39

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On the school’s series of restaurant walking tours, “I was having lunch at La Boca,” says Nicole. “Chef James Campbell Caruso used to be in our pool, so he’s a good friend of ours.

He kept sending out food asking what did I think of this and that, and it was just a blast. I was thinking, ‘I love my job!’ and wondered if I could package this for the general public. This is how the restaurant walking tours came about. To start, there was just one route, and they were so well received I added another and now there are four different routes.”

Students appreciate the behind-the-scenes look and time with the chefs. “They think it’s fabulous,” says Susan. “They’re a group that are not here for just surface involvement. They spend the time to learn.”

“We have the most wonderful customers,” adds Nicole.

“When I got married, they sent wedding gifts; when I had babies, I got baby gifts. There are people who have been taking classes with us the whole time we’ve been open.” Faced with finding venues for classes during renovation of the new facility, she explains, “This wonderful, generous woman who has taken lots of classes at the cooking school so very kindly said, ‘Why don’t you run classes at my estate?’ We’ve done two classes a week in the outdoor kitchen. It’s so beautiful and shaded. It’s such a nice time of the year.”

As we bring the interview to a close, the din of concrete saws and compressors and who-knows-what reverberates through the walls to our lovely spot on the patio. “We had the Travel Channel filming here last Friday. That was a circus!” says Nicole. “The construction guys were jackhammering.” She smiles and shrugs her shoulders. “What are you going to do?”

The crew inside takes a break for lunch. We tiptoe around scaffolding and a torn-up section of floor in what will be the school’s market, and Susan directs my attention back through large windows to the patio. “People will come in here, look through the space and see the displays in the window and the fountain,” she says. The grand opening celebration of The Santa Fe School of Cooking’s new location is slated for this November, but all classes will be up and fully running mid-September.

“I’m so excited about this!”

The Santa Fe School of Cooking is located at 125 North Guadalupe Street in Santa Fe. You can reach them at 800.982.4688, 505.

983.4511 or cookin@santafeschoolofcooking.com. Class descriptions and schedules can be found at www.santafeschoolofcooking.com.

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Youth Shelters Invites You to…

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Tuesday August 21st Fun begins at 5:30 pm Hosted Cocktail Hour, Dinner, Fabulous Live AucƟon, Show, and Dancing Tickets $100 For informaƟon or to make your reservaƟons: 505 982 2945 or www.youthshelters.org

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Hungry?

STILL I s t o r y b y M E LY S S A H O L I K

t’s hot out: Blazingly, stupefyingly, shoes-sticking-to-the-pavement, “let’s have popsicles for breakfast” hot. This scorching weather can make even the most enthusiastic home cook run screaming from his kitchen (or at least walk briskly; after all, it is pretty hot). But fear not, home chefs! You can create a delectable meal without sweating over a hot stove. It’s as simple as fresh ingredients paired and prepared in inventive ways.

We turned to four local Albuquerque chefs to get their favorite no-cook recipes to help you survive a New Mexico summer. They’ll have you heading back into the kitchen, but staying cool as a cucumber. All that’s left for estival perfection is an ice cold drink and a swing in the hammock. (Make mine a mojito!)

Summer Zucchini and Squash with Porcini Vinaigrette from Chef Jason Greene of The Grove Café and Market 3 squash (zucchini or summer squash) any ratio 2 oz arugula 4 oz goat cheese 5 basil leaves 4 oz Marcona almonds Salt and pepper Porcini Vinaigrette (see recipe below) On a mandoline shave the squash and zucchini as thin as possible and layer on a serving plate, varying their colors.

Sprinkle some salt and pepper on top.

Drizzle some of the porcini vingaigrette over the top of the vegetables.

Break up the goat cheese and sprinkle over the vegetables.

Chop the Marcona almonds very fine and sprinkle over the top.

Chiffonade the basil leaves and scatter over the top.

Finish the salad by arranging 8-10 arugula leaves over the salad for garnish.

Porcini Vinaigrette 1/4 oz dried porcinis 3 Tablespoons sherry vinegar 2 Tablespoons chopped shallots 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil Salt and pepper Soak mushrooms in hot water until soft.

Remove mushrooms and dry off. Chop into small pieces and add to mixing bowl.

Add vinegar, shallots and salt and pepper to taste.

Emulsify oil in and use immediately.

The Grove Café and Market is located at 600 Central Avenue SE in Albuquerque.

505.248.9800, www.thegrovecafemarket.com/ Image from: Contemporary Native American Artists

by Suzanne Deats. Photographer: Kitty Leaken.

Gibbs Smith Publisher, $50 list.

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Blades’ Bistro Watermelon Gazpacho Recipe

Yellowtail “Carpaccio” with Ginger-Harissa Oil and Meyer Lemon-Brined Jicama Slaw

from Chef/Owner Kevin Bladergroen of Blade’s Bistro

from Chef Marc Quinones of Bien Shur Restaurant

1 lb seedless watermelon meat (set some cubes aside for garnish) 3 red bell peppers de-seeded, coarsely chopped 3 cucumbers, peeled, de-seeded, then coarsely chopped 2 Tablespoons chopped garlic ½ lb seasoned croutons (can omit for gluten-free) Salt and pepper to taste Mix all together in the bowl, top with red wine vinaigrette (see recipe), and let sit two hours together at room temperature.

Blend in a food processor till smooth, and then strain through a strainer or sieve for smooth consistency.

Refrigerate to desired chilled temperature, can be held in refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Red Wine Vinaigrette 1 cup red wine ½ cup red wine vinegar 1 cup virgin olive oil 1 cup tomato juice Garnish with a tablespoon of cubed watermelon (or more if you like), a touch of virgin olive oil floating on top and for added garnish, a little finely chopped fresh parsley.

Serves six people.

Blade’s Bistro is located at 221 Highway 165 in Placitas. 505.771.0695, www. bladesbistro.com.

Photo: © Roman Ivaschenko | Dreamstime.com

Cucumber Sandwich from Chef Stefan Springer of Chez Axel 2 thick slices whole wheat bread 2 Tablespoons cream cheese, softened 6 slices cucumber 2 Tablespoons alfalfa sprouts 1 teaspoon olive oil 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar 1 tomato, sliced 1 leaf lettuce 1 oz pepperoncini, sliced 1/2 avocado, mashed

1 pound of yellowtail amberjack cut into thin slices 4 Tablespoons of Ginger-Harissa Oil (recipe follows) 1 ½ cups of Jicama Slaw (recipe follows) For the Ginger-Harissa Oil 1 ½ cups grapeseed oil ¼ cup ginger peeled and minced ¼ cup shallot minced ¼ cup cilantro minced 3 oz harissa pepper paste ¼ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon white pepper Preparation: Combine all ingredients into a squeeze bottle and let rest at room temperature for four hours.

Spread each slice of bread with 1 Tablespoon of the cream cheese. On one slice of bread, arrange cucumber slices in a single layer. Cover with sprouts then sprinkle with oil and vinegar. Layer tomato slices, lettuce and pepperoncini. Spread other slice of bread with mashed avocado. Close sandwich and serve immediately.

Makes 1 sandwich

For the Meyer Lemon-Brined Jicama Slaw ½ cup jicama ½ cup red bell pepper 1 cup fresh squeezed Meyer lemon juice 3 oz granulated sugar Preparation: Wash and peel vegetables before shredding. Combine sugar and Meyer lemon juice and set aside. Slice jicama and red bell pepper into two-inch long strips, place in bowl and cover with brine allowing to brine for four hours.

Chez Axel is located at 6209 Montgomery Boulevard NE in Albuquerque. 505.881.8104, www. chezaxelrestaurant.com.

For presentation of dish: Spread the slaw evenly over a small platter. Arrange the sliced yellowtail over the vegetables. Drizzle the ginger-harissa oil over the fish to your liking. Garnish with more slaw in the middle of your platter for a striking presentation.

Bien Shur is located on the ninth floor of Sandia Casino, at 30 Rainbow Road NE in Albuquerque.

505.796.7500, www.sandiacasino.com/dining/bien_ shur.asp.

Photo: Karolina Przybysz | sxc.hu

Photo: © Ron Sumners | Dreamstime.com

A Taste of Life in New Mexico

JUNE 2012

45

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A Taste of Life in New Mexico

AUGUST 2012

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Gabriel’s Gabriel’s Garbo’s at Rainbow Vision Geronimo Garbo’s at Rainbow Vision Il Piatto Italian Farmhouse Geronimo Izmi Sushi Restaurant Il Piatto Italian Farmhouse Jambo Cafe Izmi Sushi Restaurant Jinja Bar Jambo Cafe& Grill Joe’sBar Dining Jinja & Grill La Boca Joe’s Dining La Casa Sena La Boca La Plazuela at La Fonda La Casa Sena Las Fuentes LaLos Plazuela Cuatesat La Fonda LasLuminaria Fuentes LosMaria’s Cuates Luminaria Mariscos Costa Azul Maria’s Mine Shaft Tavern Mariscos Azul O EatingCosta House

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