Editorial Content
click here for the Fall 2008 table of contents
Fall 2008
Fall in New Mexico is a beautiful time, filled with the aromas of roasting chiles, apples, and pinon smoke. I personally welcome the slowing down of fall with its cooler nights and crisp air, of slowing down and settling in, of putting up the last of the tomatoes, storing winter squashes, capturing as much of the seasons bounty to hold through the winter. Not that we need to of course, what with modern conveniences like the availability of raspberries or citrus in November. But with soaring energy costs fueling rising prices and changing the way we purchase everything from steel to potatoes - we'd all be wise to preserve and cherish as much of the bounty produced here our own communities.
In this issue we bring you a taste of fall in these communities, shaped by people like Greg O'Byrne, founder of Wine and Chile, who tells a story of perseverance and passion that fuel this years Winemaker of the Year. There are recipes for the bounty of winter squashes and the last of the seasons greens or quelites, and memories of a grandmothers love of green chile. Ben Haggard talks about the energy of this piece of earth that is NM, and the ways it uniquely enlivens the food we grow here. You will certainly recognize those unique qualities, and hopefully see the food we grow here in a different light as I did after I read Ben's piece. Kristen Davenport ponders the rise in fuel prices and how it will affect not only her trips to the Santa Fe Farmers Market, but how this might change our own habits. She remains confident that no matter what happens with our shaky economy, she can feed her family and has enough to trade with others. How many of us can we say the same, and how difficult would it really be for each of us to grow something? Lois Ellen Frank urges us to preserve our future by saving seeds the way our ancestors did, not just to protect the lineage of foods, but to safeguard the legacy of our culture and heritage, and our connection to each other and the earth. Miranda Gray is a local painter who has found her connection and inspiration using her medium, egg tempera, to pay homage to our farms and farmers. Finally, a poem by New Mexico's own Jimmy Santiago Baca, a thoughtful and passionate ode to the green chile, and fall in New Mexico. There's more to savor of course, and I hope you enjoy. On-line we have lots more seasonal recipes, a juicy article or two, our blog, and interviews on Kitchensync Podcast. As always I urge you to shop and eat locally, and let the advertisers who so generously support edible Santa Fe know that you saw them between these pages.
Kate Manchester
In this issue we bring you a taste of fall in these communities, shaped by people like Greg O'Byrne, founder of Wine and Chile, who tells a story of perseverance and passion that fuel this years Winemaker of the Year. There are recipes for the bounty of winter squashes and the last of the seasons greens or quelites, and memories of a grandmothers love of green chile. Ben Haggard talks about the energy of this piece of earth that is NM, and the ways it uniquely enlivens the food we grow here. You will certainly recognize those unique qualities, and hopefully see the food we grow here in a different light as I did after I read Ben's piece. Kristen Davenport ponders the rise in fuel prices and how it will affect not only her trips to the Santa Fe Farmers Market, but how this might change our own habits. She remains confident that no matter what happens with our shaky economy, she can feed her family and has enough to trade with others. How many of us can we say the same, and how difficult would it really be for each of us to grow something? Lois Ellen Frank urges us to preserve our future by saving seeds the way our ancestors did, not just to protect the lineage of foods, but to safeguard the legacy of our culture and heritage, and our connection to each other and the earth. Miranda Gray is a local painter who has found her connection and inspiration using her medium, egg tempera, to pay homage to our farms and farmers. Finally, a poem by New Mexico's own Jimmy Santiago Baca, a thoughtful and passionate ode to the green chile, and fall in New Mexico. There's more to savor of course, and I hope you enjoy. On-line we have lots more seasonal recipes, a juicy article or two, our blog, and interviews on Kitchensync Podcast. As always I urge you to shop and eat locally, and let the advertisers who so generously support edible Santa Fe know that you saw them between these pages.
Kate Manchester
click here for the Fall 2008 table of contents
click here for the Summer 2008 table of contents
Summer 2008
Welcome to our summer issue! This season, we are excited to visit with tomato grower extraordinaire and innovative thinker Paul Cross of Charybda Farms in Arroyo Hondo. He'll make you re-think your old ideas about growing anything in New Mexico. Although he sits on five acres, he produces gorgeous tomatoes, flowers, herbs and his hugely successful line of Chef's Edition microgreens on only a tenth of that. But the most inspired thing is that he does it all without a well or access to an acequia. When we toured his greenhouse in the spring, the regional buyer from Whole Foods had just visited, offering to buy all of his tomatoes in addition to his flowers and herbs. Lucky for us, Paul declined to sell his tomatoes--meaning you'll still find them at the Santa Fe Farmers Market on Saturday mornings. But in order to enjoy these wonderful fruits you must get there early; Paul's tomatoes are in such demand that he is generally sold out before 9:30 am!
Deborah Madison, Jennifer Esperanza and I spent an extraordinary day at Camino de Paz farm school a few weeks ago. I was struck by how tidy and organized the farm is, and how articulate, thoughtful and centered the students are. Visiting the school made me wish I had attended a school like this as a child. I realized how rare it is for kids to have the kind of everyday responsibilities and experiences that make up a school day at Camino de Paz. I urge you to stop and see the students (and the fruits of their labor) each week at the Santa Fe Farmers Market, and to support their school. Our story about MFK Fisher is very special to me; I grew up reading Fisher's musings on everything from food to marriage. This July would have marked her 100th birthday, and we bring you one of her last interviews.
If you have a free day or guests to entertain, spend an afternoon driving through Northern New Mexico. Judith Post has done a great job of putting together a tour of wineries with a couple of delicious food stops along the way. And if you find yourself with too much bounty from the garden, take a tip from Kristen Davenport and try your hand at fermenting; it's almost foolproof and much cooler than canning. Author and edible East End, Brooklyn, and Manhattan publisher Brian Halweil has written a piece on what promises to be one of the biggest calls to arms our country has seen in recent years; Gary Nabhan calls it our "first continental culinary congress." Slow Food Nation takes place this summer in San Francisco, and we are urged to grab our forks and take a seat at the table with thousands of others for a "heavenly overwhelming display of what it means to eat and live well."
You may also notice we have trimmed down a bit, and some of our regular pages (seasonal farmers markets and advertisers directory) will now be found on our website. I invite you to visit us on the web for more recipes, resources, and to listen to our Kitchensync Podcast. I hope you enjoy the summer and visit with some of the people between these pages--both the folks in our stories and the advertisers, too--and be sure to tell them you saw them in edible Santa Fe .
Kate Manchester
Deborah Madison, Jennifer Esperanza and I spent an extraordinary day at Camino de Paz farm school a few weeks ago. I was struck by how tidy and organized the farm is, and how articulate, thoughtful and centered the students are. Visiting the school made me wish I had attended a school like this as a child. I realized how rare it is for kids to have the kind of everyday responsibilities and experiences that make up a school day at Camino de Paz. I urge you to stop and see the students (and the fruits of their labor) each week at the Santa Fe Farmers Market, and to support their school. Our story about MFK Fisher is very special to me; I grew up reading Fisher's musings on everything from food to marriage. This July would have marked her 100th birthday, and we bring you one of her last interviews.
If you have a free day or guests to entertain, spend an afternoon driving through Northern New Mexico. Judith Post has done a great job of putting together a tour of wineries with a couple of delicious food stops along the way. And if you find yourself with too much bounty from the garden, take a tip from Kristen Davenport and try your hand at fermenting; it's almost foolproof and much cooler than canning. Author and edible East End, Brooklyn, and Manhattan publisher Brian Halweil has written a piece on what promises to be one of the biggest calls to arms our country has seen in recent years; Gary Nabhan calls it our "first continental culinary congress." Slow Food Nation takes place this summer in San Francisco, and we are urged to grab our forks and take a seat at the table with thousands of others for a "heavenly overwhelming display of what it means to eat and live well."
You may also notice we have trimmed down a bit, and some of our regular pages (seasonal farmers markets and advertisers directory) will now be found on our website. I invite you to visit us on the web for more recipes, resources, and to listen to our Kitchensync Podcast. I hope you enjoy the summer and visit with some of the people between these pages--both the folks in our stories and the advertisers, too--and be sure to tell them you saw them in edible Santa Fe .
Kate Manchester
click here for the Summer 2008 table of contents
Who We're Donating to this Spring: Vanishing of the Bees a documentary work in progress, takes a piercing investigative look at the economic, political and spiritual implications of the world wide disappearance of the honeybee, a mysterious ecological tragedy that could topple our food chain and forever change our way of life. Please visit www.vanishingbees.com to donate, or $8 of each subscription sold will go towards the completion of the film.
