A TA S T E O F L I F E I N NE W ME X ICO
JUNE 2014
S AN TA F E | AL BUQ UE RQ UE | TAO S
EDUCATION
CRAFTS CLASSES
TOURS TA S T I N G S
2 0 1 4
WORKSHOPS
JUNE & JULY • • •
SERIES
ALL THINGS LAVENDER
June 7 REFRESH YOUR HOME WITH LAVENDER June 11 THE ART OF PAPER FLOWERS June 14 LOS POBLANOS PROPERTY TOUR June 15 LAVENDER CANDLE MAKING June 21 LAVENDER 101 June 22 DIY LAVENDER SACHETS
THE ART OF OUTDOOR DINING
June 29 B-FAST & SOUND MEDITATION
Taste the flavors of Santa Fe at Fuego. Savor breakfast, lunch and dinner outside on our patio. Indulge in cocktails at the historic Staab House Bar. Enjoy live entertainment nightly.
ADVANCE REGISTRATION REQUIRED AT LOSPOBLANOS.COM
La Posada de Santa Fe, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa 330 East Palace Avenue Santa Fe, New Mexico
June 28 LAVENDER TASTING
The Galisteo Bistro • Delectable, made-to-order, by-hand cuisine that spans the globe • Casual fine dining in an open-kitchen atmosphere
• Fresh seafood, fine meats, poultry, and game, coupled with delicious vegetarian dishes • Eclectic wine list featuring a wide variety of international gems
Reservations Suggested Wednesday to Sunday 5–9pm • 505.982.3700 • galisteobistro.com Visit us today for the finest cuisine in Santa Fe! Mention this ad for a complimentary dessert with each entrée ordered (valid for June 2014 only)
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For reservations, please call 505-986-0000 or visit opentable.com
it’s closer than you think.. Local ingredients, served locally. We seek out the freshest, seasonal organic produce, meats and fish. Then we serve it up with flair and attentive service right in your neighborhood. Join locals supporting locals. Deliciously.
OLD TOWN ALBUQUERQUE 505.766.5100 www.seasonsabq.com
HISTORIC NOB HILL
ALBUQUERQUE HEIGHTS
505.254.ZINC(9462)
505.294.WINE(9463)
www.zincabq.com
www.savoyabq.com
Cecilia's Organics in Polvadera, NM
ALBUQUERQUE, SANTA FE 505.850.2459 www.tasteabq.com
. .truly local.
Let’s Celebrate Dad’s Special Weekend! Friday, June 13th – The Gruet Wine Dinner 6 Courses and 6 Award Winning New Mexican Wines open seating from 5:30 – $95 per person Father’s Day – Sunday, June 15th “Day of the Dad” Sunday Brunch on the Patio – always à la carte!
231 Washington Ave Santa Fe • 505-984-1788 • santacafe.com •
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Inside:
ON OUR COVER: The Sweetheart of DeSmet Dairy
The Buzz
by Kelly Koepke 8
What’s new, what’s not, what’s cold, what’s hot … that’s the buzz!
Real Milk
by Emily Beenen 10
The term “raw milk” is on the lips of every locavore these days. Albuquerque’s DeSmet Dairy makes sure that we stay at the forefront of all things pure and local—one delicious glass at a time!
Crafting Character
by Melyssa Holik 14
The craft beer movement continues to grow by leaps and bounds in our state. Writer and photographer Melyssa Holik takes it one step further at Duel Brewing in Santa Fe, where they are crafting great beer and a sense of community.
Rooftops of Albuquerque
by Kate Gerwin 18
With spectacular sunsets practically guaranteed on a nightly basis in Albuquerque, we sent writer Kate Gerwin to find the best spots to enjoy them.
Green Tractor Farm by Gabriella Marks
22
Writer and photographer Gabriella Marks captures the story of a farm couple passing their dream and their life’s work into the hands of their children—a family story not often told in this day and age.
Chef Johnny Vee Wants to Know by John Vollertsen 26
Cherie Austin of Farm & Table restaurant in Albuquerque is the perfect spokesperson for all the restaurants in our area that are so passionately embracing the field-to-table movement.
The Greenhouse Grocery by Gail Snyder
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Well, dear readers, I know by your emails that you talk the talk when it comes to food sustainability—but are you ready to walk the walk? If you are, BJ Pheiffer has a co-op venture that’s meant for you!
June’s Local Flavor Favorite
by Mia Carbone 30
Vintage Albuquerque is Local Flavor’s Favorite food event of the month. It’s the place for foodies and oenophiles to see and be seen. Don’t miss it!
Fine Southwestern French Cuisine
Chicos, Beans and Chiles by Gail Snyder 34
The three staples of every farmhouse kitchen—chicos, beans and chiles—are thoughtfully brought to the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market each week by this extraordinary couple who share their love of these cupboard basics and the traditions behind them.
Still Hungry? by Mia Carbone
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Chef Matt Yohalem was at the forefront of the farm-to-restaurant movement before it had a name or anyone realized what profound changes it would bring to the restaurant world. In this, the Farm and Ranch Issue, we recognize Matt for his foresight and dedication, and we thank him for three absolutely extraordinary recipes.
JUNE
2014 ~ Publishers: Patty & Peter Karlovitz Editor: Patty Karlovitz Publisher’s Assistant: Mia Rose Carbone Web Editor: Melyssa Holik Art Director: Jasmine Quinsier Cover photo: Joy Godfrey Prepress: Scott Edwards Ad Design: Alex Hanna Advertising: Santa Fe: Lianne Aponte 505.629.6544.
Margret Henkels 505.501.2290. Cherilyn Swenson 505.501.5146. Mary Brophy 505.231.3181. Albuquerque: Ashley Schutte 505.504.8130. Carrie Carter 806.407.2455. Amber Gillreath 505.235.9216.
223 North Guadalupe #442, Santa Fe, NM 87501 Tel: 505.988.7560 www.localflavormagazine.com Subscriptions $30 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.
229 Galisteo Street Santa Fe 505-989-1919 loliviersantafe.com
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ALBUQUERQUE Raise a glass to Kate Gerwin, winner of the prestigious title of Bols Bartending World Champion 2014, following a sensational Bols Around the World grand finale in Amsterdam last month. Gerwin prevailed with her Brown Chicken, Brown Cacao cocktail, made with Bols Crème de Cacao Brown, Bols Natural Yoghurt liqueur, spiced almond milk and walnut bitters. The inspiration for the drink was a classic American cocktail, the Smith and Curran, which was invented during the 1950s oil boom in Bismarck, North Dakota. Visit bols.com for the recipe and more. (And visit Local Flavor each month to see Kate’s coverage of the Duke City restaurant scene.) Nice job, Kate!
| Javier Villegas of Colombia Herbaceous 2012 interactive video
516 Arts invites everyone to Digital Latin America, a m ulti-site exhibition, symposium and series of e vents beginning June 7 with a block party and symposium and continuing through August. An outgrowth of the Latin American Forum at 2012’s International Symposium on Electronic Arts, DLA explores the north/ south axis of cultural development and exchange between Latin America and the United States. Presenting partners include UNM Art Museum, Albuquerque Museum of Art and History and the National Hispanic Cultural Center. Visit 516arts.org for complete details. June’s busting out all over! Kick off the summer with the 2nd annual
Albuquerque Film & Media Experience. AFME’s mission is to honor the power of film media through screenings, panel discussions, concerts and other activities during this weeklong celebration. This year’s international spotlight countries are Ireland and India, and special guests include actors Giancarlo Esposito, Sharon Lawrence, Stephen Baldwin and Federico Castelluccio. AFME runs June 1-8. Visit abqfilmx.com for the complete schedule and tickets. Hotel Andaluz hits a big milestone in June. Help them celebrate their 75th anniversary on June 6 with a sure-to-be-dazzling Old Hollywood Affair. Enjoy a signature Diamond-tini for your chance to take home a pair of gorgeous diamond earrings valued at over $800. There’ll be live entertainment by Rodney Bowe and Sweetlife, specials on drinks and tapas from chef James Campbell Caruso’s restaurant Más and best of all, admission is free. Constructed in 1939 by Conrad Hilton and opened as a Hilton hotel, the building was the first in New Mexico to have air conditioning and an elevator. That’s quite a history! Call 505.242.9090 for details on the big party. Another anniversary of note: Gruet Winery celebrates its 25th year making awardwinning sparkling and still wines in New Mexico. They’re expanding operations, too. The Pueblo of Santa Ana has planted grapes for Gruet on 30 acres just north of Bernalillo, along I-25. Everyone at Local Flavor loves Gruet’s methode champenoise bubblies, their Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, too, and can’t wait to try the NV Gruet Winery Blanc de Blancs 25th Anniversary Cuvee! Visit gruetwinery.com and head to the tasting room for sip or two. The date’s set for June 20, says Carri Phillis, for the opening of her latest venture, Heimat House Restaurant and Beer Garden. The concept is German and European comfort food (think schnitzel, spaetzle, bratwurst, currywurst and sauerbraten served with German beers and wines). The place is at 6910 Montgomery NE, former home of Liquid Assets and Independence Grill. Phillis is co-owner of Downtown’s Effex Nightclub and Adieux Café. Phillis, who was born in Germany and whose parents live there now, says
she “felt like I was walking into a real German pub. I LOVE the space! It has a decent sized patio and a large atrium which will make a great beer garden.” Call 505.814.0014. The sign is up, equipment is being installed and owners David Kim, Justin Hamilton (former head brewer at Chama River Brewing Co.) and Kevin Davis plan on opening the Duke City’s latest brewpub and restaurant this month or next. Boxing Bear Brewing Co., in the former Elliott’s Restaurant at Alameda and Corrales Road, looks to have at least six house beers to start, and four to six seasonals once production gets going. Plans for their own wines are also in the works. Davis’ Southwest Grape & Grain is opening next door, too, a shop where folks can learn about home brewing, home winemaking and home cheese making. The final touches are going on the food menu at Boxing Bear, so watch their Facebook page for a solid opening date. One of our favorite places, Pasion Latin Fusion, with chef Elvis Bencomo, is launching a food truck called Calle Ocho, serving Latin American street food. Says Bencomo, “It will be available for caterings, weddings and special events. Look for the truck in its first big event on June 7 for the Digital Latin American Block Party in Downtown Albuquerque. Also follow us on Facebook, calleochofoodtruck or check out pasionlatinfusion.com for locations on where it will set up.” Chef Bencomo also says that this opportunity will allow him to focus more on food both for Pasion and the truck, which will be serving his famous banana chip fish tacos and a Calle Ocho exclusive, Ceviche Raspado, where shaved flavored ice meets the spice and tang of ceviche. Ay caramba, we’re excited for more of Bencomo’s amazing dishes! That Latin American grub should put you in the mood for dancing to La Santa Cecilia, the Grammy Awardwinning Latin Alternative “modernday creative hybrid,” at the National Hispanic Cultural Center on June 22. Avokado Artists brings these fun and infectious performers, called the voice of
immigrants, to town with local favorites Mala Maña. La Santa Cecilia exemplifies the modern-day fusion of Latin culture and world music, creatively combining up-tempo Pan American rhythms like cumbia, bossa nova, rumba, nostalgic boleros, passionate tango, jazz, rock and klezmer music. Their influences range from Miles Davis to the Beatles, Led Zeppelin to Janis Joplin and Mercedes Sosa to Ramón Ayala. Tickets at 505.724.4771 or NHCCNM.org.
| La Santa Cecilia
Big props to Albuquerque Poet Laureate emeritus Hakim Bellamy for winning the Tillie Olsen Award for Creative Writing from the Working-Class Studies Association. The group honored Bellamy for his debut poetry collection, SWEAR. He is also a national and regional poetry slam champion. He just passed the title of Albuquerque Poet Laureate to Jessica Helen Lopez, who herself was recently named one of 30 poets in their 30s to watch by Muzzle magazine. She is a nationally recognized, award-winning slam poet and holds the title of 2012 and 2014 Women of the World (WOW) City of ABQ Champion. Lopez’s first collection of poetry, Always Messing With Them Boys, made the Southwest Book of the Year reading list and was also awarded the 2012 Zia Book Award presented by New Mexico Press Women. Kudos to both poets! From poetry to performance, this summer the Vortex Theatre and the City of Albuquerque have joined together to present Shakespeare on the Plaza. Taking Shakespeare where he belongs and where he started—outside in the open air—for four weeks in June and July, productions of Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream will grace the stage of Civic Plaza. A single company of 20 actors will appear in both of the Bard’s plays, with Romeo and Juliet set in contemporary Albuquerque and A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 19th century New Mexico. For dates and times, visit vortexabq.org. Speaking of Vortex, after a lifetime of renting, borrowing rehearsal space and enduring leaky roofs, the theater bought the old Langell’s Art Supply building at 2900 Carlisle NE and will be moving, with luck, in late summer. The building, under renovation now, will house a blackbox theater, rehearsal space, storage and
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lobby and will have plentiful parking. Yeah for parking! Yeah for theater!
SANTA FE The Palace Restaurant and Saloon has a new Executive Chef, Santa Fe native Joshua Ortiz. Ortiz started in kitchens when he was 18, worked as sous chef for David Sellers at Amavi and Lane Warner at La Fonda. He’s been helming at the Palace since August, his first time having the lead in a kitchen. “I’m really inspired by Italian cuisine, ever since I started with David,” he says. “I’ve brought back the Italian flair that the Palace used to have, especially the Italian version of tapas, cicchetti, like fried goat cheese, squash blossoms, calamari. A few bites for a reasonable price.” Welcome aboard chef!
most creative comfort food in America. Gerwin’s smoked leg of goat chimichanga stuffed with refried beans and fresh cabbage finished with an authentic Oaxacan mole garnished with guacamole and cotija cheese. Gerwin took the coveted Golden Skillet and its $10,000 prize over two other worthy entries: a chile relleno enchilada burrito from La Choza and the (in)famous Disaster Burrito from Hurricanes in Albuquerque. Thanks for putting Santa Fe’s burritos on the map! Throughout June, Joe’s Dining will donate 10 percent of its special prix-fixe meal for two (lunch or dinner) to Farm to Restaurant, a program of Farm to Table that facilitates local food sourcing between Santa Fe restaurants and local growers. How will it work? You and your dining companion choose any one appetizer, any two entrees and any one dessert. Easy peasy. Joe’s would love to send a nice chunk of cash to this worthy program, so think about how this can fit into your dining choices for June. Sunday Brunch lovers will be delighted to hear that Sweetwater Harvest Kitchen will open on Sundays starting June 1 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. to serve a selection of their most popular items in addition to some seasonal surprises. How sweet it is…
Photo: Kitty Leaken
The Santa Fe Farmers’ Market Tuesday market kick-off party is June 3 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Catch Honey Harris broadcasting in person, Brian Wingard and Sol de la Noche playing live music, | Executive Chef Joshua Ortiz Santa Fe Culinary Academy cooking The rumors are true! Joel Coleman is demo and Annie Rose the Flower Fairy opening a new place, Fire & Hops, in the hosting a children’s event. See you at the old Tulips space at 222 North Guadalupe. Market! You may remember Coleman from Koi and Mauka. Says Coleman, who hopes to Let’s Grow!, a free five-part monthly series be open by July 1, “It will essentially be for the home gardener, from the Santa Fe a gastropub, but with very high quality Master Gardener Association, continues food, as local as possible. Still my food, with Summer Rose Care on Sunday, but with that gastropub influence. And June 29, at the Harvey Cornell Rose we’ll have a nice selection of beers on tap, Garden. Learn from master rosarian, Jack a small wine list and a patio. I’m excited!” Ortega, and stay afterward for hands on We are, too, Joel! Welcome back to Santa application in this beautiful rose garden. Fe. For the full schedule of this series, visit sfmga.org.
| Chef Josh Gerwin
Kudos to chef Josh Gerwin of Dr. Field Goods Kitchen for smacking down the competition on Chow Masters on the Travel Channel. The Chow Masters, Chef Sammy DeMarco and best friend/ Hollywood director Frank Coraci, hit the road to find the tastiest and
Welcome home to acclaimed chef John Rivera Sedlar, who will open Eloisa (named for his grandmother) in the Drury Plaza Hotel this fall. Sedlar grew up in Santa Fe, spent time in Spain, apprenticed with legendary French chef Jean Bertranou of L’Ermitage in Los Angeles, and traveled extensively throughout Mexico, Latin America and Spain to study Latin food traditions. His first restaurant, Saint Estéphe, in Manhattan Beach, was named “among the very best in California, or even the West” by Bon Appétit. He continued to create delicious, innovative food at his next restaurants, Bikini and then Abiquiu, both in Santa Monica. Sedlar, currently the owner of Los Angeles’ Rivera, was named “the Father of Modern Southwest Cuisine” by Gourmet, and is the author of many cookbooks, including Modern Southwest Cuisine, Tamales,
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the buzz
Else,” a talk by Santa Fe resident Joanna Harcourt-Smith, author of Tripping the Bardo with Timothy Leary: My Psychedelic Love Story. Harcourt-Smith met and fell in love with Leary while he was exiled in Switzerland. Kidnapped with him by American authorities in Afghanistan, she became his voice to the world for the years he was incarcerated in a California Terra at the Four Seasons Resort prison. Her book chronicles those tumultuous Rancho Encantado and Executive Chef Andrew Cooper have an amazing years. Tickets at the door include a signed copy opportunity for a few foodies each night. of the book, with a discount for youngsters under 25, and those who bring the book to be Their new Chef ’s Table gives up to 10 signed. Call 505.428.0996 for info. diners the chance to enjoy an eight- to twelve-course meal prepared just for them, as well as a one-on-one cooking The summer series Music on the Hill begins lesson in the newly renovated kitchen. June 11 at St. John’s College athletic field. Call 505.946.5800 at least 24 hours in Bring a picnic or purchase delicious nibbles and advance to make your reservations. Then soft drinks from Walter Burke Catering as you share with us all the deliciousness! enjoy this free weekly jazz concert series that and The Tamale Poster. In 2011, Sedlar was named Chef of the Year by Esquire and Rivera one of the nation’s best new restaurants. We can’t wait to see what’s on the menu at Eloisa from this celebrated chef and home town notable.
Marking both her 75th birthday and three decades of living and working in New Mexico, Local Color: Judy Chicago in New Mexico 1984-2014 opens at the New Mexico Museum of Art June 6 and runs through October 12. The exhibition focuses on both Chicago’s large-scale public projects and smaller-scale personal artworks, as well as recent works, and draws from the artist’s studio, private collections and the New Mexico Museum of Art’s collection. Like many women artists before her, Chicago has made New Mexico her home, gaining broad public attention in the late 1970s for her monumental feminist installation The Dinner Party, now permanently installed as part of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. Visit nmartmuseum.org. Summer in Santa Fe means enjoying our many hiking trails and historic sites. This summer, Jemez Historic Site inaugurates its new Elder in Residence Program. From June 4 to July 13, Jemez tribal elders will offer a Native American voice in the interpretation and preservation of Jemez Historic Site, providing tours and sharing stories and personal feelings about the site and their culture with the visiting public. Each week features a new story from a different elder. Tours are twice daily, free with the price of admission to the site. Visit nmhistoricsites.org for details. Bookish types, or those who remember the “Turn on, tune in, drop out” era should mark their calendars for June 7. Iconik Coffee Roasters hosts “How I Survived Timothy Leary and Everything
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runs until July 23 (no concert July 2). Take the free shuttle from Museum Hill beginning at 5 p.m. Leave the pets at home, though. The lineup includes Bert Dalton’s Brazil Project, Brian Wingard, Clairedee with Dmitri Matheny, Annie Sellick, SuperSax New Mexico and Manzanares. Visit sjc.edu for dates, directions and parking suggestions.
Herb and Lavender Fair June 21 & 22, 2014 • 10am-4pm Enjoy a guided tour of the museum’s herb gardens Buy lavender and herb products from local farms, as well as other wonderful arts and crafts Visit with a curandera (traditional healer) Live Marimba music with Kumusha both days All at a 200-acre ranch and living history museum Fun for the whole family! Admission: Adults $8; Seniors & Teens $6; 12 & Under FREE. Call 505.471.2261 or visit golondrinas.org for more information. Just south of Santa Fe at 334 Los Pinos Rd. I-25, Exit 276, follow brown “Las Golondrinas” signs.
Support provided by Santa Fe Arts Commission, New Mexico Humanities Council and New Mexico Arts
TAOS Heritage Hotels has opened their new Taos inn, Palacio de Marquesa at the property that was formerly Casa de las Chimeneas. The design concept of Palacio de Marquesa pays tribute to the remarkable stories of the women of Taos, a town whose natural and cultural beauty began drawing artists in the early 1900s. A number of very notable women artists settled in and around Taos, and each of the rooms and suites is named for one of these remarkable women:
New Mexico Wines Live Music
Great Food
Arts and Crafts
Taste the fine wines
and meet the vintners
from around the state,
all in the historic setting of
El Rancho de las Golondrinas,
a Spanish colonial ranch and
living history museum! | Palacio de Marquesa
Millicent Rogers, Mable Dodge Luhan, Agnes Martin, Georgia O’Keeffe and others. Visit marquesataos.com. The River & Brews Blues Fest at Red River Ski Area is always a rockin’ time, so head up there June 6 and 7. Kick off with open mic night on Friday, and enjoy New Mexico’s finest microbreweries, finger-lickin’ good barbeque and fantastic musical entertainment all day Saturday. Bring your blanket or lawn chairs and enjoy lunch or snacks from one of the vendors or one of the featured Red River restaurants offering a multitude of great food. Visit redriverbluesfest.com for complete details.
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$13 Adult (includes souvenir wine glass) $5 Youth 13-20 (under 13 free) Just south of Santa Fe at 334 Los Pinos Rd. I-25 Exit 276; follow signs • 505-471-2261 santafewinefestival.com • Free parking
Presented in cooperation with New Mexico Wine Country. Additional support provided by Santa Fe County Lodgers Tax Advisory Board, Santa Fe Arts Commission and New Mexico Arts
Make your Dad smile this Father’s Day and Every Day!
Available at fine liquor establishments throughout New Mexico (505) 467-8892 www.santafespirits.com
Indulge Your Inner Foodie Find culinary inspiration around every corner: from local chocolates and imported confections, to unique condiments and fine wines. You can shop at a grocery store, or you can shop at Kaune’s.
511 Old Santa Fe Trail | Mon - Sat 8:00am - 6:50pm 505-982-2629 | kaunes.com | Follow Us on for Specials
edible summer series
1873
featuring patrÓn tequila!
Food, Drink and Live Music while you enjoy the intoxicating views from our exclusive 5th floor Presidential Patio.
alace
• Specialty Cocktails Created by an Official Patrón Mixologist • Taste the NEW Gran Patrón “Piedra,” Extra Añejo Tequila • Patrón SWAG for Brag! • LIVE Music by the Savor Trio • Patrón Tequilas Paired with Incredible Hors d'oeuvre! June 12 • 6:00pm • $30 per person (must be over 21)
Restaurant & Saloon
Our inner courtyard & streetside patios are open! Join us for the tastiest al fresco dining in Santa Fe. Reservations 505 428 0690
Reservations • 505.995.4530
View Our Online Calendar for Other Events Eldorado Hotel & Spa
309 W. San Francisco St Santa Fe, NM 87501 EldoradoHotel.com
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Real Milk stor y by EMILY BEENEN
photos by JOY GODFREY
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Mike and Erica De Smet
armer Mike De Smet walks about six feet behind a group of 20 dairy cows through knee-high green grass, rhythmically whistling as he brings them from pasture for their daily milking. The scene is idyllic in every sense of the word. Mike is calm, the cows are calm, the sun shines, wind rustles the leaves, the acequia waters murmur behind us. It is the classic pastoral scene we see more often portrayed on milk bottles than on actual dairy farms, most of which are large confinement operations these days. Mike’s wife, Erica, stands with my husband, two children and me on the dirt road nearby and quizzes my daughter on bovine knowledge. The black and white cows are Holsteins and the brown ones are Jersey cows (one of these, Snooki, has a son named Lorenzo). Did you know cows have four stomachs? And all cows have horns, even the girls. My 5-year-old starts to look concerned as the large, gentle beasts move closer, so Erica shares, “They only have teeth on the bottom, so don’t worry, they can’t bite you. There’s Red,” she exclaims, and interrupts her teaching to praise and adore the sole red and white Guernsey now strolling by us. “You’re our prize milking cow, aren’t you, Red?” she crows. Perhaps it’s the power of suggestion, but Red does indeed look pretty proud of herself. In fact, all the cows on De Smet Dairy Farm look content, clean and healthy.
De Smet only became a Grade A, grass-fed, organic, raw-milk dairy in October of 2013, but dairy farming has been in the family for generations. “My grandfather moved to Bosque Farms in 1949, bought his first section of land and started dairying right over there,” Mike says, pointing to the original flat barn. His grandfather started out sitting on a stool and milking the cows by hand. Things went well, the farm expanded, he bought a pail milker (one of the first machine milkers) and “was probably milking more cows at that time than I am now,” Mike says. It was a confinement operation––about 250 cows were kept in an area smaller than a football field; the feed was harvested and brought to them. Later, Mike’s dad, Huck (birth name, Emil), and Mike’s uncle took over and ran the dairy together until the uncle was killed in a tractor accident. Huck was left to do everything himself—which might be why he attempted to dissuade his three sons from taking over the family farm. “He would always tell us, ‘Don’t do this, it’s too much work, and there’s not any money in agriculture,’” Mike says. Though his brothers moved on to other careers, Mike was not to be dissuaded. He went to college in Florida, then moved to Vermont, where he managed several dairies. He was on the verge of buying a 1,800-cow farm when his focus shifted to consulting with smaller, grass-fed, raw-milk dairies. Around the same time, Huck suffered a stroke and was unable to run the farm. Mike returned to take over but his father had already contracted out all the cows. “We tried a few cash crops at first,” Mike explains, “[like] hops and a few other things to get the farm to work and generate enough money, but dairying, I realized, is where my passion lies.” Inspired by the smaller Vermont farms, as well as by the birth of their first son, Landon (now 3 years old; they also have a second son, Logan, 1), and apparently propelled by naysayers, Erica and Mike decided they were going to have the cleanest, healthiest milk in the state. The USDA inspectors came and told them what needed revamping to be certified organic and up to code as a raw-milk retailer. In spite of the challenges, Mike and Erica prevailed. At a recent organic farming conference, an inspector from the New Mexico Environment Department stood up in front of a class Mike was teaching and lauded him for setting records in New Mexico for clean milk. “Our milk is so clean because our cows are out on pasture,” Erica explains. “We do not confine our cows. We get them out there and continue rotating paddocks; we don’t ever allow pathogens to be able to grow. We’re not facilitating a lot of these things like E coli or salmonella becuase the cows graze and rotate every three weeks or so on five-acre parcels of land, each sowed with different grasses and legumes, all organically grown. Understanding that the cow is only as healthy as the soil, the De Smets practice nutrient cycling, which means they plant cover crops after the grazing crops have been harvested to add necessary nitrogen and other nutrients back into the soil. They do as much natural, ecofriendly farming as possible, irrigating and planting according to water conservancy projections about how much water (“liquid gold,” as Erica calls it) to expect that season, purchasing a notill drill to keep tractor work to a minimum, and even using solar power to run the electricity through the paddock ropes. When the cows come in for milking, the entire udder is scrubbed down—even the underside of the nipple. The udders are sprayed with an organic sanitizer, hand dried and stripped (patted in a way that helps the cows psychologically prepare for milking) before the pumps are placed and the milking begins. The process is time consuming, but because the De A Taste of Life in New Mexico
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575-758-8866 www.thegorgebarandgrill.com located in the historic Taos Plaza
EAT DRINK LAUGH
Smets are not milking hundreds, they are able to take these extra steps with each cow to ensure a clean product. Part of being a Grade A dairy means that every month the USDA tests the milk in both the bulk tank and the bottle. (The De Smets bottle onsite three days a week). Because of his confidence in the product, and perhaps partly because the USDA initially opposed his mission, Mike looks forward to these monthly inspections. “The inspector told me I’m the only dairyman in the state that calls him to ask when he’s coming to test,” he grins. To keep the nutrients of raw milk intact while maintaining a low bacteria count, the milk is cold pasteurized—run through cold plates immediately after milking to bring the temperature down to 36 degrees—before being bottled and refrigerated. Erica addresses the “Why raw milk?” question with this explanation: “The milk you find in the store is essentially a processed food. We call it ‘dead milk.’” She is referring to the common practice of ultra-pasteurization: the process by which the milk is heated to very high temperatures to kill “bad” bacteria, which also depletes the nutrients and turns the naturally occurring enzyme lactase into lactose, a sugar many people are intolerant of. The milk then has to be re-“fortified” with the nutrients that were cooked off, and these can be more difficult for the body to process than the nutrients in their original, raw form. “Raw cow’s milk has all the vitamins, minerals, probiotics and nutrients that your body needs to grow,” she continues. “I’m giving you something that I’m willing to drink myself and give to my children because I believe it’s the healthiest thing you can put in your body. And 99 percent of people who don’t ‘do’ dairy because of lactose intolerance can happily drink our milk.” On that first day the farm opened its doors to sell in October of 2013, people steadily arrived and purchased milk all day and they have continued to do so every day since. New Mexico raw milk buyers previously had to go as far Texas; Erica says she’d even heard of raw milk being trucked in from Colorado in gallon Ziploc bags. Because of the health benefits and outstanding taste, people were willing to go to great lengths. Thanks to the De Smets, that distance just got quite a bit shorter. You can purchase their raw milk seven days a week from their farm store in Bosque Farms from 12 p.m to 5 p.m. There is a weekly drop-off in Albuquerque at the SW corner of the Kmart parking lot at 2100 Carlisle Boulevard NE every Tuesday from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. (Pre-order your raw milk before 1 p.m. of the delivery day.)They are also at the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market each Saturday from 8a.m.to 1 p.m. 12
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(NOT NECESSARILY IN THAT ORDER)
Thyme to Eat Local 7th Annual Field to Food Event
Fundraiser Dinner for SC Inc., a NM non-profit
June 21, 2014
7pm
Four Course Dinner with Wine under the Stars featuring organic, local foods grown within a 100 mile radius of the Center for Ageless Living 3216 Hwy 47 South, LL , NM 87031 Tickets to the event are $45, or 2 for $80 Purchase your tickets and VIEW THE MENU AT g ro wa ge les s .co m or at the Center for Ageless Living (505) 865-8813 Scan for Tickets Proceeds from this event support SC, Inc., a NM non -profit committed to sustainable communities for senior care
Thank you for your support and Bon Appétit
Menu items prepared by the Green House Bistro & Bakery 05 Thomas Rd. Los Lunas (505) 866-1936 greenhousebistro.com
JUNE 2–28
IN THE MARKET FOR
FRESH & LOCAL
Reflections Reception: Friday, June 6, 5–8pm
Winner of Wine Spectator’s “Best Of” Award of Excellence for over 25 years
6pm Artist Insights: Rita Pongetti featured artists:
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At The Historic Taos Inn • 125 Paseo del Pueblo Norte
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Lavender Festival ~ Abiquiu NM July 12 & 13 ~ 10am – 5pm Fun, Music, Food, Lavender Crafts, Local Artists & More For more info: purpleadobelavenderfarm.com
A Taste of Life in New Mexico
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Character
Crafting t first glance, Duel Brewery is deceptively inconspicuous. It’s tucked back in a business park off Siler Road; not the sort of place you happen upon during a day out strolling the city. You almost have to be looking for it to find it, and that’s part of | Trent Edwards the allure. It’s one of Santa Fe’s secret places, popular among locals and deliciously far off the stor y and photos by MELYSSA HOLIK beaten path. Its quiet exterior hasn’t stopped it from getting locals’ attention—and carving out a unique niche in the Santa Fe brewery scene.
Once inside, as one patron put it, “it’s like a whole other world.” The tap room is surprisingly spacious, with no TV sets but instead a collection of thought-provoking paintings and art objects adorning the walls. The U-shaped bar invites conversation even amongst strangers. Despite the high ceilings and sparse décor, it somehow manages to feel cozy and welcoming. This is partly because of the friendly and laid-back wait staff, and partly because of owner Trent Edwards’ motivations. “I just want people to feel good when they are here,” he says. And feel good, they do. Every type of Santa Fean seems to come to Duel to relax and unwind, and everyone seems to be comfortable here. You’ll see a real cross section of the city: young, old, artists, musicians, athletes, foodies, Spanish speakers, English speakers, misfits, rebels, beer enthusiasts and beer newbies—and everyone looks like they belong. “Beer has always brought people together,” Trent says, “and that’s what we’re doing.” Duel couldn’t have picked a better time to start bringing people together with beer. Craft brewing has seen a huge increase in popularity over the past decade, and the growth of microbreweries has easily outpaced the growth of corporate titans like Anheuser-Busch. Beer connoisseurs debate the merits of cascade or centennial hops, savor the flavors from various malts or yeasts and match their beer to the season, their moods and their foods. There’s no doubt that the number of microbreweries opening in the U.S. has exploded and the public’s appreciation for craft beers is on the rise. Sipping on a glass of Duel Tableaux, it’s easy to see why. The beer arrives in a lovely tulip glass, a beautiful deep chocolatey brown and brimming with stiff foam. It’s a barrel-aged Sour Dark Ale, and it’s smooth as can be. There’s very little bitterness to Duel’s beer; in fact, it’s almost sweet. Despite its high alcohol content, it’s extremely easy to drink. Duel offers a constantly changing selection of beers, which range in color from the deepest brown to pale yellow, in styles from light Wittbier to Strong Dark Ale. Many of them are named for artists: there’s Goya, Titian, Duchamp and the latest release, Grunewald. For anyone who’s unsure of which beer to select, a tasting flight is also available. (Duel also serves a variety of other local craft beers.) But Duel is more than just Santa Fe’s newest brewery. As Trent puts it, “Beer is the core of what we are doing, but it’s not everything. Duel is a venue that contains good beer but the soul of it is something else. It’s a project, and many hands are involved.” The tale of how the Duel project come to life is a classic Santa Fe story, replete with serendipity and, of course, a touch of fate. Trent became curious about beer brewing after tasting several high-end beers and he decided to give brewing a try. Shortly thereafter, the pieces fell into place. He found a location in the middle of town, in a relatively quiet part of the city, though still just off Cerrillos Road. The landlord was willing to work with him on creating the space for Duel Brewery, and shortly after opening, the community came out and gave Duel their support, their ideas and their participation.
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Duel’s management regularly solicits feedback from the community. In fact, that’s how it has turned into one of Santa Fe’s best no-cover local music venues, with an eclectic mix of acts, from bluegrass to bossa nova. When asked if music was part of his intent when he began, Trent readily admits that it was not. It was something that customers asked for, and he delivered. “I’m just open to what’s coming in the door,” Trent says. The brewery’s openness to new ideas has also led to several unusual events, like the Bike & Brew Waffle Ride in May, an early morning bike ride to the brewery where cyclists were greeted with waffles and beer. A Life Drawing Session is held every Sunday at 11 a.m. For $25, Duel provides the live model, a waffle and a beverage of your choice. As a fine artist himself, Trent embraces the fluidity of the artistic process, and it’s that spirit of creation that Duel Brewery embodies: from its beers to its culture, it is constantly developing and reinventing itself. Duel’s flexibility appears to be the key to its success; by responding to what the people want, it’s able to fill a yearning amongst Santa Feans eager to stake out a place of their own. It’s authentically quirky, not in a self-conscious “look how funky we are” sort of way. Part of Duel’s charm is how it embraces the human element in business with honesty and enthusiasm. The result is a distinct and offbeat character. The local nature of the enterprise goes beyond the music and events—it also includes the food. An eclectic, locally-sourced menu is assembled in Duel’s modest kitchen. “I wouldn’t call it a full kitchen,” Trent jokes. Duel’s cooking arsenal may be missing a stove, but the staff produces an amazing variety of food from the few basic tools they do have. Rather than relying on elaborate techniques, the menu plays to Duel’s strengths: exceptional food sourcing and partnerships with other community businesses. For example, the brats that accompany the Brussels-Style Waffles come from Alpine Sausage Kitchen in Albuquerque, the cheese on the Cheese Plate is from Bountiful Cow Cheese Company in Santa Fe and the bread is baked by Fano Bread Company, also in Albuquerque. The Santa Fe-based Cocopelli Chocolatiers provides custom-made Belgian chocolates inspired by Duel’s beers, using orange peel, coriander and Duel waffle syrup as inspiration.
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Character
Crafting
“We try to offer food that’s as local as possible,” Trent says, “and we also want to keep our prices affordable.” The result is a menu that offers a little of everything. There is a variety of savory sandwiches available, like the Grilled Rueben, which comes out gooey and dripping on a thick slab of perfectly toasted rye bread. For small appetites, theere is light fare like salads, hummus and tapenade plates. Duel also does some pretty interesting things with its waffles. You can start with straight up waffles and build your meal from there, adding sweet toppings, like a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or savory accompaniments, such as brats, spicy sausages or cheese. For more adventurous waffle lovers, there are two waffle-inspired sandwiches: the Waffle Cristo and the Waffle Monte, both twists on a classic Monte Cristo sandwich. Of course, the waffle dishes are always served with Duel syrup, made with the brewery’s own Imperial Dark beer. Always looking to change things up, Trent has big plans for the future. He aims to more than double Duel’s current occupancy and expand into the space next door. The loft area, which currently houses offices, will be turned into upstairs seating with a second bar. A 12 by 20 foot raised stage is in the works to accommodate Duel’s growing presence as a music and entertainment venue. To keep pace with larger crowds, it will also double brewery production to make sure the taps keep flowing. “Passion is what makes us alive,” says Trent, and you can see that passion hard at work at Duel Brewery. Everyone there is doing what they enjoy doing. They’re having a ball and it shows. Perhaps most importantly, Duel is a place everyone can make their own and feel a part of. It’s a brewery that’s committed to evolving with Santa Fe. It’s a collaborative project with beer, art and community, and everyone is invited to join in and take a seat at the bar. Duel Belgian Style Brewery and Taproom is located at 1228 Parkway Drive in Santa Fe. 505.474.5301. duelbrewing.com.
Another round, anyone?
Visit localflavormagazine.com for more stories on local breweries.
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Ribs & Marga ritas
Come enjoy amazing meals like our Rib & Chicken Combo, innovative signature cocktails like our Pineapple Margarita, and some relaxation on our beautiful patio!
’ n i k o Sm 2571 Cristos Rd, Santa Fe (across from the Auto Park near Kohls) 505-424-8900 • info@theranchhousesantafe.com
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The Apothecary Lounge at Hotel Parq Central
e all know and love Albuquerque’s famous watermelon sunsets. (Of course our daytime weather doesn’t leave much to complain about either, with a massive blue sky and an average of 300 days of sun per year.) With the promise of a breath-taking sunset practically every night, a view from the top is the ideal way to take in the beauty, and like most large cities, Albuquerque has a rooftop bar scene available for your front-row viewing pleasure. Hotels, with their characteristically tall buildings, prime locations and readily available clientele, make them hot spots for chic rooftop cocktail bars. The year round rooftop bar, Apothecary Lounge, on top of the historic Hotel Parq Central Hotel in east downtown Albuquerque is one of the most popular destinations in town for enjoying the sunset while exploring the emerging craft cocktail scene in New Mexico. Freshly squeezed juices, handmade ingredients and premium spirits are combined within the walls of a top-floor bar that spills out onto a spectacular patio. Burqueños and visitors alike arrive early to grab a table and feast on small plates of unique food, as well as on
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s t o r y b y K AT E G E R W I N
© Olivier Le Queinec | Dreamstime.com
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hotelparqcentral.com
of Albuquerque
Ibiza at the Andaluz
Ibiza, on top of Hotel Andaluz, in the heart of downtown, is a hotel rooftop bar with a kick. The hotel’s restaurant downstairs, MÁS, extends its menu to the roof. MÁS is the latest creation of New Mexico’s celebrity chef James Campbell Caruso and is one of the premium dining experiences in the Duke City. Ibiza has a very mixed, eclectic crowd, including downtown business people, nightclubbers, college students and hotel guests from all over the world. Hotel Andaluz is the preferred hotel for traveling movie, television and musical talent. The hotel itself was opened in 1939, the first hotel in New Mexico constructed by New Mexico native Conrad Hilton. Ibiza’s signature cocktail, the Zsa Zsa, was named after a very special guest in the hotel’s history log. Zsa Zsa Gabor and Hilton honeymooned there many years ago. The drink is a twist on the Cosmopolitan with Tito’s Handmade Vodka, St. Germain elderflower liqueur, romaine, lime and grapefruit juice. This summer, Ibiza will feature live music by some of the finest musicians in New Mexico, including Madrid, singer/songwriter Jesus Bas, blues guitarist Chris Dracup and R&B singer Hillary Smith. If you find yourself in Ibiza and you don’t sample some of Chef Caruso’s famous Spanish tapas, you are missing out. Period. Hotels are not the only place to enjoy a view from above. Albuquerque’s Seasons Rotisserie & Grill has a second-floor patio bar overlooking Old Town in one direction and the Sandias in the other, with a massive fountain in the flowerfilled plaza below. The patio and bar open every day at 4 p.m. with food available until 10 p.m. and last call at 11p.m. The bar has its own kitchen with a recently added Montague Broiler, and the food menu has been expanded to take advantage of that. During happy hour, the Flat Iron Steak with a classic chimichurri sauce and a mound of waffle-cut fries is only $10, and select cocktails are only $5. The rest of the patio menu includes burgers, sandwiches, street tacos, steaks and flown-in-fresh seafood. The full dining room menu is also available upstairs and many of those items come off the restaurant’s wood-burning rotisserie and grill. Seasons’ head bartender, Nicole Wynnyk, has been behind the stick there for five years and has created more than a dozen signature cocktails for the new spring menu. For a New Mexicoinspired cocktail, try the Sweet and Nice with a Little Spice, made with Ketel One Vodka, an infused, local green chile simple syrup, passion fruit puree and a fresh press of lime, garnished with some hot green chile. It’s the familiar fragrance of Albuquerque at the peak of chile roasting season.
photo: Joy Godfrey
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photo: Joy Godfrey
the sunset views. Besides the stunning views, Apothecary has become a destination for classic prohibition-era cocktails, a trend that has taken the national bar scene by storm in recent years. Seeing cocktails like Sazearacs, Pimm’s Cups, and Old Fashioned’s on a cocktail menu in Albuquerque makes me giddy with excitement. I am a sucker for a good Pisco Sour and this is certainly the spot to find one. If you don’t fancy the classics, they also feature multiple margaritas—the prickly pear margarita is their shining star—as well as a selection of seasonal changing cocktails. Albuquerque’s bar scene is elevating and Apothecary is a great spot to experience the future of cocktails.
For a high-volume nightclub experience, Imbibe cigar bar is your destination. In the center of the Nob Hill area, the rooftop bar offers both tables and lounge seating surrounding
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Skybar at Imbibe
three built-in fire pits. The patio is the ideal place to watch the nightlife of the Nob Hill streets below. The downstairs bar—the only smoking lounge in Albuquerque—has a walk in humidor where guests can seek the advice of a cigar attendant to find what they are looking for. (Sometimes you can even catch Antonio there, carefully hand rolling cigars for partygoers.) The bartenders at Imbibe are fast, fierce and entertaining, and there is a DJ spinning most nights. Throughout the summer, the bar even flies in famous DJs from around the country and hosts parties on the rooftop to celebrate. During the day, the scene is more serene and you can take advantage of one of Albuquerque’s most generous happy hours every day from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Premium martinis are only $5 and draught beers are $2. Imbibe’s rooftop patio is a unique, high-energy experience, perfect for a fabulous night out.
seasonsabq.com
From classic hand-crafted cocktails and world class cuisine to trendy, hard-hitting bars pumping with liveliness, Albuquerque certainly has a rooftop patio experience to appeal to everyone. And the choices are growing. Vernon’s Hidden Valley Steakhouse, in Los Ranchos, is soon expanding with a rooftop bar and I am sure they will not be the last to cash in on the growing market. With our spectacular skylines and mountain views rooftop patios are a no-brainer in the Land of Enchantment. It’s time to get out on the roof and enjoy the view from the top.
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Seasons Rotisserie & Grill
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Celebrating the Taste of Life in New Mexico for two decades!
imbibenobhill.com
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Grow with us in 2014! Ask your sales rep about our Premium Contract Package... • Locked in 2013 rates • Preferred placement • Prime web exposure Santa Fe and Taos: Lianne Aponte 505.629.6544 lianne@localflavormagazine.com Margret Henkels 505.501.2290 margret@localflavormagazine.com Cherilyn Swenson 505.501.5146 cher@localflavormagazine.com Mary Brophy 505.231.3181 mary@localflavormagazine.com Albuquerque: Ashley Schutte 505.504.8130 ashley@localflavormagazine.com
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Green Tractor
hat’s in a name? The act of naming—a child, a pet, a company, a farm—is a time-honored tradition, a ritual dating back to our origins in which we invest meaning, hopes and aspirations. With farms, names tend toward the descriptive and practical. They are grounded, based in an everyday reality of seasons, tools, seedlings. Hence a name like Green Tractor Farm.
In these days of industrial food production, of so-called “enriched” foods and empty calories, we’re just as hungry for authenticity, for a taste of something real, as we are for fresh greens. When we head to the farmers’ market on a Saturday morning, we’re looking for a narrative that rings true, a story of hand-raised produce, grown just down the road, presented by familiar faces. That’s why I was so tickled to discover that there really is a green tractor at Green Tractor Farm. It’s not a logo gimmick; it’s the real deal. The story of that green tractor, and the recent addition of a second green tractor, is a parable of heritage and adaptation that characterizes the farm’s history and future. The green tractor in question was originally used by Tom Dixon’s father, primarily for the cultivation of alfalfa. When the farm began its conversion to drip systems, after decades of flood irrigation, the single front wheel configuration of the tractor could no longer navigate the wider rows engineered for the new water strategy. By virtue of ingenuity and a bit of good luck, Tom was able to replace the front wheel with an alternate two-wheel front wheel axle. Rather than retire the tractor because it literally no longer fit the changing 22
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landscape of his farm, he was able to evolve it, recycling old parts to adapt it to the new system. In the past few years, I have found myself returning time and again to the Green Tractor Farm booth at the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market. The greens were consistently tasty and beautiful and the faces of Tom and Mary Dixon were always friendly. I’ve come to discover they have a bit of a cult following at the market—loyal regulars who are as devoted to the farmers as to their fresh, delicious produce. Recently, I noticed a new couple—two younger faces—working beside Mary and Tom. Farm interns, I thought, or children home for the holidays. It turned out to be their daughter Rachel and her husband Ned, who, with their own young daughter Isabella, have returned to New Mexico after years away to help with the family farm. It’s a story unusual enough to be worth noting and more vital than we may realize. In 2012, the Huffington Post reported on the rising median age of farmers and ranchers in the U.S., identifying New Mexico as having the oldest average at nearly 60 years old. For the past century, the trend among rural and farming families has been toward migration, with the children leaving the farm for education and careers in the big, or at least bigger, cities. Here in Santa Fe, a city with a limited business base, it is true not only of farmers but of all high school and college graduates, who have a hard time finding the kind of well-paying jobs that pave the path toward careers, mortgages and school tuition. In talking to the two generations of the Dixon family, it seems this return came as something of a surprise—albeit a pleasant one—to them, too. The land on which the farm is situated, in La Cienega, has been in Tom Dixon’s family since his early childhood. A third-generation New Mexican,
Farm
story and photos by GABRIELLA MARKS
| Top left: Mary Dixon, Rachel and Ned Conwell with their daughter and Tom Dixon Tom recalls that while the land wasn’t a working farm at that time, his family always had a large, productive vegetable garden, and a substantial amount of the family’s free time was devoted to tending that garden, as well as the acreage of alfalfa they also maintained. Once grown, Tom left the family property to live in Santa Fe, returning some years later with wife Mary and then 1-year-old daughter, Rachel. As their own children grew up, the family’s relationship with the land was much as it had been during Tom’s childhood—they grew alfalfa crops and tended an ever-expanding but purely domestic vegetable garden. The farm was a hobby; professionally, Mary and Tom earned a living as builders. It wasn’t until years after their children had flown the coop, for coasts east and west, that Mary and Tom, who says farming has always been in his blood, decided to fully devote their time to the farm. They gained organic certification in 2006, and by 2008 they were regular vendors at the Farmers’ Market. By that time, their daughter Rachel had completed a degree in biology from San Francisco State University. Although she had been instrumental in helping the farm complete the organic certification, working long-distance from San Francisco, she hadn’t yet set her sights on a future in farming; rather she was considering a graduate degree in ecology. When her builder-turnedfarmer parents came to visit, she took them on a tour of northern California farms. Through a convergence of circumstance, coincidence and maybe a dash of destiny, the tour led Rachel to what would become a three-year internship and eventually employment with Full Belly Farm, a certified organic farm located in the Capay Valley of northern California. A few years later, Rachel met her future husband Ned Conwell through a mutual friend at the annual California EcoFarm Conference. Ned, also an intern alumni of Full Belly Farm, was at that time learning the art of farming
on his own Blue House Farm in the coastal region of Pescadero. Unlike Rachel, Ned hadn’t been born on a farm. But from an early age, he had a ravenous appetite for the great outdoors—including camping with his father and attending an annual summer camp that featured a vegetable garden. As an undergrad at UC Berkeley, he majored in ecology. He was inspired by experiences teaching outdoor education, and believed his path would lie in connecting people with the natural world in constructive, and even edible, ways. Although he found experiential science engaging, he was increasingly drawn to the myriad ecological, economic and social challenges of food, gardens and farming. This interest drew him to a program known in the contemporary organic farming community simply as the Apprenticeship: a highly competitive, six-month intensive instruction and work experience immersion in ecological horticulture, run by the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems at UC Santa Cruz. Just as Silicon Valley has its high tech “incubators,” the Apprenticeship cultivates the next generation of American farmers. Ned was in the process, then, of learning just what it meant to be a new farmer when he and Rachel met. Following the birth of their daughter, the desire to be close to family, and perhaps for a deeper understanding of the history—and potential future—of the family farm, brought them back to Santa Fe, and brought a second, even larger green tractor to Green Tractor Farm. This is Rachel and Ned’s first season as farmers in New Mexico and their journey is still in its infancy. Though seasoned farmers in their own right, with many years of farming experience between them, they are daily discovering the many differences between northern California and this new growing environment. They’ve changed climate, crops and challenges, exchanging
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the high humidity, fog belt yields of artichokes, strawberries and fava beans for arid, high desert natives like melons and eggplants. Instead of fighting fungal disease, they’re now facing intense insect pressure. But there’s one difference that seems to make all others pale in comparison. As Rachel puts it, it’s all about the people. They are inheritors not only of the land but also of the devoted customers and community of supporters that make small-scale organic farming a sustainable and joyous undertaking. It’s the people who show up every week, loyal patrons, who make it possible to keep a farm like Green Tractor going, and going strong. After their experience working to establish a new farm in northern California, Ned and Rachel have come to appreciate just how essential and vibrant that cyclical relationship is here in Santa Fe. The weekly harvest at Green Tractor illustrates a thriving model of that reciprocity. Each Friday, in preparation for the Saturday market, an assembled crew of family members, employees and volunteers helps to harvest, wash and prepare the produce for market. Among the crew is Josie, who began helping on the farm around six years ago. Within a year, she had taken it upon herself to begin a tradition that echoes that of a restaurant’s “family meal”—a “farm lunch,” sourced primarily from that week’s harvest, designed both to feed the harvesters and to provide inspirational ideas to recommend to market shoppers looking for new uses for familiar ingredients. Throughout the years, Josie has carefully archived and recorded the meals—the recipes, the seasonal details, the family occasions. She hopes to publish the archive in a book that will serve as part Farmer’s Almanac, part chef ’s adventure, called, of course, The Green Tractor Lunch Book. Given the new chapter just now unfolding at the farm, let’s hope it’s the first edition of many to come. You can visit the three generations of the Dixon, Conwell family at their farm booth every Tuesday and Saturday at the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market.
For more Farm & Ranch features, visit localflavormagazine.com. 24
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Wendy McEahern
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ith the arrival of warm weather and summer just around the corner, foodies are getting excited about the new produce at farmers’ markets around New Mexico and the crops they hope to reap from their own gardens. Restaurateurs, too, gear up for this bountiful season, particularly at one very special dining destination in Albuquerque’s North Valley. At Farm & Table, which opened in 2012, owner Cherie Austin and her team of chefs, staff and farmers are dedicated to what has become a national movement, the celebration of local, organic, sustainable food. To Cherie, the farm-to-table concept is not a trend but rather “how she rolls.” I spoke with Cherie about how she pulls it all together. My favorite quote: “I don’t work with pirates.”
Photo: Gaelen Casey
stor y by JOHN VOLLERTSEN
Chef Johnny Vee
Chef Johnny Vee: When you were planning the concept for your restaurant two years ago, did you feel you were following a trend or starting a new one? And how essential was the farm–to-table concept to your business plan? Cherie Austin: Farm and Table’s philosophy and mission are entirely hinged upon local and sustainable ingredients. I don’t believe utilizing local ingredients to be a trend at all, despite its growing popularity. On the contrary, I believe working with local farmers and utilizing seasonal ingredients that are sustainable, and grown and raised to be that, is as back-to-the-basics as it gets. My family has been in the Alameda Valley for over seven generations. Like most here in New Mexico with deep histories, they grew up raising and farming their own food. I’m inspired by our elders to bring back good food—and to employ the most creative culinary professionals to take it to another level.
and we all work closely on a daily basis to communicate about upcoming harvests and plan future harvests. Ric grows spinach, lettuce, kale, chard, arugula, several types of root vegetables, tomatoes, peas, chile, beans, peppers, potatoes, eggplant, okra, sunchokes, lots of herbs and edible flowers. JV: What is your favorite part of the restaurant business?
CA: My favorite part of the business is the connections. There is some amazing magic that happens when these connections are made. First, [it is about] connecting talented and creative individuals on my team. There is no CA: While finding the right executive chef is certainly a daunting task, it’s actually been quite easy. I ceiling at Farm and Table––everybody gets an look not only for someone with stellar skills, the opportunity to contribute to our collective right experience and full dedication to food, but success. Connecting people and ideas is where for someone with passion that fits the Farm and the creativity blossoms. Table standard. I take the time to make sure my Next is connecting with the people who candidate is someone with a deep respect for food in grow and raise our food, and even those who its elemental form; someone who respects the animal make some of our wine and beer––hardworking, and the farmer; someone who is not afraid of working amazing, talented people who we know and love. with 65 different farmers in a given week; someone These individuals are the root of our success. with drive, passion and love for creating good food Finally, connecting the community––artists, and inspiring a team around him or her and most of musicians, friends, family, and ultimately our all someone eager to learn something new every day. guests. This is when the culmination of all They also have to be a nice person. I don’t work with the artistry and connections come together pirates. in a beautiful way, when they enjoy a dining experience that was created with lots of love. JV: How involved do your chefs get with the farmers? What kinds of vegetables do you grow that you use on the menu? JV: What is your favorite dish on Sean Sinclair’s current menu? What is your favorite dish of all CA: We have a massive list of local farmers. We time since you opened? reach out to them, they reach out to us. Our onsite farmer, Ric Murphy, is a huge part of our success. CA: My favorite dish is our Farm and Table Ric works with our chef to plan and purchase seed steak because it is beef that was raised on our Photo: Sergio Salvador
JV: You have had a few different chefs involved with the business over the years: Ka’ainoa Ravey, Jaye Wilkinson and now Sean Sinclair. Have you had a hard time finding culinary talents that were on board with Farm and Table’s vision? What qualities do you look for in your chefs?
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property—and it tastes so good! My favorite dish of all time was Sean’s house-made agnolotti pasta with pork cheek, mascarpone and uni butter. It was melt-in-your-mouth divine. My favorite dish of Jaye’s was her house-made ramen noodle with fresh veggies, farm egg and pork belly. My favorite dish of Kai’s was his pork belly. JV: How has the business evolved in the past two years? Did diners get what you were all about right from the beginning? CA: Over the last two years we have settled deeper and deeper into our mission of serving local food. We have been able to connect with more farmers and ranchers and can better plan for the seasons. It’s very tricky being beholden to local availability and through the years we have learned to plan for it. Because of the fluctuating availability of produce and proteins, our menu changes more often than we originally planned for. Most of our customers understand and love that fact—others don’t understand why we don’t always have a tenderloin on the menu. We incorporate education into our table talk. For example, most people don’t know that there are only 20 pieces of tenderloin yielded from an entire cow! JV: The average consumer may not realize how much more expensive it is to utilize farmers’ markets over traditional food suppliers like Sysco. How do you and your chef keep your prices competitive?
June special: 10lb bag diatomaceous earth: $12.99 • organic feed • all natural pest control • bulk garden seed
“Where Real Cowboys Shop” BELEN
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CA: Our food costs are higher than those of restaurants that don’t utilize 80 percent local ingredients—that’s a fact. We don’t work with Sysco at all. We keep our food costs down by limiting waste and maximizing creativity. We only order food that is needed for the next few days and utilize almost 100 percent of our product. We do our own butchering and utilize all parts of the animal. Scraps of meat, lamb and pork get ground into sausage; veggie stems and stalks are juiced or dehydrated. Our waste is extremely low. Winter gets a little tricky; therefore, we depend on a good summer to even out our numbers.
Indian Pueblo Cultural Center • Capacity for up to 400 • On site catering • Free parking • Indoor/Outdoor space • In the heart of Albuquerque
JV: Does composting and recycling play a part in your business? What kinds of things do you do? CA: Composting and recycling is a huge part of our business. We compost all veggies, fruits and coffee grounds for our farm. We compost all table scraps, meat and dairy with a local company called Soilutions who then turns it into organic compost. We recycle all cardboard and paper. We only toss away plastic and glass that can’t be recycled. JV: If you could dine with three other foodies, alive or dead, who would they be? CA: Alice Waters, Dan Barber and Daniel Boulud. JV: What new plans and ideas do you have for the future of Farm and Table? CA: There is always the temptation to expand or open a second location. I resist that temptation so that we can get through our third year with consistency and continuity—while pushing our creativity. We will be travelling with key team members to explore fantastic food here in the States, and perhaps [take] a trip abroad if things work out. We will also continue to offer special prix fixe dinners each month. These are a great opportunity to push the envelope on our culinary creativity and create incredible food and wine experiences for our guests. Farm & Table is located at 8917 Fourth Street NW, Albuquerque. 505.503.7124. farmandtablenm.com.
A Taste of Life in New Mexico
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THE
Greenhouse story by GAIL SNYDER
GROCERY
nce upon a time, food co-ops were truly cooperative. Members owned the co-op together, everyone was required to volunteer a certain number of hours a month to run the daily operations and each member participated in the co-op’s decision making. It was grassroots democracy in action, and each member was a part of why it succeeded. With only a few paid staff members in supervisory roles, overhead costs were low, which in turn made high quality food much more affordable to the widest swath of the co-op’s neighboring population. What’s more, people who’ve been members of this original style of food co-op invariably rave about how working their shifts resulted in lasting friendships, community solidarity and goodwill amongst people of diverse socio-economic backgrounds.
We don’t have that kind of food co-op in Santa Fe. Some still exist elsewhere: in Berkeley, Milwaukee, Austin, Paris and Japan, for instance. The Park Slope Food Co-op in Brooklyn, now in its 40th year, is one of the largest food co-ops in the country, though not by virtue of its footprint—the storefront is intentionally small and packed to the gills. It’s their membership that keeps growing. BJ Pheiffer would like to bring such a co-op to Santa Fe. This five-year City Different resident was herself a member of the Park Slope Coop for 20 years. “I raised my child in that environment, where everyone is welcome,” she says, with people on food stamps and those of modest means working and creating tight-knit community connections with hedge fund managers and movie stars. No matter who we are, we’ve all experienced a wobbling of food security in recent years as food costs continue to rise at four to seven percent a year, according to USDA figures. This tips the scales for too many who are already struggling and who certainly can’t afford steeper prices; most natural food groceries, including co-ops run by paid staff, compensate in part by sacrificing quality of food. “What we don’t need in this town,” says BJ, “is another Gucci grocery!” Following the Park Slope model, she’s working hard to make her new co-op, the Greenhouse Grocery, a reality. Its board of directors has secured the sponsorship of Del Norte Credit Union; members currently number 207, out of 400 necessary to go forward with plans; and the board has targeted a possible location, a corner lot at Rufina Circle and Rufina Street, off Cerrillos, formerly the home of Santa Fe Greenhouses. As founder of the Greenhouse Grocery, BJ and the other directors have developed a solid business plan following Park Slope’s credo of being “a buying agent for its members rather than a selling agent to any industry.” Greenhouse Grocery’s board members include renowned local chef and cookbook author Deborah Madison, a longtime locavore, and its list of suppliers includes Matt Romero, one of the biggest names among local growers. BJ scoffs at being thought of as “naïve and simplistic.” A savvy businesswoman, she’s got solid experience in startup technology businesses, market strategy, the securities trade industry and banking. Looking back, she marvels that all of this experience has inadvertently provided her so solid a foundation for this next step. It’s a foundation balanced by BJ’s longtime passion for what she calls “pristine” food (no chemicals, no GMOs, organically grown, locally sourced). She first discovered the benefits of healthy food as a student living at Oberlin College’s longstanding co-op. Later, living in the food desert of Cleveland’s inner city, she and her husband would make the trek to the West Side Market, bringing back fresh local produce to distribute in their neighborhood. She is a master gardener, she’s started up a community garden, worked as a caterer and graduated from culinary school.
http://greenhousegrocery.coop/
CONCEPTUAL SITE PLAN
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BJ is equally adamant on the issue of everyone having the right to healthy food. “To me, the Park Slope Food Co-op is more of a church than a grocery store,” she says. “A church for food and food equity.” Its general manager, Joe Holtz, is currently mentoring the Greenhouse Grocery board. One way he’s managed to keep Park Slope solvent even in times of financial upheaval is by increasing the volume of food in the same tiny storefront space. “They have more volume than even our local Whole Foods,” says BJ, “in a quarter of the space. And because so many people from the Park Slope neighborhood walk, bike or take the subway there, they tend to shop in small quantities several times a week. The produce is mostly gone by the end of the day!” And the food is better, she says, than what you find at a typical natural food grocery. “Whole Foods’ produce is about 26 percent organic,” she says, “versus 85 percent organic at Park Slope.” In what amounts to a radical decision, especially at the time, the co-op voted 30 years ago to offer only grass-fed meat. Park Slope’s board meetings, often centered on various ethical concerns, are actively engaging, sometimes even downright rowdy, as in the recent discussion over whether to boycott Israeli products to protest the country’s treatment of Palestinians. In fact, says BJ, if the board feels that not all the factions of the general membership are being represented in the decision-making process, they go out to encourage others to participate. BJ says that, realistically, it will probably be another year before the Greenhouse Grocery has the resources needed to open. A one-time membership pledge fee is $100 per member, which can be paid in installments. The store will be available only to members. And, members receive annual checks of 20 percent back on their portion of the profits each year. “The more people who choose to participate,” says BJ, “the better quality our food will be and the more affordable.” The essence of the business plan, she explains, is this: “Let’s say a heritage tomato costs $3 a pound. A natural food store will sell it for $5.99 a pound. We’ll sell it for $3.90 a pound. Our mark-up is 29 percent, as opposed to anywhere from 45 to 100 percent mark-up elsewhere.” As a Park Slope member, BJ “did some of everything—I cut cheese, I chopped, I stocked shelves, I cleaned refrigerator cases”—in other words, all the many unglamorous necessities of keeping a grocery store running, “and,” she adds with a laugh, addressing Greenhouse Grocery’s potential members, “you’ll be doing those same things, too!” She gets that same look of fond, wistful reverie that others get, reliving the work aspect of coop membership. “Working the check-out line, I met so many wonderful people, people I would’ve never met otherwise, young artists from Red Hook…” Her voice trails off. “The other cashiers on my shift and I all became friends. We’d have fun seeing who could take in the most cash during our shift. Lines at Park Slope are very long, so everyone finds ways to pass the time, swapping recipes, getting to know each other—that’s why their newsletter is called The Line Waiters’ Gazette!” You can see various slice-of-life videos at the Park Slope Co-op’s website, from customer interviews to street parades to cooking classes and the like, produced by, shot, edited and starring Park Slope Co-op members. The one that stands out, for me, as testament to the potential that a working co-op has to truly connect people is a memorial service, held in a neighborhood church, for a co-op member who had died unexpectedly. The church is filled to the brim with the family members, friends and fellow co-op shift workers of Donald Billy Alexis. They’re people of every color, from every walk of life. Many get up to speak, telling stories about who he was. Many shift workers describe Alexis, as most refer to him, as a Zorba the Greek figure, a trickster and a prankster, a man, as one says, “who was comfortable in his skin,” who tended to greet people—and life—with a wide, open-armed stance, which several fondly imitate. “He embodied the sense of community here,” marvels one soft-spoken young woman. “He was the first person to recognize me on the street, beyond the shift.” Another man tells the crowd, “He treated me, and I’m sure others, like the person I want to be. And you know what? That helped me to do that.” “I’m very grateful,” says BJ, for the opportunity to create a community resource with such an atmosphere in Santa Fe. “We have the unique potential here that defines a destiny. We as a community can make this commitment. Nobody’s going to do this for us, but we can do it. Join us.” If you are interested in more information on how to become a part of the future of the Greenhouse Grocery and see what they are doing right now, visit their website at greenhousegrocery.coop.
Farm & Table creates seasonal dishes made from scratch with ingredients sourced from our on-site farm and these local farms, growers, ranchers & artisans from across New Mexico Sol Harvest Farm (Our on-site farm) Agri-Cultura Lemitar Green Chile Farm Akin Farm Losack Farms Amyo Farms Marble Brewery ARCA Organics Milagro Vineyards Beneficial Farms Moore Family Farms Blackstone Ranch Nepantla Farms B's Hone Honey Farm Old Windmill Dairy Carrizozo Orchard Organic Del-Valle Casa Rondeña Preferred Produce Chispas Rasband Dairy East Mountain Organics Rio Grande Community Fair Field Farmer Farms Four Daughters' Ranch Rosales Produce Sabroso Fr Fresh Produce ABQ Sab Gemini Farms Sage bakehouse Granja Para Manana Sangre de Cristo Organic Growing Opportunities Schweback Farm Gruet Winery Simply Honey Heidi’s Raspberry Farm SKarsgard Farms Henry’s Farm St. Francis Farms Hip Chik Farms Sungreen Living Foods Hobo Ranch Swans' Garden King Orchard Sweet Grass Beef Kyzer Farm Talus Wind Ranch La Cumbre Brewing Co. Tamaya La Montanita Co-op Taos Pueblo La Paloma Greenhouse Tucumcari Mountain Che Cheese Factory Le Quiche Vida Verde Farm
to our local farms, growers, ranchers & artisans.
8917 4th St NW
Albuquerque, NM 87114
505.503.7124 Farmandtablenm.com
Dinner: Wed-Sat open at 5pm Brunch: sat-sun 9am-2pm
A Taste of Life in New Mexico
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The best in world, folk & eclectic music
www.ampconcerts.org Tickets: Hold My Ticket (112 2nd St SW), 505-886-1251 and ampconcerts.org, 505-232-9868
JUne
6
aBQ val ti k l Fo Feksoff kic Concert
VINTAGE
The Claire lynCh Band holy WaTer and Whiskey
Albuquerque story by MIA CARBONE
ABQ International Balloon Museum • Fri. 7:30 pm July 6, Sunday @ 7:30 pm
Las aLegres ambuLancias
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National Hispanic Cultural Ctr JuNe 29, Sunday @ 6:00 pm
coLombian Dinner Party @ El Pollo Real Colombiano
TerranCe simien & The ZydeCo experienCe The Dirty Bourbon • Tues. 7:30 pm
FREE CONCERTS Zimbabwean music & Dance extravaganZa
Thurs, June 5 - N4th Theater - 12:30 pm
clauDe bourbon
Mon, June 16 - Cherry Hills Lib - 12 pm Tues, June 17 - East Mountain Lib - 12 pm
and 103.7 Albuquerque
Contemporary Jazz Chill - Latin Guitar Music You Won’t Hear Anywhere Else in New Mexico!! Listen on-line: 1037theoasis.com The 2nd Annual Labor Day Weekend Escape with Saxman Euge Groove! August 31, 2014 ABQ Marriott Pyramid North Get your tickets early at:
1037theoasis.com
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ow in its 23rd year, the highly anticipated fourday art, food and wine extravaganza returns to the Duke City to celebrate the love of wine and benefit arts education programs in New Mexico. Vintage Albuquerque 2014 pays tribute to i vini d’Italia, the wines of Italy, featuring honorary chair Lucciano Castiello and the wines of Castello Banfi, a family-owned vineyard estate and winery in the Brunello region of Tuscany. This year, the culinary and art event honors Nancy Kozikowski as its featured artist.
Vintage Albuquerque opens on Wednesday, June 18, with the Salute to Tuscany at Zinc Wine Bar & Bistro. Castiello pours wines from Castello Banfi to match two esteemed local chefs’ multi-course gourmet dinner. Santa Fe chef and James Beard Award semi-finalist Eric DiStefano and Zinc’s chef, Chris Pope, come together to create a true feast for the senses. What an honor to be served by the vintner himself and enjoy the food of two of our most celebrated chefs! The following evening, some of Albuquerque’s most prestigious restaurants join the celebration with exclusive winemaker dinners all over the city. Chefs thoughtfully create multiple courses––each individually paired with something special from the host winemaker’s cellar––to be enjoyed in the intimate setting of the restaurant. All wine dinners are priced at $95 per person. This year, Artichoke Cafe pairs with the Milanbased exporter Empson & Co.; the Ranchers Club with Ferrari-Carano of Sonoma; Marcellos with Kendall-Jackson of Sonoma (sold out); Los Poblanos with Sean Minor Wines; Forque with Damilano of Piedmont; Seasons with Denier-Handal Wines of Sonoma; Prairie Star with the distributor Aviva Vino; Savoy with Siduri Wines of Sonoma and Màs with the Seattle-based importer Classical Wines of Spain. These dinners sell out quickly so be sure to go to the Vintage Albuquerque website to secure your reservations. On Friday, over 30 wineries come together with nearly 30 local restaurants in a not-to-be-missed evening of stellar wines and delicious culinary compliments. See and be seen in the beautiful courtyard of the Hispanic Cultural Center as you mingle with the chefs, taste their creations and enjoy libations while the wine flows. A silent auction features wine, art, jewelry and more. It’s Albuquerque’s epicurean event of the summer and not to be missed. The grand finale (fondly called the Big Event) will be held this year at the stunning Los Poblanos Historic Inn and Organic Farm. It’s an evening for heavy hitters to open their wallets and bid on amazing wine lots, art and fantastic trips––all to benefit children’s art education programs in New Mexico. (Over three million dollars has been raised by this event over the years.) It’s also an evening of exquisite food, unbelievable wines and great people watching. For a complete list of the Vintage Albuquerque 2014 restaurants and artists, as well as more information on and tickets for each day’s event, visit vintagealbuquerque.org.
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A new senior lifestyle is coming to Rio Rancho with apartment styles and amenities not offered in other area communities. The Neighborhood is scheduled to open in 2015, giving you time to consider how beautiful your future can be. But you must act now. A new information center is now open at 4500 Arrowhead Ridge Drive SE in Rio Rancho (one block west of the intersection of Highway 528 on Ridgecrest Drive SE). Reservations are now being taken for when the apartments become available for occupancy.
To arrange for your visit, please call Ashley Trujillo at (505) 994-2266.
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Chicos, Chiles & Beans
story by GAIL SNYDER photos by STEPHEN LANG
ere in New Mexico, birthplace of our nation’s oldest culinary heritage, an elegant blueprint for sustainability was set in place for us by the Anasazi many centuries ago. Also known as the “ancient ones,” these early ancestors of the Pueblo Indians along the Rio Grande enjoyed a rich culture, thriving on the plants and animals indigenous to what is now New Mexico. With an abundant supply of such diverse
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Kcate Ross-Mason and Jesus Guzman
foods as acorns, berries, cactus, piñons and mushrooms, as well as deer, rabbit, bison, quail and other birds, they only needed to depend on a handful of domesticated crops—corn, beans, chile and squash. Corn, grown in a rainbow of colors but most importantly blue, was and is not only a primary food source but is also held sacred in Native American culture. Bolita beans, first cultivated in Peru 10,000 years ago, eventually worked their way up to New Mexico, followed later by pintos; Anasazi beans, reputedly rediscovered in the remains of an ancient cliff dwelling, also grow well here and are gaining popularity. Various chiles, flavorful sources of Vitamin C, migrated up north from Mexico and South America at least as long ago as bolitas. These foods were later adopted in the 1500s by Spanish explorers settling in New Mexico, evolving over many generations into what we know today as traditional New Mexican cuisine. Corn, chile and beans, the three main ingredients for so many distinctively delicioso local dishes, share one common trait—they’re all easily dried for storage throughout the winter, making them a vital addition to any New Mexico pantry. A wide variety of these three New Mexico staples is available from the many local growers at the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market. Long-time northern New Mexico farmer Jesus Guzman and his partner Kcate Ross-Mason sell heritage varieties of all three. They grow other produce as well, but these basic staples are important to them both. Jesus does the growing, weeding and irrigating. “I sell what we’ve brought,” says Kcate. “Which often includes explaining to people what to do with something they’re interested in buying. How to cook beans, how to rehydrate the chicos—‘That’s too difficult!’ they’ll say.” It’s true that while we may be familiar with these ubiquitous ingredients when encountered on a menu, we can be nervous about preparing them at home. Kcate’s an advocate for encouraging people to expand their horizons. Chicos are made from drying whole corncobs and then rehydrating them. These days, many people skip the traditional steps of roasting chicos; instead they just steam the cobs in a regular oven for an hour. But that sacrifices their irresistible smoky flavor. “First of all, I use blue corn because it’s more nutritious than yellow or white,” says Jesus. “And I roast my chicos overnight in an horno, then use a hand crank to get the corn off the husk. It’s a lot of work. We barely break even on them. I do it because I love it.”
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Jesus is emphatic about using no chemical fertilizers or insect repellants and planting no hybrids. “Our methods are organic. I harvest my own seeds. And we do a seed exchange with a friend from Silver City. I plant only native corn: pink, orange corn, blue corn from Cochiti Pueblo, a type of red corn from a lady, Lucy, in Santo Domingo Pueblo—it’s very hearty. Any corn that’s been grown here for long periods of time I’m interested in.” Their chiles include Española Improved, poblano, jalapeño, serrano, habanero and chile piquin, “And this year we’re adding ghost chile,” says Jesus. “It’s from India, the hottest chile in the world. I ordered it by mistake,” he admits, grinning. They’re very enthused about Anasazi beans, both for their sweet, slightly nutty flavor and for their higher protein quantity. They grow bolitas, as well—“those are very creamy and delicate, almost like a butter bean,” says Kcate. “And a new one this year, the ying yang,” Jesus adds. Every year, Jesus expands the variety of what they offer. He’s been farming all his life. “My father had me pulling weeds starting when I was seven,” he says. “I grew up in the mountains of Central Mexico, in a tiny village with no electricity and no road to it—you had to walk two hours to get out to the highway for the buses. Life was very rough.” There were 11 kids in the family; they farmed someone else’s land. “The landlord gave us beans and some corn for tortillas; then, we had to repay him at harvest, with interest, so we only got half of what we grew and we’d start all over again. When I was 12, I asked my grandpa and my father why it was like that and they said, ‘God wants us to be that way.’ And,” Jesus says with a glint in his eye, “I thought, ‘Oh, I don’t think so!’” Eventually, he crossed the border with four other people jammed together in the trunk of a car. In 1981, an Española mentor, Truman Bringham, first introduced him to the newly created Farmers’ Market in Santa Fe. “He encouraged me to grow a garden for it. From then on I did a lot of other jobs—roofer, working at the Nambe dairy, landscaping—but I always had a garden, too, on top of working 40 hours a week.” Jesus is now a legal citizen. In April of 2010, Jesus remembers, he was living in Nambe when a client recommended him to prune a neighbor’s trees. The neighbor was Kcate. As soon as they met, she says, “we were lifelong friends. We were always laughing a lot whenever we got together.” Jesus smiles at her fondly. “I never thought I had it in me,” he adds, “to make somebody happy.” They’ve just recently moved to another house in Nambe, with land for farming. He also commutes to Medanales to farm the larger acreage they still rent there. Extreme drought is a challenge, as is our short growing season, Jesus admits. “I just water when the plant tells me it needs water. Chile is very fussy—the more you water it, they don’t like it.” He adds, with pride, “Whatever grows in our window of summertime, I can do it.” Jesus and Kcate would like to cultivate more of their Santa Fe clientele. “When we recognize locals who we know are single, on a pension, who hesitate about buying a two-pound bag of beans, maybe,” Kcate says, “we suggest, ‘How about just a pound, then?’ and offer to break it up for them. And whenever I see young locals just stopping to look, I ask if they know about our student discount. (I just make it up.)” She and Jesus laugh. “A lot of times, especially at the end of the day,” he adds, “I just give it free when someone can’t afford it. I’d rather put it to good use than take it home to feed my chickens!” Besides expanding our experience and appreciation of these traditional staples, local farmers like Jesus are also encouraging us to plant our own gardens, just by virtue of their example. “Everyone,” Jesus believes, “can grow on a small plot, and feed themselves. Beans, corn and chile you can save a long time. Life shouldn’t be so hard. It’s as easy as we want it to be.”
WI N E B I ST RO
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Jesus and Kcate are at the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market at the Railyard each Saturday.
A Taste of Life in New Mexico
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Still story by MIA CARBONE
photos by DOUGLAS MERRIAM
n honor of our Farm and Ranch Issue, we sought out a chef who has been at the forefront of the Santa Fe farm-to-table movement. Chef Matt Yohalem, owner of Il Piatto Italian Farmhouse Kitchen, stands out for his longstanding dedication to local farm-grown produce. “I’ve been doing this since the ’80s,” Chef Matt says. In the four-star New York City kitchens where he was trained, “farm to table wasn’t a movement, it was the way people cooked.” Chefs simply wanted the best produce, and the best produce happened to come directly from the farm. “I thought that was how you were supposed to cook,” the chef says with a laugh. “It was the best quality, and you picked out exactly what you wanted.” Today, over two decades into his Santa Fe restaurant tenure, Chef Matt remains true to his roots. He shops for his produce directly from the farmer—be it at the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market, from the farm or delivered by the farmer to Il Piatto. This is, he finds, “a more economical way to go. There’s no warehouse, no administration or bureaucracy—I talk directly to farmers, who deal directly with me.” Chef Matt mentions Lorenzo Candelaria, a farmer down in Albuquerque’s South Valley. “With the crazy weather here [in Santa Fe], I’ve been so lucky to have him down there,” he says. “I buy everything he grows.” Part of the beauty of buying directly from the farmer is that the menu becomes subject to the season, to the yield and even to the farmer’s suggestions. Recently, Chef Matt has been cooking with bok choy, herbs, turnips, beets and spinach from Albuquerque—including all 54 pounds of Lorenzo’s asparagus. “When I first got here from New York, there was something that hit me—the sun, the type of soil, what’s in the water….” There’s something special, Chef Matt says, about New Mexico produce. Then he laughs and in his New York accent shares a joke he tells to his students at the cooking school: “Vegetables the size of a basketball? Only in New Mexico. [Here in Santa Fe,] we’re just south of Los Alamos—that’s why we have super vegetables.”
Grilled ProsciuttoWrapped Asparagus with Spiced Mascarpone 12 stalks fresh spring asparagus ¼ cup crème fraîche ¼ cup fresh cream 1 lemon, juice and zest ½ teaspoon red chile powder Salt and pepper 2 Tablespoons Mascarpone 4 slices prosciutto di Parma 8 basil leaves 1 Tablespoon grated parmigiano cheese In a large pot of rapidly boiling, lightly salted water, cook asparagus for 3 minutes. Remove and shock in an ice bath. Pat dry with a paper towel and refrigerate. In a small mixing bowl, combine crème fraîche, fresh cream, lemon juice, zest and chile powder. Add salt and fresh ground pepper. Add the Mascarpone. Reserve.
| Chef Matt Yohalem, owner of Il Piatto Italian Farmhouse Kitchen
Photo: Kate Russell
The following recipes are Chef Matt Yohalem’s creations, which can be made in large part with farm-fresh, local ingredients. Enjoy!
On a clean surface, lay out prosciutto slices. Top each with two basil leaves and sprinkle with cheese. Add 3 asparagus spears to the center of 1 prosciutto slice and roll up tightly. Complete with all 4 slices. On a hot grill or broiler, grill the bundles until slightly charred. As they cook, the prosciutto will tighten the bundles. When sufficiently charred, serve immediately as an appetizer, side or small salad. Garnish with spiced Mascarpone.
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Grilled Salmon Filet with Fennel Salad, Ratatouille and Basil Oil 2 half cups extra virgin olive oil ½ cup fresh basil, leaves only 1 Tablespoon chopped parsley 1 ½ Tablespoons chopped garlic 2 lemons, zest and juice 4 boneless 4-6 ounce salmon filets (wild salmon if possible) 1 small eggplant, peeled and roughly chopped (1 inch squares) 1 red onion, ½ roughly chopped 2 bell peppers, 1 roughly chopped 1 zucchini, roughly chopped 1 head of fennel, stalks removed and roughly chopped 1 ripe heirloom tomato, roughly chopped ½ cup white wine Salt and pepper In a small Cuisinart or blender, combine ½ cup olive oil, ¼ cup basil, chopped parsley, ½ tablespoon chopped garlic, zest of one lemon. Puree. Set aside. Coat salmon filets with small amount of this puree. Add 1/2 cup olive oil. Refrigerate. In a medium sauté pan, over medium heat, add olive oil. Add garlic and cook until it begins to emit fragrance but does not brown. Add eggplant, toss. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Add chopped onions, peppers, zucchini and fennel stalks. Cook slowly for 3-5 minutes. Add tomatoe and wine and simmer until liquid evaporates. Toss and season with salt, pepper and most of the remaining puree. Reserve warm. Using a sharp knife, Japanese mandolin or slicer, finely slice the onions, peppers and fennel bulb. Season with salt and pepper. Reserve cold. Grill or broil salmon filets 2-3 minutes on each side until medium rare. They should be firm to the touch with a little resiliency. Place ratatouille mixture on plate or plates. Place salmon filet on top. Add lemon juice and olive oil to fennel salad and place on top of salmon filet. Drizzle remaining basil puree over. Serve immediately.
Pappardelle with Squash Blossoms, Broccoli, Basil and Goat Milk Brie To make the pesto: 1 cup first basil 1 Tablespoon pine nuts, lightly toasted ½ cup extra virgin olive oil Zest of one lemon ½ Tablespoon roughly chopped green garlic clove 1 Tablespoon chopped parsley Pulse all ingredients in a Cuisinart until chunky but consistent. Set aside at room temperature. To make the pasta dough: 1 pound all-purpose flour 4 eggs 1 pinch salt 1 Tablespoon olive oil Water as needed On a clean work surface, place most of the flour (about 9 or 10 ounces). Make a volcano-like well in the center. Crack the eggs into a bowl (so as to avoid shells). Add them to the well of flour. Sprinkle with salt and half the oil. Knead the dough until it becomes dense and round, adding water as needed and sprinkling with flour if it sticks. Allow dough to rest one hour, refrigerated and covered with a damp cloth. Roll out into sheets and cut into ½-inch strips. Lay out on floured baking sheet until ready to cook. To put it all together: ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil 1 teaspoon chopped green garlic 12 squash blossoms 1 cup blanched broccoli flowers 12 basil leaves 4 ounces goat milk brie (4-8 slices and the rest chopped) 2 Tablespoons pine nuts, lightly toasted Salt and pepper Add noodles to large pot of rapidly boiling water. Heat large sauté pan on medium heat. Add remaining olive oil and garlic. Sauté until garlicky aroma begins, yet garlic is not brown. Add squash blossoms. Sauté about one minute and add broccoli. Cook one more minute and add basil. By now, pasta should be ready. Pasta is ready when it floats to the top of the pot and starch is omitted. Add pasta to sauté pan, along with a bit of pasta water. Add ½ the pesto and toss. Place pasta on plate or plates. Drizzle on remaining pesto. Top with chopped brie and garnish with the slices of brie, pine nuts, salt and pepper.
“The inspiration for these dishes came from what’s currently available from my local farmers. The menu changes with their crops, and are dependent on weather, sun, rain, and my core group of farmers productivity. Theses dishes change throughout the year.” –Matt A Taste of Life in New Mexico
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