Marketing in Santa Fe

The Santa Fe Farmers Market continues a four-decade tradition of sharing fresh produce with local residents. Vendors offer an enormous array of chiles each fall, in addition to items that might appear in markets across the country. Santa Feans adore their chiles and often freeze them for use throughout the year.

But there's more to the fall market than chiles. Over 100 vendors sell miniature vegetables, fresh raspberries (this is their season in the Land of Enchantment), local chutneys and honey, goat's milk cheeses, and pistachios and pinon nuts. The market also sells chicos - corn roasted in a traditional adobe 'horno' oven, allowed to dry on a tin roof, and cooked so the kernels are chewy and nutty. Chicos frequently pair with frijoles (beans) or meat and chiles.

All vegetables, fruits and nursery plants at the Santa Fe Farmers Market are grown in northern New Mexico, and at least 80 percent of the ingredients and materials used to create craft items. In addition, all products sold by vendors are grown by the same vendors. No matter what time of year you visit Santa Fe, there's always something tasty and fresh available at the market.

Thanks, Joy (of Cooking)

By the time I received my Joy of Cooking cookbook, more than three decades ago, I'd already become well-acquainted with one recipe that my mother had always made for Christmas - Almond Crescents. After my husband and I married, I learned he had grown up with the same delicious holiday treat. They soon became a beloved recipe in our home too.


Fast forward 25 years. Today, I can't seem to use any recipe without giving it my own spin. Those of you who are regular readers of this blog also know I have a 'thing' about whole wheat pastry flour; I don't bake without it. We're crazy about cinnamon too and, although I do like almonds, I've switched to walnuts because we always keep them on hand.

So, with thanks to the Rombauer sisters (the authors), my mother, and my husband's mother, and a few adjustments, I give you:


Walnut Crescents
Makes 3-4 dozen

3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 canola oil (*the original recipe calls for all butter; oil makes a flakier, flatter & larger cookie)
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
(the original calls for 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, but I reduced this because my flour is denser and previous cookies were too dry and crumbly)
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional in original recipe)
1 cup ground walnuts

confectioner's sugar
cinnamon (there is no cinnamon in this part of the original recipe)

Cream together butter, oil and confectioner's sugar. Add vanilla, cinnamon and walnuts. Combine thoroughly and form a large ball. Cover completely and chill, about 20 to 30 minutes.


Form small crescent shapes with chilled dough - about 1 1/2 inches long - and place on greased cookie sheets. Bake in 350 degree pre-heated oven, about 15 minutes. Let cool just until easy to handle.

Stir together additional confectioner's sugar and cinnamon in increments of 1 cup sugar to 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Roll/cover each cookie in confectioner's sugar. Cool thoroughly before storing them in an air-tight container.

Architectural Inspiration at Powell Gardens

My husband, Mark, and I revisited Powell Gardens in Kingsville, Mo., last summer, and stopped by the Marjorie Powell Allen Chapel for the first time since our daughters were in middle school (they're now 20-somethings). As soon as we stepped through the doors and looked towards the front of the quiet, peaceful non-denominational sanctuary, I remembered our older daughter declaring she would get married there.


The view of serene water through soaring windows, and natural wood, have also inspired me during each visit to the chapel. I've been a fan of Frank Lloyd Wright's architectural style since my teens and the architect of this beautiful structure, E. Fay Jones, was an apprentice to Wright.


After a few minutes, we finished our tour. A fountain rushed into a shallow pool near the chapel entrance as we returned to the steamy summer heat, where butterflies and bees ate from vibrant blooms that covered the gardens in a riot of color.

Clean Fish Catches On

The Texas redfish arrived alongside Mexican shrimp, in a cooler full of dry ice. Pale pink, 3/4 inches thick, and glossy, it set my mouth watering. After a brief stint under the broiler the fish was moist and flaky, without a hint of 'fishy-ness.'

This fish is part of a rather unusual story. It came from a company called CleanFish Alliance, a group of artisan fish and shellfish producers from across the globe, who focus on farming and/or catching their product using environmentally sound methods, as well as offering a better-tasting products. The big goals? Improve the health of our oceans and regenerate ecosystems while creating a sustainable source of fresh seafood.

Food & Wine Magazine has given the company an Eco-Ocean Award for its efforts to make seafood sustainable, alongside the Ocean Conservancy, Oceana and the North Atlantic Salmon Fund. A leading group of socially responsible entrepreneurs, investors and nonprofit leaders also gave the organization its 2008 Social Venture Network Award.

And to think their products taste good too.

Orange Walnut Pumpkin Pie

When you have a goal of creating a new recipe on a certain day, each week, sometimes the task is easier than others. Such was the case this week, but several days of pondering resulted in a great twist on an old classic. Give it a try and see if you agree.

Orange Walnut Pumpkin Pie

Makes 8-10 servings

Filling:

1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin

10 ounces evaporated milk

juice of one orange, about 2 ounces

2 eggs, beaten

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ginger

Topping:

juice of one orange

1/2 - 1/3 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons orange zest

1/2 cup ground walnuts

single pie crust

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine pumpkin, evaporated milk, orange juice, eggs, 3/4 cup brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger thoroughly and pour in pie crust. Bake for 15-20 minutes and then reduce temperature to 350 degrees. Bake for 40 more minutes.

After reducing oven temperature, stir together orange juice, zest, and 1/2 cup brown sugar over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Stir in walnuts and set aside.

Remove pie from oven at end of 40 minutes and spread topping across entire pie. Broil until topping bubbles, about 3-5 minutes. Cool thoroughly before serving.

Traveling Chapungu Sculptures

The closeness between mother and daughter was evident from the moment we happened upon this sculpture at Powell Gardens, Kingsville, Mo., in May 2008. We had also seen these mesmerizing, quietly inspirational and stunning works by artists from Zimbabwe, at Denver Botanic Gardens.

Created by members of the Shona tribe, the name, Chapungu (cha-POONG-goo), pays homage to the Bateleur eagle, a powerful bird that flies up to 300 miles a day, at 30 to 50 mph, and represents a good omen. The international exhibit represents 35 artists and creates a sensation wherever it appears. With its focus on trees, plants, animals, insects, reptiles, birds and as inter-personal relationships, Chapungu sculptures provide a quiet beauty and counterpoint to the colorful natural environments in which they are displayed.

Ranging in height from three to 11 feet and weighing between 500 and 5,000 pounds, each individual sculpture is the product of chisels, hammers, tile cutters, and metal combs, refined with sand paper and enhanced with clear wax that brings out the natural textures and colors of the stone. From natural stone, these artists create a new kind of beauty that endures in memory long after you see it.

Cheese Curds at Wilson's

It's been more than 100 years since Wilson's Restaurant & Ice Cream Parlor began serving the ultimate diner food to hungry residents, and droves of tourists who descend on Ephraim, Wisconsin, each year. Whether customers order thick chocolate shakes, juicy burgers, or the famous Wilson's homemade rootbeer, this is a place to indulge - and worry about calories some other time.

But, ask any Wisconsin native and they'll likely tell you a quintessential Wisconsin item on the menu is fried cheese curds. $4.95 buys a huge basket of freshly prepared Cheese Curds on a Bed of Fries, that ooze mellow cheesy goodness beneath a light, crispy batter. In fact, Martin Hintz and Pam Percy, authors of Wisconsin Cheese, A Cookbook and Guide to the Cheeses of Wisconsin, declare that cheese curds 'are as Wisconsin as...milk.'

Order the fried cheese curds because they represent the state, or because you'll swoon over their decadent goodness - but just be sure you don't leave without trying this signature item.