Southwest Cooking Experience at RMH

I recently heard someone say, “You people in San Francisco would eat a plate of spiders if someone said it was organic, local and humanely raised.” That’s probably true, and we’d pay a premium for it. But this “food movement” is more than pretension, for me and my dear friends and chefs, it is a deep commitment to respect our part in a complex, dynamic world. Organic is good for all of us, when it makes sense. Animals deserve to be treated with respect, particularly when we are going to use them as a food source. But what I often disdain amidst the fervor of foodies is the loss of joy in joining around food in celebration and gratitude. As a wise acupuncturist said to me once when I turned up my nose at his suggestion that I need to eat meat, “All food is God’s food.”

In December at RMH, we the Two Sisters taught an eager crowd of cooks and eaters how to concoct a New Mexican feast for the holidays. As the rain poured and the resident peacock hovered closely, a dozen people crowded around bubbling yeast and scorching oil, whirring blenders full of sauces and spicy peels of chile flesh to create a meal that warmed our bellies with food and laughter. We went local, we attempted organic, but most importantly we set our intention on celebration and gratitude.

My sister Kristine wowed the crowd with a demonstration on how to build Enchiladas Christmas. I shared my passion about New Mexican cooking and how it differs from TexMex or Mexican food—“It’s the chiles,” I told them. Our eager students learned how to make both red and green chile sauces—equally as central to New Mexican food as butter is to French food. The teams of student cooks masterfully laid out three pans of Enchiladas Christmas (chicken and cheese enchiladas with red and green chile sauce) and put them in the oven until they bubbled and browned. Others rolled out the dough for sopapillas, the puffy fried bread traditionally served with the spicy food of New Mexico. We mixed batches of delicious red and white sangria made from wine grown next door at Moshin Vinyards.

As we sat at the table amidst piles of enchiladas and warm honey and sopapillas, I stepped back and took a moment to recall and thank all those that made this possible: the cows, the chickens, the farmers, the truck drivers that move it all around, the magic of RMH, the bugs that add their own special touch, and that most important organic ingredient—love. It was a truly magical New Mexican moment!

~Ingrid

Editor’s note: Ingrid is our dear friend and a delightful and warm person, and we were honored to have her and her sister Kristine at RMH for this class. We’re posting this blog entry well after the class as she wrote it in the midst of whirlwind preparations for travels to Argentine for 3 months. By her own admission, she is truly a gypsy of travel. We will miss her but look forward to her return in May with stories of wonderful experiences and culinary adventures. We wish her well and safe travels. You can catch up with her at her blog.