Santa Fe, New Mexico – Cuisine Dream

Santa Fe is the political and cultural center of New Mexico (State Motto: “It grows as it goes”). After our long hike down the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back, we were in need of a little TLC and a lot of New Mexican inspired cuisine. Famous for its unique green and red chillies, New Mexican cuisine is a twist on Mexican food. Burritos, enchiladas, tacos (crispy or soft) and fajitas are staples of what most restaurants offer, all covered with as much of red or green (or both) chili that you care for. You can also get the chillies roasted or stuffed with cheese.

Here is a recipe from “License to Cook New Mexico Style”:

Blue Ribbon Salsa – An authentic and basic green chili salsa

4 tomatoes, chopped fine

2 bunches of green onions, chopped fine

¾ cups chopped green chilies or to taste (these are the New Mexican green chilies)

1 sprig fresh cilantro (coriander)

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Combine all ingredients and refrigerate several hours for flavors to blend well. Use on tacos or tostadas, in quesadillas, as a side to any meat dish, or if you're brave, to dip tortilla chips into. The “heat” will vary, depending on the variety and quantity of chilies used.

 

Santa Fe and New Mexico are also famous for being the home of iconic American painter, Georgia O'Keefe, and adobe architecture. We stopped by the Georgia O'Keefe Museum for a pleasant afternoon gazing at her artwork and related materials ( http://www.okeeffemuseum.org/ ). Literally every house and building in Santa Fe is influenced by the adobe aesthetic. Here are some examples of the adobe architecture: