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Early Winter 2020: Family

Early Winter 2020: Family

As the holiday season beckons, we think of family—our roots, traditions, arguments, gifts, collaborations, and the recipes we come back to year after year. This year, perhaps more than ever, we are conscious of the importance of family, its challenges, its beautiful messiness, and, for those of us who live at a distance or must self-isolate for health reasons, its absence. The importance of family extends into the ways we feed ourselves. The kitchen is the locus of many families, a place where we connect over tables, counters, stoves, familiar aromas, and generous platters. Family meals, whether prepared in collaboration over long hours at the stove or ordered out during a pandemic quarantine, give us sustenance during good times and bad. Families are also at the heart of many treasured New Mexico businesses. They can help businesses grow and pass on knowledge of cooking and farming.

Bánh Chưng (Rice Cake)

By Hue-Chan KarelsThe Importance of Bánh Chưng to the Vietnamese People Bánh chưng or chưng cake...

Lemon Pistachio Torte Sans Rival

By Grace Lapsys Sans rival means “without rival” or “unrivaled” in French. Where I grew up in the...

Chile Rojo Con Carne

By Marie YniguezRed chile and meat is my favorite holiday dish because at every family gathering,...

As the holiday season beckons, we think of family—our roots, traditions, arguments, gifts, collaborations, and the recipes we come back to year after year. This year, perhaps more than ever, we are conscious of the importance of family, its challenges, its beautiful messiness, and, for those of us who live at a distance or must self-isolate for health reasons, its absence.

The importance of family extends into the ways we feed ourselves. The kitchen is the locus of many families, a place where we connect over tables, counters, stoves, familiar aromas, and generous platters. Family meals, whether prepared in collaboration over long hours at the stove or ordered out during a pandemic quarantine, give us sustenance during good times and bad. Families are also at the heart of many treasured New Mexico businesses. They can help businesses grow and pass on knowledge of cooking and farming. They also bring a unique character and passion to their work that corporate farms and ghost kitchens will never match. This issue is devoted to the many ways family feeds our local foodshed.

We start with Jaclyn Roessel of Grownup Navajo, who writes about the nourishment that comes from family and community, and the responsibility to others central to the Diné concept of kinship. We also look at the challenges faced by family farmers across northern New Mexico in a year when both the pandemic and increasing impacts of climate change have magnified the appeal of rural living and amplified development pressures on New Mexico land. From there, we learn how family has shaped Angelina’s in Española, how native flavors have elevated Stargazer Kombucha, and how an all-vegan menu is bringing global and local together at Ras Rody’s Jamaican Vegan Kitchen in Santa Fe.

We also explore origin stories, with recipes from three outstanding chefs who evoke their culinary ancestors and field notes from this year’s strange Burning of Zozobra.

In 2020, even as families have had to gather less often and in smaller groups, many have relied upon and supported one another in new ways. For those with children at home, it has been an opportunity to connect more often, and more deeply, but for many, especially older adults, the pandemic has been profoundly isolating. Along with cooler weather and shorter days, the coming months will offer opportunities to listen and lend a hand to others, whether members of our extended families or of the greater family of our many-faceted New Mexico community. As we go to print, coronavirus cases are rising around the state (and world), and health experts implore families to find creative ways to connect and celebrate safely over the course of the holidays. Though this season will differ from those before, the spirit of family at its center remains ever more vital. With gratitude and safety for the whole of our community foremost in mind, we wish you and your family a healthy, lively, and flavorful season ahead.

Bánh Chưng (Rice Cake)

Bánh Chưng (Rice Cake)

By Hue-Chan KarelsThe Importance of Bánh Chưng to the Vietnamese People Bánh chưng or chưng cake is a traditional Vietnamese rice cake made from simple local ingredients such as glutinous rice, mung beans, and pork, wrapped in banana leaves and boiled or steamed. It...

Lemon Pistachio Torte Sans Rival

Lemon Pistachio Torte Sans Rival

By Grace Lapsys Sans rival means “without rival” or “unrivaled” in French. Where I grew up in the Philippines, having this cake would signify a milestone in one’s life: a birthday, anniversary, or a special holiday. Growing up, I have to admit we would buy this from...

Chile Rojo Con Carne

Chile Rojo Con Carne

By Marie YniguezRed chile and meat is my favorite holiday dish because at every family gathering, someone makes this. It was always on the stove at Grandma’s and still is at my mom’s whenever we visit. When we’re hungry, we grab a bowl of this chile and meat and some...

Indulgence Bakery & Cafe

Indulgence Bakery & Cafe

An Interview with Meagan Higgins and Marybeth Higgins  Local Hero: Best Cafe, Southern New Mexico Photos by Stephanie CameronIndulgence is a family-owned and -operated bakery and café where everything is made from scratch with love, passion, and creativity. It serves...

DIY Liqueurs: Rumchata and Crème de Cacao

DIY Liqueurs: Rumchata and Crème de Cacao

DIY liqueurs are the perfect project for holiday gift-giving. The rumchata and crème de cacao recipes are perfect in the Del Valle Pecan Pie Martini cocktail. DIY Rumchata 3 cups heavy cream1 cup simple syrup (equal parts cane sugar and water)1 cup white rum1...

Del Valle Pecan Pie Martini

Del Valle Pecan Pie Martini

Adapted from Lena Abraham This strong drink is the perfect cap to a meal, and helps makes gatherings, whether virtual or socially distanced, into an occasion. Make it extra special by DIYing rumchata and crème de cacao and sourcing local pecans from Del Valle Pecans....

Eight Around the State: Sweets

Eight Around the State: Sweets

By Stephanie and Walt Cameron Publishers Stephanie and Walt Cameron share some of their favorite finds around New Mexico, as they search the state for the best eats and drinks.   Maybe it’s the holidays, or perhaps it’s the pandemic, but there is nothing quite as...

Stargazer Kombucha

Stargazer Kombucha

Founder Alison Schmitt talks about the very hard year for small food businesses—and her optimism for the future By Robin Babb · Photos by Stephanie CameronTie guan yin (oolong) and assam (black tea) kombucha. This season’s Downtown Growers’ Market in Albuquerque was...

Steve Riley

Steve Riley

Farm & Table, Executive Chef  Local Hero: Best Chef, Albuquerque Photos by Sergio SalvadorChef Steve Riley was introduced to the world of fine cooking by acclaimed Chef Jennifer James, working alongside her at Le Café Miche, Graze, and Jennifer James Contemporary...

Family Acres, Community Anchors

Family Acres, Community Anchors

Deep-rooted, small family farms providemany functions in times of crisis By Willy CarletonMolly Manzanares trailing sheep through Carson National Forest at an altitude of approximately ten thousand feet. Photo by Lara Manzanares. Sometime in late August, I found a...

Sweet Trails

Sweet Trails

Las Cruces Cookies Celebrate New Mexican Culture By Cristina CarreonCustom chile and turquoise painted sugar cookies. Photo by Stephanie Cameron.  Through the windows and a box full of buttery, sugar-coated biscochos laced with anise waiting to be tasted, Milagros...

Nourishing Harvests

Nourishing Harvests

Kinship & Community By Jaclyn M. RoesselCornfield at Jemez Pueblo. Photo courtesy of Pueblo Action Alliance. In late summer, I received a call I had been waiting on ever since the birth of my niece. My brother had connected to share the news that she had started...

Vital Ital

Vital Ital

Ras Rody Brings Farm-fresh Vegan Jamaican Cuisine to Santa Fe By Joanna Manganaro Toto · Photos by Douglas MerriamRas Rody on his food truck, Ras Rody’s Jamaican Vegan Kitchen in Santa Fe. When I lived in New York City in my twenties, I had an unlikely friendship that...

Scarecrows, Zozobra, and the Refuse of 2020

Scarecrows, Zozobra, and the Refuse of 2020

By Briana Olson · Photos by Stephanie CameronIn 1928, four years after the first burning of Zozobra, an American anthropologist observed “a peculiar scarecrow” crafted from camel vertebrae in a field south of Baghdad. He was there to collect grain samples excavated...

Angelina’s

Angelina’s

A Family Legacy and Piece of New Mexico History  By Robert SalasLamb chops with red chile and beans. Photo by Stephanie Cameron. Angelina’s, inconspicuously tucked off Fairview Lane in Española, has a rich history of family ties and community love. The locally beloved...

Pop Fizz

Pop Fizz

An Interview with Rafael Alvarez Local Hero: Best Food Shop Photos by Stacey M. Adams Pop Fizz is a Mexican-style paleteria with an American soda fountain twist. Rafael, Carlos, and Lorenzo Alvarez cofounded Pop Fizz to bring the most delightful desserts of their...

Tumbleroot Brewery and Distillery

Tumbleroot Brewery and Distillery

An Interview with Jason Kirkman, Cofounder  Local Hero: Best Beverage Artisan, Spirits Photos by Stacey M. AdamsLeft to right: Michael Chavez, assistant brewer, and Jason Kirkman, cofounder of Tumbleroot Brewery and Distillery. Jason Fitzpatrick and Jason Kirkman,...

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Edible celebrates New Mexico's food culture, season by season. We believe that knowing where our food comes from is a powerful thing. With our high-quality, aesthetically pleasing and informative publication, we inspire readers to support and celebrate the growers, producers, chefs, beverage and food artisans, and other food professionals in our community.

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