Fall 2025: Land

“We are the land,” the director of Taos Land Trust tells us, speaking from a retired ranch turned community garden and park. It’s the kind of statement that sounds too grand, too simple, to be true. But as we harvest squash and tomatoes from our gardens, as we relish red chile made with the last of last year’s pods, as we walk the acequias and mountain trails, we can’t help but think he’s right. Whether our querencia is inherited or acquired, or maybe a bit of both, we who live and eat and breathe here can embody the land, this land, where the wind blows unprotected topsoil across the mesas, where the water is scarce, where so much of the hard work is still done by hand.

This issue of edible New Mexico is devoted to the land. In one feature, a questioning meditation on our state’s most beloved crop, Divana Olivas reflects on how chile ties us to place. In another, reporting from a joyous young farm in Albuquerque’s South Valley, Nina Katz considers one of the primary hurdles in starting a farm: acquiring the land itself. In conversation with a new-generation cattle rancher, we tread the line between domestic and wild, gaining a fresh respect for cows along the way. And in a photo-driven feature, we trace two dishes at local restaurants to the lands in the East Mountains where they, quite literally, were born. We also debut a series showcasing the paved arterial that cuts through those mountains and across the state: Route 66.

But how does all this impact you, and how can you (positively) impact the land? Well, you can put your hands in the dirt and grow food yourself—and to that end, we share lessons and tips from a local soil protector. You can also pick up some locally fermented chile paste made from locally grown red chile to use in your home kitchen. Pair that with your own adventure in homegrown chile-based condiments, courtesy of the newest edition of Cooking Fresh. Whether in your own kitchen or in the restaurants you frequent, we hope these stories drive you to find more ways to taste the land you live on, to know and love the lands where your food is grown.

“We are the land,” the director of Taos Land Trust tells us, speaking from a retired ranch turned community garden and park. It’s the kind of statement that sounds too grand, too simple, to be true. But as we harvest squash and tomatoes from our gardens, as we relish red chile made with the last of last year’s pods, as we walk the acequias and mountain trails, we can’t help but think he’s right. Whether our querencia is inherited or acquired, or maybe a bit of both, we who live and eat and breathe here can embody the land, this land, where the wind blows unprotected topsoil across the mesas, where the water is scarce, where so much of the hard work is still done by hand.

This issue of edible New Mexico is devoted to the land. In one feature, a questioning meditation on our state’s most beloved crop, Divana Olivas reflects on how chile ties us to place. In another, reporting from a joyous young farm in Albuquerque’s South Valley, Nina Katz considers one of the primary hurdles in starting a farm: acquiring the land itself. In conversation with a new-generation cattle rancher, we tread the line between domestic and wild, gaining a fresh respect for cows along the way. And in a photo-driven feature, we trace two dishes at local restaurants to the lands in the East Mountains where they, quite literally, were born. We also debut a series showcasing the paved arterial that cuts through those mountains and across the state: Route 66.

But how does all this impact you, and how can you (positively) impact the land? Well, you can put your hands in the dirt and grow food yourself—and to that end, we share lessons and tips from a local soil protector. You can also pick up some locally fermented chile paste made from locally grown red chile to use in your home kitchen. Pair that with your own adventure in homegrown chile-based condiments, courtesy of the newest edition of Cooking Fresh. Whether in your own kitchen or in the restaurants you frequent, we hope these stories drive you to find more ways to taste the land you live on, to know and love the lands where your food is grown.

Purchase Back Issues