Recipe of the Week

I like this picture and needed something to start my post today, so I chose the logo for the Hanshin Tigers, a Japanese baseball team. It is close to Spring and baseball season, so there's a connection, but that's all. This post has nothing to do with Japanese baseball, (also called Yakyu), tigers or anything else besides food


I’ve tried this before, a food blog of sorts. I’m going to try it again and instead of labeling its success on how many hits or comments the site gets, I’ll just keep posting and take the idea that I’m writing to preserve a part of our life on “paper” for others, maybe the Grandkids, to have for the future. I’ll post it here on my Round Circle blog to start. I’ll branch off to its own place if the need arises.

The idea here is to post recipes, but not in the usual list of ingredients and instructions, but rather in a story form. I’ll tell about where and how I learned of the recipe, how I doctored it, if I did, and use a narrative style. In this style, it’s more like we’re sitting and talking about what has been made. Recipes are okay, but I like a story with them about the whys and wherefores. Actually, I’d love to have a few friends over and we talk and visit while we cook or bake.

So, here goes. The weather was starting to get cooler right when October started. September had been quite nice and still summery. We were still eating corn on the cob and watermelon in September. When the cold winds started to blow and the rains started in early October, conversation started about how we eat different things and cook differently when the weather changes.

Grand daughter Anna was involved in the conversation and she chimed in that she really liked the soup I made with all the vegetables in it. I wondered if she meant Minestrone soup or the basic Vegetable beef I have made from time to time. She told me she had a hankerin’ for the Minestrone. I decided to make a batch one day and went to the grocery for ingredients.

I took inventory of what I had in the fridge. Carrots, okay. Celery, okay. Onion, okay. I had chicken and beef soup base as well and all the spices I use were on hand. Oregano, basil, garlic, onion, parsley and black pepper. (the salt comes in when I add the chicken and beef soup base, so I don’t use a salt shaker at all). I had corn from this years harvest in the freezer. I decided to use that, but needed several other veggies to make this soup.

I made a mental list and headed out. I use parsnips and turnips in my soup, but I don’t want to buy a whole bag as I just use one or two small portions of each. A small rutabaga, some green beans, yellow and green zucchini, (a couple of small ones each), canned whole peeled tomatoes, (or fresh if I feel like the added work), and portobello mushrooms.

I’d also need a beef shank or two, a can of white cannelloni beans and some small pasta called ancini de pepe. This type of pasta is very small and shaped like a bead. It actually looks like a peppercorn, except for the color, and hence the name. We used to call this pasta pastina at home when I was a kid. Pastina means tiny dough. So, you get the idea. Very small round pasta goes into this soup.

I peel the carrots, parsnips, turnips and rutabaga and slice them into small pieces. I slice the zucchini after splitting them lengthwise. They come out looking like half circles. I chop the onion and celery. The corn and green beans are added as is except I do cut the green beans to about a one inch length. I use canned tomatoes. I get one large can of the whole peeled tomatoes. If I use fresh tomatoes, I use Roma variety and blanch them in hot water, then cold, remove the skins, then chop them up and add them to the soup. Today I used a large can called a 303 can. This is usually right around a 28 ounce can.

The mushrooms I slice, and I add them later as they disintegrate in the hot broth. Same with the can of white cannelloni beans. Sometimes these are called italian white kidney beans.

With a little olive oil in the bottom of a large cookpot, I put the beef shanks in and let them braise. I turn them over and do both sides. Maybe 5-7 minutes on each side. I add the onion and let that cook a little along with the beef shanks, then I add the tomatoes and about a gallon or so of water. I add the rest of the chopped veggies except for the beans and the mushrooms as explained earlier.


The spices I generally use for Italian cooking

If I need more water to cover everything, then I add some. I let it come to a hard rolling boil, then I reduce the heat and simmer. I add the mushrooms and cannelloni beans about an hour before I think I’ll take the pot off the stove.

I add the spices and the chicken and beef broth. In the picture above, I show the spices I generally use when making an Italian dish. How much of what spice is always hard to figure out. I never measure. I put in probably about a big Tablespoon of parsley, oregano leaves and basil leaves. I’m sure I use a Tablespoon or two of onion and garlic. Black pepper? About 1 Tablespoon. The soup bases? Read the instruction on the jar and add the right amount for the amount of water you have in the pot. Adding these high quality soup bases adds saltiness and flavor to the concoction. I’m sure you can use either beef or chicken. I use both because I was taught that way.

I cook the pasta separately, about 1/4 to 1/3 of a one pound package, and add that, already cooked, to the broth. I add the pasta when I take the pot off the stove. I also pull the beef shanks out with a long pair of tongs, and cut them up. Zeke the dog gets the bones. The small pieces of meat are stirred back into the soup.

I did write out the ingredients and some basic instructions in case you want to make Minestrone Soup. You can add other things to the pot. I sometimes add some cut up red potatoes, sweet peas and green bell pepper.


A large pot of Minestrone soup simmering on the stove



Minestrone Soup

1-2 beef shanks, seared in olive oil
1 Can Whole Tomatoes, smashed in your fingers, with juice
Fresh Corn cut from the cob
Fresh Turnips, cubed
Fresh Rutabaga, cubed
Fresh Parsnips, cubed
Fresh Green Beans, destemed, cut up
Fresh Onion, chopped
Fresh Carrots, chopped
Fresh Celery, chopped
1 Can Cannelloni Beans
Small Green and Yellow Zucchini, sliced thin
Fresh Mushrooms, sliced


1/4 to 1/3 Pound of Ancini De Pepe Pasta, (or any small pasta), cooked separately





Spices

Oregano
Basil
Parsley
Garlic
Onion
Black Pepper
Chicken soup base
Beef soup base


Enough water to cover everything!

Bring to a rolling boil, simmer for at least a couple of hours.
Serve with a fresh hard crusted bread with butter or dipping oil


One of the things that I do that makes this real Italian is the addition of small meatballs to the soup. It is a separate act to make and boil the meatballs and adds some prep time and labor to this dish. Well worth it in my opinion. I use 24-30 small hand shaped home-made meatballs. Here’s how:

Little Meatballs

1 Pound of lean ground beef
1 Cup bread crumbs
2 eggs
A couple of Tablespoons of grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
And
The same spices as used above, just a little of each, maybe a teaspoonful or less of each.

Mix together with your hands. Shape into small meatballs, about 1 inch in diameter. Place all at once into a pan of boiling water and boil for about 5 minutes. Remove from water, drain, add to the pot of soup. You can also broil the meatballs before adding to the soup. It doesn’t take long as the smaller portions broil up quickly.

There you have it. Minestrone Soup. Hearty, with meatballs and pasta, seasoned Italian style. The broth is rich and tasty. The vegetables will reduce in size and as the leftovers sit in the refrigerator, they will blend and become intermingled. Some will be indistinguishable from the others, but the taste will be there. It freezes well. Just thaw in the fridge, then heat in a sauce pan to serve again.

Questions? Call or e-mail. If you try it, I’d love to hear your story. What did you do different? Did you have any problems? Was it good? Did the people you served it to like it? Did they rave about it? Do you have your own recipe for Minestrone? And don’t forget the pictures.

Peace.

Road Fodder, Part Three, The Journey Home

Sunday morning in New Mexico was glorious for me. The sun seems to almost always shine. I was told once that they average 308 days of sunshine per year, yet I have been down there during rainy season, which is July through Labor Day, sort of, and I have seen the flash floods of water pouring through an arroyo and closing off the road. This day in February was bright, sunny and definitely warmer than it was in Wisconsin.

It became breezy and the big white clouds billowed, but that didn’t put a damper on my plans for the day which were to travel from T or C down to Las Cruces and into La Mesilla. I lingered in town a while and had a cup of coffee at the Black Cat. There was a Tarot Card reader that showed up there on weekends and I wanted to say hello to her. She had done a reading for me years ago, and when I saw that she still showed up there, I waited for an ambush.

I remember her being from Minneapolis. When I introduced myself as a Northerner, she smiled and told me that after 12 years, she finally sold her house in Minnesota and lives full time year ‘round in Truth or Consequences. I didn’t get a reading this time. She asked me how the reading from years past turned out. I told her about my craft projects. She had suggested that I was leaning that way about six years ago and that I shouldn’t avoid it.

I left T or C and headed South. I took the side road, the two lane that followed the Rio Grande. I love that road, and on an early lazy Sunday morning, I had it to myself. I passed by Caballo Lake and the small farming towns of Arrey and Derry, Garfield and back into Hatch yet again. Past Hatch, the road carves through grove after grove of pecan trees. I find myself in Las Cruces, and while driving, I get a very pleasant surprise, a call from a blog friend that lives in El Paso in the Winter. We had thought that we might be able to meet for a cup ‘o joe, but her schedule was tight. We talked a while as I drove. It was a nice treat!


A saddle in the desert near City of Rocks State Park New Mexico

In Las Cruces, I cruised around past antique row. Most of the shops were closed. I didn’t feel much like walking around inside anyway, so I went to La Mesilla. This little town brings you back in time with the old stone buildings and the town square. One square city block with a small gazebo in the center. Around the edges, on Sunday afternoons after church, the vendors set up their tables and sell their goods. Ceramics, cloth, jewelry, artwork, lotions and soaps, pecans and chiles and ironwork on this day.


The Saint Albino Church anchoring the town square in La Mesilla

Saint Albino's Catholic Church stands at the end of the block like a tombstone, the town square being the grave. No metaphor here, just the way it seems to be set up. I wandered through the tables and saw a familiar display of small paintings, 5” X 7” paintings of Patron Saints. Each with a description on the back of that Saint, where they hailed from and who they protected. The artist/salesperson was talking to a prospective customer when I walked up.

They had been talking a while, so the vendor turned to me and asked, “What do you do for a living?”

Francesca Garcia, the artist at the town square in La Mesilla, NM


Just a few of the 4500 prints of Patron Saint done by Francesca

I answered that I no longer work for wages. Her hand swooped down into the piles of prints and she came up with one immediately. She told me that it was the Patron Saint of fathers, (and Grandfathers, of which I am one), and handed it to me. I saw it, then told her that my name is Joseph. She had handed me St. Joseph. That small act broke the ice and I told her that I had been to her table before and purchased a print for my Mother. I also told her that my Mother had passed recently and that her print came back into my possession. We talked a while and found we had other things in common. I bought the St. Joseph print and another one depicting Our Lady of Guadeloupe, the Patron Saint of Latin America.


Colorful Chile pepper ristras for sale

Personally, I like the image. I have many small portraits that I have collected over the years. I bought a print from my newest friend, Francesca Garcia. When I told her I collected Guadeloupe portraits, she took my address and told me she would send me a special one she had. She did, and packed the envelope with colorful macaw feathers. These things were sent as gifts. I will make her a special dream catcher and send it to her to say Thank You.

The stores and restaurants around the square are colorful and plentiful. There are art galleries scattered throughout the little village, right next to the junk stores like Billy The Kid, a store that anchors the corner of the square at the opposite end of the church. But that Billy The Kid souvenir shop has a small beverage counter at one end and I spotted a small coffee roaster there years ago. I treated myself to a freshly brewed cup of coffee and savored it outside on a park bench along the square. I watched the tourists bargain at the tables, then left and headed back up to T or C.


Portrait of Our Lady of Guadelupe

There is certainly more to do in that part of New Mexico. I barely scratched the surface. Numerous wildlife refuges along the Rio Grande, the Jornado de Muertos, The Journey of Death trail is just East of the Rio Grande and passes the White Sands Missile Range, the new Spaceport that is being built, said to be like an airport for the public for space travel and the VLA, Very Large Array of radio telescopes with their visitor center and fabulous photographs of outer space just East of Socorro. Not to mention more small restaurants, diners, art galleries, second hand stores and coffee shops! But my trip was done for this time. I headed back to the Desert View.


VLA, Very Large Array of radio telescopes east of Socorro on US Highway 60


A grave marker along the Journey of Death, I'm thinking Gus was a mule, how about you?

Back at the motel, I organized for the trip home that I would take the next day, then I went for another soak in the healing waters of the hot springs. This time, I went to Riverbend and I was not disappointed. Once again, if you haven’t read about Riverbend, go HERE and do so now. Border Explorer does a great job and posted some great pictures of this fabulous spa.

My last supper was at La Pinata, a small family owned Mexican restaurant. I had a platter of Chile Rellenos and went back to the Desert View and watched some TV. Monday morning had me on the road headed North toward the airport at Albuquerque, but not before another stop for good coffee and breakfast in Socorro at the new Manazares Street Coffeehouse. After a bowl of delicious oatmeal fortified with a crunchy granola on the side, I went to Albuquerque and walked along Central Avenue, old US Highway 66, the Mother Road. A colorful place to spend a little time as it was too early to go to the airport.

When I did return my car rental and get a shuttle to the Sunport, I didn’t have long to wait as the lines were short. I checked in and got a great surprise. Seems that the online booking I made didn’t tell me that there was a non stop to Minneapolis from Albuquerque. This non stop flight left only ten minutes later than I originally scheduled, but didn’t have the two hour layover in Salt Lake City. The wonderful person at the counter put me on this flight for an extra fifty bucks. Well worth it from my perspective as the price of an online purchase for non stop was up near $500.00. I was home in a flash early Monday evening, just in time for dinner.

That morning, the sky was cloudy and they even spoke of rain and snow in New Mexico. I saw the clouds, but nothing else and came home to an early Spring warmup here in the Northland. I’m waiting for the change of seasons and planning another trip to New Mexico in Late April, this time on my Triumph Tiger. We’ll see how that shakes out.

I want to say, "Thanks", for sharing my trip with me. I had fun reliving it and giving you the day by day account. March has some home DIY projects on tap to keep me busy along with appointments and commitments, so the time should fly by and snow should melt. I'm already looking forward to the return to New Mexico and points Southwest on the motorcycle.

In the meantime, may you have Peace

Road Fodder, Part Two

Sunrise over Elephant Butte Lake, (or is it Effalump Butt like Mel says?)

The next day, Saturday, I woke up early as I usually do and read a while. I waited for daylight and wasn’t disappointed with the stream of sunlight that blasted through the motel room window. I rallied, and after a shower, loaded up my camera, some water and a few snacks I had laying around into the rented Hyundai. I stopped at The Black Cat Coffeehouse and Books and filled my travel mug with hot Sumatran and headed out towards Silver City.

My first trips to New Mexico had me staying in and around Silver City way back in the early 1990’s. That’s the first time I saw the Big Ditch, a large canyon that runs through the middle of town. They say the ditch used to be main street, but the torrential rains of summer and the flash flooding washed the town away and left the ditch. Town was then rebuilt along the sides of the ditch. The city has transformed the banks of this crevice into a walkway and public space where art festivals and other celebrations are held. They also say that Billie the Kid's Mother is from Solver City and Billie lived there as a child.


The Big Ditch of Silver City, New Mexico

I used to have a place there. I rented a small store front that had some living space in the rear. I made snowshoes there amongst other things. I was in the desert, but sold the snowshoes in places like Taos, Aspen and Vail. I took on projects as they came to me, many of them from word of mouth networking while sitting around drinking coffee at what was once known as the A.I.R. Coffeehouse. The initials stood for Artist In Residence. A woman name Jacqueline moved from Seattle to Silver City to open her dream business, good coffee and art.


New Mexico showing the area where Silver City is located

A.I.R had been bought and the name changed. Looks to me like the prices must have been raised as well. I had an Americano there and sat alone outside on the raised cement boardwalk which faces east. The bright sun warming up the morning quickly made it quite comfortable to sit there and savor the hot brew. Earlier on, the drive over the Black Range through Hillsboro and Kingston didn’t disappoint me. The twisted climb up and then down and over the pass was phenomenal. I rode this section on my motorcycle three years ago and I will go back and do it again, maybe even this year! I didn't get to the Gila Cliff Dwellings this trip, so I must return and visit this ancient site again.


The Gila Cliff dwellings, located North of Silver City in the Gila National Forest


Looking out from deep inside one of the cliff dwellings

I walked around Silver City. I noticed what stores and businesses had changed and closed and what new ones are trying their hand at it. Another small coffee shop on the main drag, Bullard Street, lured me in and I had yet another Americano. Outside this shop, a few vendors were setting up tables. One man had some unique beads and I bought a few for use on the Dream Catchers I make. In talking to him, I find that he is from Duluth, MN and knows a few people I know. We ended up talking for over an hour. We exchanged contact information and will hear from each other in the future I’m sure.

I did trek over to Texas Avenue where I had my shop. The city, and this block in particular, has gone through a metamorphosis of sorts as it was put on the map as a genuine art community. Now, the galleries are notated on a brochure complete with a map of the city. People come from far and wide to view and buy the art, yet the downtown has as many empty buildings as any other small town. Some businesses make it and some don’t. Some artists move there and live and get by, some move on to greener pastures. Seems to be what I’ve seen in my travels through all time, not just during the current announced economic slowdown.


A shot of a rainbow over my old Texas Avenue shop in Silver City, NM sometime in the late 1990's


A brightly painted view of the same Texas Avenue shop in 2010

I left Silver City, but not before getting a bagel, toasted, and lathered with cream cheese. This is just what I needed to eat away at the acid from the strong coffee I had consumed. I headed out and drove a familiar route through Santa Clara, a town in the center of the copper mining district of the area. It is so centrally located that the name used be Central. A large open pit mine is there. It is an awesome sight to see the large deep excavation. The tailing hills are miles long. Then I see the ugliness of the mining industry.


A map of the mining towns of Santa Clara, Bayard and Hurley

This, being a travelogue, is not the place for political and environmental discussion, but it must be brought to the front that there is no doubt we, as human people, are raping our land for profit. Yet the other side of the coin is that the livelihoods for hundreds of workers would end if the mine was closed. What is the trade off? I don’t have the answers, only opinions, and they wouldn’t be met with approval across the board.

The sight that is natural in all this is a rock formation high above the open pit mine at Santa Clara. It is called the Kneeling Nun. From a distance and a certain angle, it looks like a nun in a habit on her knees praying to the face of the large mountaintop of rock. Reminiscent of the rock where Moses received the ten Commandments in the epic movie with Charleton Heston, “The Greatest Story Ever Told”. Should be coming up for a viewing soon, as Easter approaches in less than forty days and forty nights.


Santa Clara's Kneeling Nun

I travel down through Bayard and Hurley and past the now closed and for sale Faywood Hot Springs. Quite a story there. A great place to sit in pools of naturally hot springs flowing to the earth’s surface, right in the middle of the desert. Check out the website for information about Faywood. I would have stopped, but the place is closed now.

I pull into Deming and cruise the loop. I stop at LaFonda, a Mexican restaurant where a waitress there once taught me how to make a great red chile enchilada sauce. The place was packed at two in the afternoon with some wedding party or some dinner celebration. I walked around downtown for a while, then left and took the long straight New Mexico Highway 25 back towards hatch, and then to my motel home.

Back in Truth or Consequences, I went to Hay Oh Kay hot baths and soaked in the healing water. I wanted to get a massage, but the therapists were all booked for the afternoon. Dinner was simple, more grocery store fare as I try to eat sensibly in an effort to control my diabetes. I later learn from the motel manager that he has passes for the Riverbend. The Riverbend is another of the many spa motels that sit in the center of Truth or Consequences. No one has done a better story about The Riverbend Hot Springs than my friend Billie who pens the Border Explorer blog. I’ll link to her blog story posted a short time ago so you can check it out. Riverbend is the name of the spa. This article has some great photos of this place along the Rio Grande in Truth or Consequences, NM.


The hot springs at Riverbend

The fact is, T or C used to be called Hot Springs, NM. The name was changed through a PR stunt in 1950 and the people never looked back. The unusual name is known by some, and others always say, “What??!!” when I mention it. Instead of me telling you the story, click on the link above.



(To Be Continued)
My trip to Las Cruces and La Mesilla and traveling home and back to Winter in the Northland.

Peace to all.

Road Fodder, Part One

Irrigated field of onions along the Rio Grande River, Garfield, NM


On my recent trip to New Mexico, I had a few unique experiences. I’d like to share a couple of them with you. First of all, I wasn’t planning on a trip. I actually thought I wouldn’t be able to get away at all for a mid Winter break. Winter can be long up here in the Northland. Sometime in November, it starts to get pretty cloudy most days, the temperature drops and the snow starts to fly, slowly with small accumulations at first, then with some kind of storm that buries the landscape in white.

December, January and February are just plain cold here in Wisconsin. If it isn’t cold, it’s snowing. The warmer weather seems to make for the snow, and the clear skies usually harbor the below zero bone chilling cold. March can have some better, (ie: warmer) days, and so does April. But there also can be some massive snow storms that come in those months. I tell you, even though Winter is officially December 21st to March 20th, having non Winter weather on days before or after those dates is a crap shoot at best. Winter is a long season. Some folks tell the story that there are only two seasons up here, Winter and poor sledding!


I've always liked the Red and Yellow combination. No wonder, then, that I like the State flag of New Mexico and the state itself, The Land of Enchantment

There are diseases, or syndromes they call ‘em I guess, like SAD, Seasonal Affective Disorder. Also known as Cabin Fever. A lack of sunshine, because of the shorter duration of daylight in the Northern latitudes, and generally a feeling of being shut in because it’s just too damn cold to go out and do anything!

One way that I have been beatin’ Cabin Fever in the past has been to get in my car and head South. Yuma, Arizona is usually nice along with the well known destinations like Tucson, Phoenix and Miami Beach. But I like the more moderate climes. Many people seem to say that Fall is their favorite season. I agree, so why not seek out Fall type weather? For my money, New Mexico fits the bill. Warmer than up here in Wisconsin, but not hot. A light jacket or sweatshirt will do just fine. I can even crack the windows on the pickup a bit and roll ‘em all the way down when cruising slowly through town on my way to the coffee shop.

So, I get this e-mail asking me if I am interested in driving a car down to Albuquerque. This person has used my services before, about 4 years ago I flew out to California and drove a car back to Minnesota for her from Santa Rosa. She paid expenses, I did the driving. This time, I drove the car from Minnesota and flew home, but not before I spent four extra days wandering around New Mexico. It was a trip made in heaven for me. A mid Winter break to my favorite playground.


Highway signpost in Boise City, Oklahoma. I was following US 56 West

The car was a late model 2008 Honda Civic. A newer car meant no worries about its functionality. I left on a Wednesday at 4:30 a.m. (What the heck, I’m up anyway!). I packed some sandwiches and a few hard boiled eggs, some cut up veggie snacks and couple of pieces of fruit. I was stoked as far as day one meals were concerned. I pulled in to Boise City, Oklahoma at 7:30 p.m., exactly fifteen hours and 947 miles from my home. I did use the Interstate down to Emporia, Kansas, but then took off West on US Highway 50, a two-lane affair, across the heart of Kansas. Highway 50 meets US 56 in Dodge City. Matt Dillon and Miss Kitty were nowhere to be found, so I moved on.


No snow in Central Kansas, February 17th, 2010

The weather was great. Sunny and in the 50’s. There was no snow on the ground and I was counting hawks on fence posts, telephone poles and in tree limbs at the rate of about three per mile! Boise City, (pronounced Boys City by the locals), is at the far end of the Oklahoma panhandle, just a few miles before crossing the Mountain Time Zone line at the New Mexico border.

I gassed up on Thursday morning and headed on US Highway 56 into Springer, NM and got on I-25 South. I landed in Santa Fe by noon. I hung out there and fooled around at my favorite haunts. In one of the shops, I spotted the works of a clay artist from Oaxaca, Mexico. Her figurines stood about 12 inches tall and depicted women and family scenes from the heart of Mexico. I was drawn in by her fabulous Los Dios de Los Muertos, (Days of the Dead), pieces. I am doing a search and trying to order something directly from her. Her name is Irene Aguilar and she is from Ocatlan de Moreles, Oaxaca.

Later that day, I met a friend from Minnesota, a college student who studies art there, for dinner at Maria’s New Mexican Kitchen, a place I have mentioned on these pages before and one of my favorite restaurants. After dinner, I headed for Albuquerque and had the car delivered and a ride to my hotel right near the airport before the clock struck nine.

On Friday, I took the hotel airport shuttle to the car rental office and secured some transportation and went South. I stopped in Socorro at a coffee shop I had been in many times before. They had changed the name and remodeled a bit, but it was a fine stop for a hot Americano. The Black Dog Coffee House had become the Manazares Street Coffee Shop. I drove further South to Truth or Consequences and was there by noon. I checked in to a small Mom and Pop called the Desert View Inn. The rates were cheap and the room was clean. And it did have a nice view of the desert beyond the town from high atop a hill.


My favorite place to shop in Hatch, NM

Friday afternoon, I drove down to Hatch and shopped for some chile peppers. There is a small shop there operated by a family called Hatch Chile Sales. Since they are independent and don’t have the high overhead of a website and credit card sales, their prices are low. I have used their products in the past and have always found them to be of high quality and freshness. This trip, I purchased hot and mild red chile powder, some Xtra Hot Green Chile powder, some chipotle and some shelled pecans. I ate lunch at Sparky’s and found out about their troubles with the Pink Pig.


The facade at Sparky's restaurant in Hatch, NM

The State said the use of a large likeness of a pig as advertising needed to be removed or a variance from the city be enacted to use said pink pig at the South end of town. The huge fiberglass hot dog at the North end of town was also in question. Since my visit, the City Council of Hatch, NM moved to allow the variance, so the pink pig and hot dog signage stays. The owners of Sparky’s have a number of larger than life figures in a whimsical display of this eating establishment, which, by the way, serves great green chile burgers BBQ and tacos!


The famous Pink Pig that was in question

The food was good. I had a couple of tacos and a green chile burger. Just a hamburger with sautéed Native medium hot green chiles and a hunk of cheese. I sat outside and sipped an iced tea, all the while, the film crew from an Albuquerque news crew filmed an interview about the pink pig to show folks up North in the big city. I talked with Sparky about the pig dilemma. He was pretty laid back about it all. Seems like it turned out okay for everyone concerned.


Elephant Butte Damn on the Rio Grande

I left Hatch and returned to Truth or Consequences just in time for a great sunset. My drive back North to T or C was great. I used a small two lane State road that runs just to the West and out of site of the Interstate superhighway. The Rio Grande lazily sits to my right as I head North. I drove through fields of irrigated farmland where onions, chile peppers and pecan trees abound.


Elephant Butte, August 2006


Elephant Butte, February of 2010. (Note the water level near the same as August 2006)

This road crosses under the freeway and then travels along the shores of small lakes made from the Elephant Butte damn that sits on the Rio Grande at Elephant Butte, just North and East of T or C. Caballo Lake, just South of Elephant Butte, is a place where I have camped before. As you can see from the photos above, the water level in the reservoir lake is still down and has been for years. I stopped and soaked in the sunshine along the shore and watched birds enjoying the weather along with me. A light dinner ensued with grocery store items, a bit of reading and some TV.

(To be continued)

Next: Silver City, the copper mines of Santa Clara, Las Cruces, LaMesilla and the wonderful hot springs of truth or Consequences.

Ruby Tuesday 02/23/2010

Tuesday already. I left for New Mexico last Tuesday. It was a short week and not at all long enough to be away from the Northland Winter. But it was a break and I liked walking around in a sweatshirt instead of a parka, not to mention eating some good green chile.

But this is a post for Ruby Tuesday. I shouldn't be talking about "green" anything. Seems I have a transportation theme going here this week. My Granddaughter driving her ruby red fire engine in the back yard last Summer along with a picture of a beautiful red doorway in the small hamlet of La Mesilla, just South of Las Cruces, NM.


Gracie Jayne racing to a fire!


Beautifully painted doorway in La Mesilla, a small town close to Las Cruces, NM

These next four photos are from a previous trip to New Mexico. It was April of 2007, and we escaped an early Spring snowstorm. Our little red Focus is no longer amongst the living. Blew the engine last June. But I liked the way I preserved its image. The pictures of the grill were taken at gas stops as we traveled South and away from the snow. You can see from the photos of the ice on the front end of Red Ranger, (Our pet name for our car), it took some miles to get out of the Winter in 2007.


Wisconsin. April of 2007


Iowa. April of 2007


Oklahoma. April of 2007


New Mexico. April of 2007

And another type of automobile. The Bumper Car!


Bumper Cars, Ludington, MI.

This last one is yours truly when finally getting to a warmer climate, and I am wearing a red, of course, sweatshirt.


Relief from the Northland Winter at last!

Ruby Tuesday is a brainstorm of MaryT/The Teach, who pens the "Work of the Poet" blog. Check out here web site, her Ruby Tuesday offering,, and see other Ruby Tuesday posts from the list of participants at the end of the post.

Peace to all.

On the Road Again

When you read this, I'll be on the road. I'm leaving in a few moments. I'm driving a car down to Albuquerque for a friend. I'll spend some time down there in New Mexico, then fly home next week. So, if you don't see me around for a while, that's where I'm at. I love New Mexico and need a mid winter break to clear my head.

Take care and be well.

Peace to all.

Ruby Tuesday 02/16/2010

Ruby Tuesday. Now what is that? I found it here and there on the blogs. It's the brainstorm of one woman who names herself MaryT/TheTeach and can be found HERE, at her blog entitled "Work of the Poet". She has many other features on her blog and I find it quite interesting. The premise is easy. Post photographs you've taken that have the color red in them. A little, or a lot. Go to her site and sign in at the bottom of the Ruby Tuesday post so your blog can be listed.

I've taken the liberty, as these are almost all my own photographs, to caption just a tad about what, where, when, why and who might be found in the pictures. Here goes:


Windsock on a breezy day.


Flashing red train crossing lights


Ruby Red Lips


At the recital in front of a really big red curtain.


Lighthouse. Wisconsin Point, Superior, Wisconsin.


Kitchen cabinets at King Salmon.


San Francisco, open your Golden Gate, that is colored red.


Boy, wouldn't I love to have a red Corvette!
(Note: I didn't take this picture, but I added it because I love cars and it is a red Corvette)


A visiting cardinal.


Teaching a Grandchild how to play with matches.

Peace to all