The Good Life

On a recent trip to Carrizozo, the county seat of Lincoln County, we made a little side trip to the Valley of Fires Recreation Area. It has a nice walking trail through it, or if you are really brave, information on  longer hikes across the lava fields. We opted for the walking trail. It is a mile or less in length and part of it could be accessed by wheelchair. There were signs providing some detail on the local vegetation and animals and shaded picnic tables where you could sit and rest or eat a snack. All in all, it was a pleasant afternoon.

At the visitor's center, I found a little cookbook with traditional New Mexico recipes. The title of the book is "The Good Life: New Mexico Traditions and Food". The author, Fabiola Cabeza de Baca Gilbert, was born and raised in New Mexico. She served as a home economics extension agent in northern New Mexico from 1929 until she retired in 1959. 

The first half of the book is about the Turrieta family and provides an account of daily life in a small New Mexico village in the early 1900's. The author writes about the traditional dishes made from jerky, corn, chiles and beans, but also weaves in details about weddings, celebrations, harvest time, wakes and other normal life events. The second half of the book has more than 80 classic recipes that were typical for that time and place, passed down for generations in the author's family. I really enjoyed learning about traditional New Mexico and look forward to trying more of the recipes.