New Mexico journalist and photographer Sharon Niederman (A Quilt of Words: Women's Diaries, Letters and Original Accounts of Life in the Southwest) has written a gorgeous cookbook that doubles as a culinary roadmap and travelogue of the Land of Enchantment. The recipes that comprise The New Mexico Farm Table Cookbook serve as a who's who of the state's finest restaurants, historic inns, local farmers and mom-and-pop shops along Route 60 and the Rio Grande who have continued to honor the farm-to-table traditions of their forefathers. Niederman draws from all corners of the state, including several recipes from Pie Town (green chile apple pie and Pie-O-Neer Pecan-Oat Pie with Sweet Potatoes), Santa Fe (Caffe Greco's Frito pie and Epazote New Mexican mole served over lamb, and Café Pasqual's Green Chile Stew), the mountains (lamb roasts and beef fajitas, courtesy of Los Vallecitos Ranch) and a green chile cheeseburger that bested celebrity chef Bobby Flay in an episode of Throwdown. Some recipes are complicated and require preparation; others are one-pot, simple meals easily replicated in home kitchens.
Niederman profiles the history of New Mexico's family-owned farms, describing how the state's remote location and infrequent trade routes forced inhabitants to survive by adapting, sharing and repurposing limited resources. This resulted in a melting pot of staple crops--corn, garlic, beans, wild fruit and game, and famous chiles--drawn from the Native American, Spanish, Mexican and Anglo cultures that would define Southwestern cuisine. Leaken's photographs make the Land of Enchantment's charming history pop on the printed page. "Food is our best medicine... nourishing body and soul." --Nancy Powell, freelance writer and technical consultant