When I think of Santa Fe, one thing which comes to mind is hanging chili peppers. They’re iconic. The Hatch chili is an integral staple of New Mexican cuisine. In fact, the official New Mexico vegetable is the chili pepper. The official state question is, “Red or green?”; I happen to prefer “Christmas” since I can never decide and that way I get both. People seem to have a varying sense of which is hotter. Personally I find them both mild, but then I like things really hot and spicy. They are not only grown in Hatch, New Mexico but all along the Rio Grande — from the Taos Pueblo in the north to the Isleta Pueblo in the south. On one trip with my mother after Daddy had passed an Indian man selling chilis introduced me to “chasing” pistachios with fresh ground chili pepper by scooping some up in part of the shell. I was hooked! Another thing I wish I could have shared with Daddy was Chimayo. Specifically the Sanctuario De Chimayo. About 30 minutes north of Santa Fe, the historical community is known as the “Lourdes of North America” and is one of the most sacred pilgrimages on the continent. People journey from all over the world for the holy soil which has been reported to work miracles on all sorts of ailments minor and major. It is built on what legend has said is a sacred Native American site. Many come praying for a miracle. I will never forget seeing a Navajo man in a wheelchair with one blue leg (presumably about to be lost from diabetes) praying there. I remember feeling so humbled and turning my selfish prayers instead to him. There is also a great restaurant there called Rancho de Chimayo. It is magical to dine out on their sprawling, terraced patio under the stars. Nestled in the magestic Sangre de Cristo mountains in piñon covered hills, there is simply no place quite like it. There used to be a huge, fat cat there that roamed the terrace searching out food but s/he was so picky s/he eschewed anything but sopapillas with fresh honey. The English writer W. L. George once said:
“Cats know how to obtain food without labor, shelter without confinement, and love without penalties.”
It seemed to me that’s what this clever kitty had mastered … and in the purrfect place.
