Red or Green?

Our train rolled into Santa Fe Station at high noon

Actually we took Route 66 from Chicago to Albuquerque.

Then we took El Camino Real from Albuquerque to Chimayo in search of the holy chile.



Chimayo chiles may be holy, but they are just one of the many red chiles that are dried and used to make red chile sauce.
When you order a meal in New Mexico your host or server will ask you if you would like "green or red?"
New Mexicans are more particular about the type of chile used for their green chile sauce and chile rellenos. Hatch green chiles are the green chile of choice, grown in and near Hatch Pueblo in southern New Mexico. When harvested the chiles are roasted in cylinder cages over open flames to give them their distinct taste.
I personally love both green and red chile. I may be slightly partial to green chile, but it is hard to live without my red chile. New Mexico's solution to this dilema comes in the form of a one word answer that represents the best of both worlds. Christmas! Christmas means half red and half green chile.

This recipe for green chile sauce comes from The Cafe Pasqual's Cookbook. When I worked at Cafe Pasqual's in New Mexico we used to go through a few five gallon buckets a day of both green and red chile. I think it is the best green chile sauce in the world. Buy the book here, for more great New Mexican recipes.
~About 1 1/2 pounds fresh mild green New Mexican chiles, roasted, peeled, seeded, deveined, and chopped to measure 2 cups
~About 3/4 pound fresh hot green New Mexican chiles, roasted, peeled, seeded, deveined, and chopped to measure 2 cups
~4 Cups water
~1/2 white onion, cut into medium dice
~2 t dried Mexican oregano or marjoram leaves
~6 cloves garlic, finely minced
~1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
~2 tablespoons vegetable oil
~3 tablespoons all purpose flour
Place all the ingredients, except the vegetable oil and flour, in a large saucepan over medium heat. Simmer uncovered until juice has thickened and is opaque, 20 to 30 minutes. Stir occasionally, taking care that the chiles do not burn or stick to bottom of the pan.
In a small bowl, whisk together the oil and flour until smooth and well blended, to form the base for a roux. Place in a saucepan over medium high heat until hot and bubbling. Reduce the heat to low and whisk constantly until the roux is slightly brown and has a nutty flavor. Remove from heat.
Add 1/2 cup of the green chile mixture to the roux and whisk thoroughly until smooth. Add the roux to the remaining chile mixture and cook over low heat until the sauce thickens and the flour taste dissappears, about 15 minutes. Adjust to taste with salt.
-You can find fresh roasted green chiles all over New Mexico during the Hatch chile harvest in late summer and early fall. You can also pick up fresh roasted green chiles at the ferry plaza farmers' market in San Francisco. Frozen green chiles will do if fresh are not available. You can always roast them yourself
Whether the chile is green or red, in New Mexico it is always hot.The adobe oven is a fading culinary tradition in New Mexico
At Shikshantar in Udaipur, Rajasthan, India they made an adobe oven from soil and cow dung.
We heard about all the UFO sightings in New Mexico and we were searching for aliens among all the rock formations and chile farms. We even heard a UFO warning on the radio

We didn't see any aliens or UFOs in the desert, but we did come across a camel near Tesuque Pueblo




And we have seen many after midnight electrical lightning storms that looked like the works of some extraterrestrial forces.

We also felt like some kind of alien was going to abduct our car as we drove through Area 51 in Nevada as night fell.Nori's outerspace collection

Oysters and Wine at 2AM

Monday was a warm and sunny day in Napa Valley. And even though the weekend was over, the crowds were still out. We tasted local olive oils and cheeses from around the world as we waited patiently for a wine tasting session with one of the busy sommeliers at V. Sattui Winery. It is worth the wait. We like the old school Italian wines at V. Sattui Winery and for 5 bucks you get to try a lot of different wines. The $5 goes towards a bottle of wine if you decide to make a purchase. We left with some wine and a few cheeses. Chimay, Manchego, and an irish cheese called Ardrahan
We stopped at Oakville Grocery to pick up some picnic goodies to go with our wine.We already had some super spicy red pepper mustard that we picked up at Peju Winery, so we bought some Acme Italian bread, a little mortadella, some duck liver pate with black truffles, and some sliced mocetta to make it a decadent picnic.The good folks at La Vaca Taqueria and BBQ let us have a picnic at one of their tables under some tall sunflowers, and we made extravagant sandwiches to accompany the wine. I was hoping to finish our meal with some fresh fruit from the area, but all the fruit stands we passed were closed. I guess it is more of a weekend kind of business. And surprisingly, Oakville Grocery did not have a great produce section. So how do you finish a summer picnic so devine without fruits of the earth? Well it better be good, whatever it is. It is like going on stage after James Brown ... hard to top. Well, we decided to try out the Bouchon Bakery, up the road in Yountville. We arrived at 7PM and the bakery was just closing. So we went into the Bouchon restaurant next door to try some desserts there. We could only be seated at the bar and everyone at the bar was eating Moules au Safran et à la Moutarde avec Pommes Frites (Steamed mussels with french fries)It smelled so good, and the fries were calling our names. So no dessert after all. We ordered half a dozen oysters and the mussels and fries. My favorite part of this great dish is dipping the fries and the bread in the broth. These fries are crisp, hot and very salty. they are great. They would be a great companion for a frosty. The oysters were fine too, but the mussels and fries were unforgettable.

Tune: Oysters and Wine at 2 A.M. by Polk Miller & his Old South Quartet from American Pop Vol. 4: From Minstrel To Mojo
Some of Thomas Edison's early records he produced for his magical machine he invented in 1877 were of Polk Miller and his Old South Quartet.

Tune: Watermelon Party (1910) is another Polk Miller and his Old South Boys Quartet songs that comes from Thomas Edison's record crate. Listen to more at The Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project of UC Santa Barbara

Es Cendol

We went to the Indonesian Day festival in Union Square in San Francisco this weekend to try some Indonesian treats and to check out the gamelan performance. It was a hot day in the city, so I cooled off with an interesting beverage from one of the stands. Es cendol is a popular dessert/ beverage in Southeast Asia. It is an iced beverage made from gula melaka (coconut palm sugar), coconut and jelly. "Es" refers to the ice and "cendol" refers to the coconut, palm sugar, and pandan jelly dessert. My es cendol was extremely sweet and also quite salty. It tasted like brown sugar, salt, and coconut milk.I would love this drink if I were able to customize it to my preferences. More coconut, and less salt and sugar. I loved the green jelies that floated in the drink. Our pal Pushkin, who lived in Singapore for many years, told us that in Singapore es cendol is often served in a bowl, rather than in a cup with a straw.

There were lots of colorful Indonesian sweets and plenty of stalls with unique food that I have never tried before but I had just finished a "chupacabra" (scrambled eggs, chorizo, black beans, and green salsa) down the street at Canteen
Tune: Nasib Muara Kuang by Shahilin & Siti Rohamah from Music of Indonesia, Vol. 20: Indonesian Guitars Sahilin is a blind guitarist who is accompanied by siti Rohamah on vocals. They have been playing together at parties and festivals for over thirty years.
Tune: Langgam Di Bawah means By the Light of the Full Moon and is performed by Orkes Kroncong Mutiara, a Jakarta string band who use an electric hawaiian guitar, ukalele, banjo, flute, cello, and other instruments on this song. This is also from Music of Indonesia, Vol. 20: Indonesian Guitars


Tune: Hidup DI Bui, which translates to Life in Jail by Gambang Kromong Slendang is sung in the Betawi language. Find this song on Shithsonian Global Sound recording Music of Indonesia, Vol. 2: Indonesian Popular Music: Kroncong, Dangdut, and Langgam Jawa
Tune: Grup Bamba Puang by Los Quin Tallu-Tallu from The Rough Guide To The Music Of Indonesia

Hands on Dessert

Almond cake with almond praline, orange soda sabayon, and summer berry compote.
sugar spirals
This is one of the creations that Hands on Gourmet participants are making for dessert this summer.

Tune: Sugar Baby by Dock Boggs from the b side of the Down South Blues record from 1927. Find it on his Country Blues (1927-1929): Complete Early Recordings CD.

*pictures courtesey of The Food Diva

Persian Gazpacho

Cucumbers from at the San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmers Market























We found some Persian cucumbers at Berkeley Bowl on a hot day, so we decided to use them in a chilled soup. I was inspired by Chef Sean's bright green cucumber soup with mint at Citizen Cake last week.
Sour Persian grapes
What a wonderful way to add a little sour tartness to our soup.
We processed 6 cucumbers with a clove of garlic, 1/2 a bunch of mint, a quarter of an onion, a small piece of green chile and some ice water and extra virgen olive oil. We also snuck in a few sprigs of cilantro.


Persian cucumbers and sour grapes work well together like the zarb and the tar.
Zarb is a drum and is sometimes called the dombak. Tar is a long necked lute.

Tune: Persian Tar and Zarb recital by Daryoush Tala'i & Djamchid Chemirani. Buy it Here

Tune: Persian Market by The Climax JB Dixieland Band

Panwallas and Guitarwallas

Paanwala in Cochi, Kerala
Paanwalas selling their special custom made paan masalas wrapped in betel leaf, which they call tambula.
A mobile paanwala at Sasoon Docks, Mumbai, 3AM. The betel nut is one of the many ingredients found wrapped in the paan leaf. It comes from the Areca catechu palm and is not related to the betel leaf, it is only called betel nut because it is often found wrapped in the betel leaf, it is also called the areca nut. Areca nuts are sold in Indian markets either whole, which look like whole nutmeg, sliced into thin discs, or sliced into thin strips. Rose jam, coconut, cardamom, sometimes tobacco, chuna (lime stone paste), katha (an extract made from boiling the bark of the catechu tree), clove, anise, fennel, sof (anise candy), mini candied fruit, tiny candied cherries, are all ingredients that can be found in the paanwalas' masala. The paan masala is folded into neat shapes like pyramids or cylinders and often adorned with silver leaf and festive colorful garnishes. When chewed, the katha, dyes the entire mouth a bright red color, and creates a blood colored spit. Many paan chewers have permanently stained red teeth and the streets of all Indian towns have red paan stains on that polka-dot the ground. Areca nut is a mild stimulant. In India most of the paanwalas have long curly mustaches and extravagant cases for all of the paan ingredients.
In Taiwan the paanwalas are mostly half naked hoochie mamas called betel nut beauties.
In the SF Bay area, paan leaves can be found occasionally at Berkeley Bowl and most of the paan masala fixins can be found at Viks in Berkeley.

Tune: Maha Shakti by Debashish Bhattacharya from his Calcutta Slide Guitar 3 album.
I picked up this gem of a CD at Aquarius Records on Valencia St. in San Francisco. Debashish Bhattacharya has created his own Indian version of the hawaiian lap slide guitar. Very beautiful.

Tune: Langgam Schoon by Orkes Kroncong Mutiara feat. Emi Manday This song has an earie sound that uses a ukalele to accompany a Hawaiian slide guitar with Miss Manday's haunting voice singing a melody that sounds like she is longing for her lover to come back home from the sea. Beautiful touches of flute, strings and banjo in all the right places. This song is featured on the Smithsonian Global Sound compilation Music of Indonesia, Vol. 2: Indonesian Popular Music: Kroncong, Dangdut, and Langgam Jawa

Tune: MoDjang Priangan by The Steps from their instrumental record Krontjong Warna-Warni
I also found this CD at Aquarius Records

Tune: Gambang Semarang also by The Steps from the Krontjong Warna-Warni CD


Tune: Kemayoran by Grup Bamba Puang has a beautiful drop tune guitar that is finger-picked while two singers trade off spontaneous verses of outcaste and sorrow. This is another song from the Smithsonian Global Sound team from the Music of Indonesia, Vol. 20: Indonesian Guitars compilation.

Tune: Sungguh Terpaksa by La Podding and La Momma has a lively, twangy guitar like sound that seems psychadelic and joyful. This sound comes from a kacopi that La Podding hooked up to an amplifier. The song is a sarcastic comment on modern urban culture in Indonesia comming from a "rural" perspective in the form of a remake of a popular song, according to the folks at Smithsonian Global Sound. You also can find this song on their amazing Music of Indonesia 20:Indonesian Guitars compilation.

Tune: In The Garden by Sonny Treadway on the Sacred Steel album from the Arhoolie record catalog.
This is Florida Gospel music played on the pedal steel guitar.

Tune: Forgot the Title by Jesse Garon and Pedal Steel Transmission
More pedal steel from some Chicago heavyweights. This is classic PST material. I forgot the name of the song, but I'll never forget how sweet it is when Gary P sings the second verse of this space cowboy anthem. It's like a real guy with real soul. They are on to bigger and better things today as they have metamorphasized into Hummingbiird. But this is a great example of soulful pedal steel guitar. Check out how it falls into space after a few verses and the guitars are set free from the song that holds them back. It's like the transition from the conventional song of PST to the free song of Hummingbiird. Danny S and Gary P tore it up back then, imagine what "space is the place" shinnanigans they are up to today.... or better yet, check out what they are doing today at Cardboard Sangria Records And get hip to The Singleman Affair before he blows up internationally. You don't know? ...now ya know.

Tune: Kareta Malam by Elvy Sukaesih from The Rough Guide to the Music of Indonesia is a rolling pop jam that has the playfulness of a Bollywood hit.

Tune: Aloha oe (1915) by William Smith and Walter K. Kolomoku is an early example of origional Hawaiian guitar from the crates of Thomas Edison

Tune: Stambul Lamba by Gambang Kromong Slendang Betawi This song also has a Hawaiian feel. It sounds like a pedal steel guitar, but there are no credits for most of the instruments. But since this is Gambang Kromong there is the gambang (xylophone) and the kromong (a set of kettle-gongs on a rack). Check out the brass section and the other interesting instruments. The tehyan, the kongahyan, and the sukong are Chinese string instruments that harmonize and dance together here with the horns and percussion to create a fun song. This tune is on Music of Indonesia, Vol. 3: Music from the Outskirts of Jakarta: Gambang Kromong


Street musician in the Civic center BART Station, San Francisco

There is a documentary film that will premier in Singapore next week about Gambang Kromong called Dragons Beget Dragons. Hopefully it will make it to other cities around the world.

We are still waiting for Slingshot to come out.

Out in the Streets

Street snacks, IndiaStreet chef, MumbaiMusical score soon come.


Tune: Out In the Streets Again by Etta james