I own 9 pairs of shoes. Which is 8 pairs more than many people, and probably 18 pairs less than many others. I live in North America, in the middle of a large, prosperous city, less than an hour from the mecca of North American shopping: Dallas, Texas.
I grew up in Dallas. My 3rd and 4th jobs (age 16 and 18) were at the Galleria mall. I also worked at Collin Creek mall for a stint in between these jobs, as a promotion at one company led me to be a manager at the Plano mall. I had never been to Plano back in those days, no one I knew left North Dallas, why the hell would you?
Things have changed. Dallas has grown into all these little cities and suburbs that have their own identities and corporations and everything you can imagine. It is insane.
But that’s not why I write these words. I do so because I’m a minimalist at heart, and my dream at one point in my life not so long ago was to sell everything, buy a teardrop trailer, and travel the U.S.
We did half of that. Thankfully, we didn’t sell all of our possessions, and looking back, I am so glad we didn’t.
I was way, way lost back then. This was the time I was about to end my stint in corporate America: 2015 and 2016. We bought a teardrop. We took a 2-week road trip through New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming, seeing the most incredible places known to North American soil. (I wrote about that trip here and here.) We decided: we have to do this. We must keep doing this. This country is so incredible.
It is, right? I mean seriously, have y’all been to southern Utah? To northern Arizona? To central and northern New Mexico? Have you seen that land?
Go, now, if not. Go explore our incredible country.
I always thought I would end up in New Mexico. The teardrop trailer would just stop there, happily ever after. Our second big trip in the teardrop was through northwest Texas and southern/central New Mexico: Guadalupe Peak, Carlsbad Caverns, White Sands, and Santa Fe. Those two trips, especially the Yellowstone one, were some of the best times of my life.
Most of the recipes on this blog revolve around the flavors of New Mexico. I am not from there, and so I feel a bit of a fake at times. But that state has my heart, like no other state I’ve ever visited. The colors, the chiles, the spices that’ll make your nose run, the breweries and the chocolatiers and the tortillerias and the panaderias: I love it all.
So all of this to say, more New Mexico recipes to come. I’ve decided to dedicate 2019 to succeeding in some of the recipes I’ve attempted (hello, tortillas and vegan posole) and trying out some I’ve been too intimidated to attempt (looking at you, tamales).
These are the foods that fill my soul.
The cooking side of me is so happy that the “camping” days are over – that I have a fairly decent sized kitchen to work in and I have a few pairs of very comfy sneakers to support me on my all-day recipe attempts.
I know now that I can keep my minimalist ways and still have a spacious home, that I can travel to New Mexico whenever I want: I don’t have to up and move, and that life is way, way better when we’re curious and passionate and following something that sparks us. Back in 2015 and 2016, I didn’t know what to follow. I just knew I didn’t want to be in my skin, in my job, or in my city.
Now I know that my passions don’t have to make money – they can simply be passions. (WHOA, right?) I know that this blog will continue because I’m curious and because people are interested in these recipes, and that doesn’t mean it has to be anything more than it is. It can just be a space without sponsored ads and sponsored content (YAY) and it can focus on the things I love most: cooking new, interesting, and mostly healthy recipes. Putting these said recipes in pottery made by artists who I love and admire. And then sharing these foods with those I love the most.
If I could tell that to my 36 year old self I would have sooo many sleepless nights back. But all those sleepless nights led to this. And this is pretty nice.
My first New Mexican-inspired “dish” of the year: New Mexican hot chocolate! I have attempted a good, thick, spicy hot chocolate recipe for years now and I always come up short. This one is fitting the bill these days! It might not be as good as what you get at Kakawa but for those of us Texans who live too dang far away, it’s the next best thing.
Here’s to curiosity and to re-discovering your passions in 2019,
Jen.
New Mexican Hot Chocolate
Ingredients
- 1 c. almond milk
- 2 tbsp. cocoa powder
- 1 tsp. agave syrup
- 1/4-1/2 tsp. ancho chile powder see note below
- 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp. natural cane sugar optional; see note below
Instructions
- In a small pot, combine all ingredients, and bring to a low simmer, whisking throughout the cooking time. Remove from heat, pour into your favorite mug, and enjoy.