We often find that the non-professional local community cookbooks are the best for simple honest regional recipes. You know the kind put together by the local church wives group, junior league or chamber of commerce as a method of fund raising. Check out these. Have you checked out Cafe Pasqual's book as a possible alternative. No experience with it personally. Here is a link that might be useful: Roswell Symphony Cookbook - Savoring the Southwest

Hi Chris Well, thanks for the kind words! I do have to say, in an act of full disclosure, there are a few other kind souls who post here too, who have a much different view on pushing somewhat cold-sensitive / less hardy, or non-native plants and trees in Albuquerque. And I can, while respectfully disagreeing, see where they are coming from, and to be honest, they likely are (as is nearly everyone who posts here!) far more experienced and knowledgeable than a layman like myself. However, having said that, there are several others who post here (or just who live around Albuquerque Metro) who seem to share my enthusiasm for pushing items like palms and cacti, and more than not, at least in my experiences, these plants seem to do pretty darn well (given the proper care, attention, etc.). A very knowledgeable, great poster here who shares most of my viewpoints is cactus_dude. He knows a lot about items like palms and cacti growing around townif you see his posts, youll enjoy them too, like I have. I have learned a lot from them! If you get down to Albuquerque at some point from the Capitol City, offhand I could direct you to at LEAST 50 different locations where palms generally T. Fortuneis (Windmill Palm), Washingtonia Robusta and Filiferas (Mexican Fans and California Fans) are growing in yards or businesses and doing great! Robustas and Filiferas here WILL have their fronds die off and burn in the winters here it is just a fact of life if you want to grow them. However, this does not seem to hurt the trees in our climate permanently, as by March, they are very rapidly starting to sprout off new green fronds like crazy again. With Windmill Palms, they actually depend largely on where they are growing and how big they are. Many, many here (generally bigger and more established ones) actually have no frond damage or burning / browning through the winters at all. In fact, for example, I know of two that are northeast facing (pretty much the worst exposure for palms in our city you could have), freestanding (eg: no walls to protect them) in a yard in the Far Northeast Heights (well east of the "Banana Line" of Eubank west), that never suffer an iota of burning to their fronds in winter, as they have been there for decades and are really well established. Many will say as conventional wisdom "palms are impossible to grow around Albuquerque"however, just going for walks through neighborhoods would indicate that just simply isnt the case. There are just too many large palms around town (admittedly, you do have to look for them) that have been in their yards for a few years (or more) that show that they do actually grow here. You just have to realize, again, that their fronds will burn off for a few months. And, you this is my opinion have to give them some protection in winter. As for your question regarding any fruit the Washingtonias would produce, that is a great question, and one for which I have no answer. I know mine does not, but mine is still very young. The fronds grow like gangbusters in the spring, summer, and fall, but no fruit. I would guess but this is simply a guess that perhaps youd need to go to a warmer place like El Paso to see that from a Washingtonia. But truly, I have no knowledge there unfortunately. But as it relates to your situation in Santa Fe, I think you and I share a very similar attitude! I wouldnt try to grow a palm there, however, for within what is conventional (overly conservative?) plant wisdom in SF, I see no reason not to push up there with care and consideration plants that otherwise might be more suited to a high 6 or a low 7 climate zone! As you have observed, some folks would be amazed at what items are able to grow and do well in the very high desert climate of SF! I keep using Albuquerque examples (sorry), but conventional wisdom would state that there is no way a saguaro would ever make it through even one Albuquerque winter. However, folks on this forum directed me to a very tall saguaro in the South Valley of Albuquerque that has been there for years. So again, when it comes to pushingwhy not try it? You enjoy the rest of your winter tooin the Santa Fe / Albuquerque corridor the last few weeks, with temps in the 60s and even 70s, it sure feels like spring is here (knock on wood)! Let us know how things continue to go for you up there!

Wish we had read the reviews before buying this two years ago. Our Quadra Fire Santa Fe stove has been a lemon - it hasn't worked much in the little over two years that we have owned it and has been costly to have repaired. In the last two years we have had to pay to replace the igniter, the thermocouple, and the auger motor. Our local dealer will not honor the warranty as it is under new ownership and they "don't have any paperwork". The service fees are ridiculously high. We are currently waiting on the auger motor - told it has been shipped - installation not until December 1st. We only use this to heat two rooms so it is not like the unit is taxed. So, sorry - I cannot recommend the Quadra Fire Stove. Customer service at Quadra Fire just says the dealer shoudl honor the warranty but so far no help getting the local dealer to honor the warranty work. DO NOT BUY this pellet stove.

Thank you for the tip, Sylvia! I hadn't even thought about searching ebay. I really would like to find another pair of these sandals as I love their look, fit and durability. I walked all over SE Asia in them last winter and the winter before and not once did my feet hurt or did I get a blister. Sadly, as much as people wish for peace on earth, I don't think it's in our destiny. People have been fighting among themselves for thousands of years and despite our advances and technology don't show any sign of stopping any time soon. As individuals, we can live as best we can, care for our families and neighbors and take care of our little corners of the world, but there will always be those people who want to stir the pot.