A year in food photos

In 2013 I have eaten at so many places in Las Cruces and taken so many food photos as a food writer for the Sun-News. I have perfected taking food photo porn and am producing mouth-watering photos every week.
Here are my top 10 most beautiful food photos of the year (get hungry!):

 10.

Guacamole burger from Guacamole's.

9.

Ahi tuna from MFive.

8.

Flautas at Los Tios.

7.

 The Monster Burger from the Welcome In Cafe.

6.

Spicy Ramen from Kim-Chi House.

5.

Cheesecake from the Third Floor Bistro.

4. 

Baked Brie at Double Eagle.

3.

Creme brulee from Cafe A Go Go.

2.

Lobster bisque from De La Vega's Pecan Grill & Brewery.

1. 

Pulled pork Ruben sandwich from the Third Floor Bistro.

All photos by Andi Murphy

The weather outside is frightful

As trees shake off the last of their leaves and clouds release snow flakes and rain over Las Cruces, I can't help but crave a good soup that warms and satisfies. I've eaten at a lot of places in town and looked at a lot of menus, so I know of a soup or two that I can call my favorites.

1. I hate to let you down after I announce this soup as my No. 1 best soup in town, but Spicy Ramen soup from Kim-Chi House is to die for. Kim-Chi House closed on Solano Drive, but the owners are in motion to merge with Pho Saigon on El Paseo. I talked to Mama Suki of Kim-Chi House at Pho Saigon lately and she said as soon as she gets the hang of cooking Vietnamese food she will roll out Korean favorites and I hope Spicy Ramen soup is one of them. It's a large bowl of Ramen noodles mixed with spices, beef broth, eggs and a few vegetables. I believe it has kimchi in it, that's why it's so delicious.  It was a total surprise when I ordered this. I can't wait until they start making Korean food at Pho Saigon. I'll let you know as soon as this happens.

The magic of Ramen noodles! Spicy Ramen at Kim-Chi House.

2. Pho is pretty much the best soup in the world. It's always listed on the best foods of the world lists somewhere at the top. Billions of people can't be wrong about pho and I'm glad Las Cruces now has two Vietnamese restaurants (Pho Saigon on El Paseo and A Dong on Lohman Avenue) where pho is being served seven days a week. Pho starts out as a bowl of noodles and raw and thin slices of onion and beef. Once the boiling hot beef broth is poured over it the noodles become soft, the onions release their flavors and the thin cuts of beef are cooked all the way through. The broth has a mixture of Asian spices and it's addictive. It's typically served with fresh lime, jalapeños, cilantro and bean sprouts. It's very filling and satisfying.

This is the Pho Saigon special. It has tripe, tendon and thin-cut beef.

3. Lobster bisque at De La Vega's Pecan Grill was a nice surprise for me. I had asked chef Alfredo Vargas to submit a holiday recipe for Pulse and he submitted one for lobster bisque. He also made it for me so that I could take a photo for the hard copy of Pulse entertainment magazine. And after I took some gorgeous magazine shots, I ate it, bowl and all. It has a very pleasant seafood smell and an even better seafood taste. It's creamy without being too thick or hearty and the bread bowl is just an awesome feature.

Lobster bisque from Pecan Grill.

4.  Green chile wonton soup from Boba Cafe is a hot bowl of pure goodness. I don't know if it's like this all the time, but when I had a bowl of this stuff last time it was extremely hot, like, chile-hot. Now, I don't usually like overly spicy things like that but the flavor was so good I kept going in for more. The soft carrots and juicy wontons were delectable and savory. The fiery chile made my eyes water and nose drip, but it was good. I think I'll go there again today for wonton soup and ask for a little less chile. There is also green chile wonton soup at Cafe A Go Go on north Telshore by Sam's Club, if you're on that side of town.

The green chile chicken wonton soup from Boba Cafe is made fresh and served with a handful of spinach.

5. Chicken waterzooi at Bite of Belgium. They don't make this all the time so you have to call them, 575-527-2483, or like them on Facebook to find out their soup specials of the day. Waterzooi is my favorite because it has a sensuous and strong chicken flavor. It's a little bit creamy, smooth and has a few vegetables and potatoes in the mix. I would say "clean chicken flavor" because the vegetables don't really have a presence until you bit into them. It's extremely warming and comforting.

6. Menudo at just about any Mexican restaurant in town. The picture below is from Old Town Restaurant and this bowl of menudo is pretty delicious. I rarely order menudo — and this was actually my mom's bowl — but I think this was pretty great. I know everyone has their favorite and I'm not trying to change anyone's mind because I'm no expert in menudo. I just really enjoyed this bowl and it's the only photo I have of menudo in my archive. Also, the albogdegas is great at Chachi's. I think anything that comes with a heap of cilantro is the greatest!

 All-you-can-eat menudo (Saturday and Sunday) at Old Town Restaurant is pretty great.

 Albondigas at Chachi's comes with tortillas and a heap of cilantro.

Better than fast food (And it just so happens to be National Food Day. Fitting.)

It's National Food Day (Oct. 24)! It's a celebration of healthy, affordable and sustainable foods. Take some time to think about where all your food comes from and how you can get better at cooking healthy, fresh and by using local ingredients. Food is very important to many aspects of life and you should really learn to appreciate it and not waste it.

I had a sandwich from Schlotzsky's for dinner last night and then a Schlotzsky's salad for lunch. I had coupons so dinner and lunch only cost me $4. As much as I enjoy the ease of picking up dinner quickly and paying so little, I hate times like this when I'm all out of ideas, I don't feel like cooking and I'm too busy and tired to sit at the dinner table. I don't like to see fast food bags in the trash can. I sort of feel like a lazy slob when this happens and it also makes me feel guilty about all the fat and salt I've eaten and taken into my body.

I put together the Fast Food Fast Facts in the monthly Healthy U magazine and it's surprising how many calories and salt fast food has. Most times, single entree items have 60 to 100 percent of your daily sodium allowance, which is around 2,000 milligrams. Schlotzsky's, by far, has the saltiest sandwiches I've ever seen. But when I do Fast Food Fast Facts I often times pair one of the most fattiest items that has the most calories with other items that are much healthier. After doing this for almost two years every month I've finally taken heed and started ordering smart when I do go to fast food restaurants.

(But then there are times when I just want a full Whopper and large fries with a tall Diet Coke. Don't hold it against me, but the Whopper is my favorite burger; not just favorite fast food burger, but my all-time favorite burger from any place, ever. I don't know why, I've had many great burgers from all over the place, but I still crave that Whopper every now and then. Like Tony Stark, if I were held prisoner in a desert and in foreign country for a couple of years, I would like to be greeted with a sack of Whoppers when I get off the plane.)

I'm in a rut; in a place where I have dishes piled to the ceiling, no tasty ideas and no time to make a good meal. I think not being in the mood for anything is the worst. A look in my fridge and cupboards yields no ideas. That's why I end up going to fast food joints. And I don't really hold a grudge against fast food restaurants. They're so convenient and they are everywhere. But I make sure not to get in the habit of regularly visiting them. They're so bad and I can see how burgers and fried chicken can become addicting. Fast food is full of much more sugar and salt that you would normally put in your own food.

I recently watched "600 Pound Dad" and this father was on his way down from 800 to 500 pounds. He had just gotten gastric bypass surgery and was ready to go home. The film crew went to his house and the family was sitting around a meal of cheeseburgers and fries from Wendy's. That was a regular meal for them and the father was going to return to that. It was disgusting and disappointing to see.

I come from the Navajo reservation and a place where the nearest fast food restaurant is one or two hours away. We cooked every meal we ate. If we went into town on the weekend, we would eat some fast food, but that was like a treat for us. And to see normal, American families regularly order fast food pizzas, burgers and fries is kind of mind blowing. They claim it's less expensive, but really, it's not. Growing up poor, McDonald's was a treat for us, not a way to save money. You save money and calories by cooking at home.

Growing up on the reservation, I learned to live without a lot of things. We always made our own because it was either too expensive at the local grocery store or it just wasn't available.

I'm a big advocate for cooking at home and making things from scratch. When I grew up, we didn't bake cookies or bread that came from the tube. Tube pastries were unfathomable. My mom is an excellent cook and she taught me everything I know. She cooked meals for the family every day and when she didn't' cook, my dad would get in the kitchen and turn out something equally delicious.

To me, premade foods were only for rich people who didn't' know how to cook. Fast foods were for rich people who didn't have the time to sit at table. I never developed a taste for premade foods either. They're so salty and rich and not personal at all.

Now that I'm on my own, and I live very close to many fast food restaurants, I make sure to maintain a balance (as in 10 times more home meals than quick, premade, fast food meals). Sometimes I fall off the horse and into these ruts where I have no time and desire to cook. But then I always think back to when I lived on the reservation and we were poor. Cooking with mom was the best and eating a home cooked meal at the table with the family was so warm. I prefer to control my own ingredients, make something personal, put a little love in it and share it with someone who is totally grateful for all your hard work. It's also a lot sexier to see a man in the kitchen, than to have him whip out his credit card to pay for something he didn't make ;)

Eid Celebration

I recently wrote a story on Eid, which took place on Tuesday. It's a Muslim holiday celebrated all over the world, and like Christmas, it includes lots of celebration and food. After talking to local Muslims for my story I was invited to the festivities that took place on Tuesday at the Islamic Center of Las Cruces.

I was excited for this because I heard the foreigners were going to bring special dishes for the occasion. When I say foreigners, I mean people from the Middle East and Asia, which are most of the people who make up the Muslim community in Las Cruces. I also learned that the Eid feast usually consists of pastries and sweet treats, so I knew I had to make a special something . 

I made my special banana bread the night before. I would say the secret is to let the bread sit in the cooling oven for at least an hour after the timer goes off and you turn the oven off. Also, to make it less fattening, I substitute apple sauce for butter.

Once I got to the mosque, or masjid, I was met with a house full of people dressed in their holiday best. I was dressed in nice jeans, a nice sparkly shirt and a cardigan. I immediately felt out of place because my head was not wrapped in a hajib and I was the only one wearing jeans. 

It was not like this when I visited the week before, but since that day was a special day, everyone was dressed in their traditional clothes from their different cultures. I saw men wearing long white robes and I saw women wearing beautiful dresses and their hands painted with henna. This is how I explained it to my mom, "Just like when we have a special holiday or occasion on the reservation, sometimes we wear our traditional Navajo outfits and jewelry. It was like that here. Since it was a special holiday, they wore their traditional outfits." And the kids were wearing these things too. They were so cute, I almost cried. And this is coming from a person who usually feels uneasy around children and tries to stay away from them.

I was on the women's side of the mosque and it was full of chatter, laughing and lots of hugs and kisses. Overhead, through the intercom, a man read a prayer and said some stuff in Arabic, but the room was still full of chatter and noise. When the prayer was done, a women I knew shook my hand and gave me a hug. Everyone did the same and that meant it was time to eat. 

I somehow ended up at the front of the line and had first pick of all the wonderful food that was on the tables. The woman I knew, she had black eyebrows, painted hands and black eyeliner, she led me through the line of food and with a heavy accent told me what everything was. She even pointed at a bag of tortillas and told me they were tortillas. She was a sweet woman. I wish I knew her name and said more, but there was a language barrier there. 

Hummus, falafels, baklava, fried rice, sandwich triangles filled with a savory mixture of potatoes and herbs, hard boiled eggs and mini Snickers every where. Every kind of morning pastry was laid on the table including my banana bread. There were a few things I had never seen before so I scooped them up and tried them. I tried some fluffy, green egg casserol thing that was very good. I tried scrambled eggs with some kind of reddish sauce in it. I had a mushroom stir fry that, when combined with the eggs, was bordering on magical. I had a flat fried bread and some chili beans.

I ate my plate of goodies next to another woman I knew from the article I wrote. We talked about the story and how the last time she was interviewed by a reporter, the story brought about some very nasty comments about her being Muslim and Islam. She said she was a little afraid to talk to me for my story, but she happened to be in the right place at the right time and she turned out to be a great addition to the article. I also told her that I was surprised that there weren't as many negative and hateful comments posted to my story. That's a good thing really.

I also told her the reason why I wanted to do such a story. It's because the only time I read the words "Islam" and "Muslim" in the newspaper is when it's a negative story about bombs and casualties. Many Americans don't know anything about Islam and about who Muslims really are. I see that the same way I see Native Americans in the news. Native issues are under reported and the stories that are written about us are almost always negative. So I know what that feels like to pick up the paper and read an article that's only about the negative aspects of your community. I know that that's not the whole story and there's so much more to us that's never given any ink. And the Muslim community is much bigger than the Native community in the United States, and people still don't understand anything about them. Just like they don't understand anything about Natives. So I wanted to write this story because Natives and Muslims are the same. 

All this at 8:30 in the morning. Around 9, the children were getting antsy and excited. When someone called for the children to meet in the main room on the men's side, they ran, and they were met with balloons and candy. The mothers and women looked on through a one-way mirror and cheered as their sons and daughters received their gift. A door joining the main room and the women's room swung open and closed as excited little ones carried large and small gifts back to their mothers. "Mom! Look what I got!"

Children getting their gifts. There's also a reflection of two women talking in the middle of the picture.

 

listen to ‘Kids getting their gifts on #Eid’ on Audioboo

Eid was a great experience. When I have the chance to go out in to a different community and learn about people, their passions, their hobbies and their way of life, I feel good inside. In that respect, I'm very lucky that I'm a features reporter. 

Solar Cooking

I wrote a story a few months ago about a Solar Cookoff that was held here.I thought it was awesome to cook something using only the power of the sun. I always try my best to save energy and recycle so this was something I wanted to do to save even more energy. We have plenty of sunshine and so it was a perfect project.

I made my own solar oven the next weekend. Two cardboard boxes, newspaper, plexiglass and lots of tape and foil. It took me a day to make this thing and less than $10. I gathered supplies from all over town and had fun using a ruler and math to build something with my own hands. This, coming from a person who works at a desk all day...

It's not pretty but I've made oatmeal cookies, beans and Latin chicken in it. It gets to about 200 degrees, the same temperature as a slow cooker on a low setting. Just recently I made the chicken and it took all day while I was at work, the same as if it were in a slow cooker, but I didn't have to plug it in.

Beans in the solar oven.

I think this thing is great and I feel we are wasting too much of the sun's energy. It's just pounding down on every inch of the Earth and we're not doing much with it. I would have no idea how to do the math, but I didn't use any electricity to make two meals and some cookies. I plan to make more foods in the solar oven. A quick "slow cooker recipes" search brings up so many delicious ideas.

The Latin chicken, by the way, was delicious. It has black beans, red peppers, sweet potatoes, hot salsa, cilantro, lime and a few hearty spices. I served it over rice and it was great. 

The not-so-good

I write a food review every week for Pulse called Delightful Dish. It's for delightful dishes; foods that are good. I don't blast restaurants or say too many negative things. I'm not that kind of a critic. If it's not good I simply don't feature it.

After I wrote about all my personal favorite restaurants, I had to get out there and explore the other 500 restaurants in Las Cruces. I listen to what readers and my coworkers say. They tell me that they love specific items at specific restaurants and then I follow their suggestions. Most of the time they're right and these items are delicious. Then there are the other times that I've been disappointed and unsatisfied.

Here's a list, in no particular order, of restaurants and dishes that I didn't like:

Cafe A Go Go — When I walked in I stood awkwardly for someone to help me but then found a seat away from the door where I was ignored for a long time. When I placed my order for "the best thing on the menu" it took a long time. I sometimes just ask for "the best on the menu" or "the most popular menu item."  When the best thing came out it looked impressive. I believe it was some kind of Southwestern wonton with noodles or something like that. I cut the large thing in half and took a bite of ice cold, spicy stuff. It was gross. The waitress was bragging that it's all made fresh and they make it when you order. But I take a bite of this fried wonton with obviously frozen filling. Not a good mixture. What a lie. They made me the next best thing, which was a stir-fried cashew rice dish, which was very bland and not impressive at all. It tasted like something I can make at home — and I suck at making any kind of Asian food.

Pit Stop Cafe — No wonder this place is going downhill. I wrote a story about this place recently and it's a really cute place. It has that old-time, classic hot rods, rockabilly look to it. The menu is very straight forward; breakfast, Mexican food, burgers, sandwiches and other diner foods. The owner played up the pork tenderloin sandwich saying it's the only one in town and everybody loves it. When that sandwich came to me it was an over-sized, breaded pork tenderloin on a small bun. It was extremely dry and extremely bland. It didn't even taste that 'porky.' I have a feeling it was frozen and heated up because it came to my table really fast and I think a piece of meat that size cooks longer than 5 minutes. My sister ordered the hamburger and it was pretty generic and there was nothing special about it. 

Pullaro's Italian Restaurant — I ate here last fall for the first time. It was the last time. I'm not going to complain about the food. The food was good. I just don't feel comfortable paying $20 for one person to eat here. That's how much my meal was and I was still hungry when I was finished it. I realize homemade sauces take a lot of time to prepare and that noodles take a while to stuff by hand, but charging $20 for a single plate of pasta — and not even that much pasta — is too much.

Main Street Bistro — This place is out of business right now, and it's a shame because it was in a great place; right in the middle of the downtown area. I had the Hawaiian burger when it first opened and was very satisfied. I had my birthday dinner here with my friends and it was disappointing. I ordered the burger and it was good. My friends ordered from the dinner menu and the pasta was absolutely horrible. The green chile chicken Alfredo was drowning in olive oil and the noodles appeared to be old and stale. On top of that, the service was horrible. I also didn't like the look of the restaurant either. It was really dark, and as a result, a really bright white light came through the windows making it hard to see anyone sitting in front of you.

Abraham's — This place is so tacky; wood panel walls and pastel art from a time before I was born. I had green chile enchiladas and they were horrible. They tasted like enchiladas from northern New Mexico, which is why I grew up hating Mexican food in northern New Mexico. They were too spicy and the sauce was just lackluster and tasteless besides really spicy. The burger was average, I can't complain about any burger, it's impossible to mess it up. The view... This restaurant is the highest restaurant in Las Cruces. You would think it faces the Organ Mountains and that the view would be impressive. No. It's an ugly view through dirty windows of a neighboring abandoned building and the ugly roof tops of other office buildings. There's also a really creepy cartoon character on the menu. It's a skinny lion wearing a coat and no pants with a perverted smirk on his face.

And there are a few things that some restaurants do that gets under my skin:
• I hate it when they post crappy, greasy and blurry photos on their Facebook pages.
• I hate cloth napkins that are so starchy, they don't pick up grease or sauce from your fingers.
• I hate really low light.
• I hate it when they install TVs and they're always tuned to sweaty, bloody sports (my boyfriend will forget I exist if there's a TV with sports on).
• I hate it when they say they have the best such-and-such in town because most likely they don't — because mostly likely they haven't eaten at every restaurant that serves this item.
• I hate restaurants that are too full of themselves (La Posta and Double Eagle. One is famous for what? The other is way too expensive to even look at. Yeah. I don't like fancy restaurants that cost $60 per person. If I won the lottery, I still wouldn't like these kinds of restaurants.).
• I don't appreciate it when restaurants don't have vegetarian options on their menu.
• I hate it when they add bacon to every other item to make it different or special. It's not special, it's gross (sorry, I don't like bacon). Bacon may work for some items but having it sneak into a dish unannounced — that wouldn't normally come with bacon — is off putting.
• I also hate Village Inn, Denny's and IHOP.

I think, generally, the food here in Las Cruces is good. I usually don't have too many complaints and I'm definitely not a picky eater. I'm pretty laid back and I appreciate the effort people put into cooking a meal for someone they don't know.

Healthier

As part of my job, I visit restaurants all over Las Cruces and I eat many wonderful — and not so healthy — things. I have a passion for food and I absolutely love to cook. This became a problem about a year ago when some of my clothes weren't fitting anymore. There was actually a time when I sat at my desk in pain from the denim digging into my waist.

That was a wake-up call for me. I didn't want to buy bigger clothes. I didn't want to be sweaty and uncomfortable all the time. And I didn't want to have my already high blood pressure to go any higher to where it might cause a real problem.

So I took a step back and looked at all the things I was eating; spaghetti, buttery breads, hamburgers a few times a week, fast food, lots of meats and lots of eating out. It's kind of a lot.

I already know all about diabetes and heart problems because I've written on those topics quite extensively for Healthy U magazine. I know what causes it and I know what doctors say to prevent it, but I never listened. I did cut down on a lot of sugars because a member of my family recently was diagnosed with diabetes. But I was still eating out a lot and gaining weight.

I changed some things over the year.

First, I stopped eating out a lot. I've eaten at almost every restaurant in Las Cruces and I should've been content with that, but I wasn't. Now I only eat out when I go somewhere to write about it.

Here are a few healthy favorites from local restaurants:

 A vegetarian platter from Santorini. Is has spicy tzatziki and humus, veggies and spanikopitas.

Black bean burger and house salad at Spirit Winds. This burger is unbelievable! Really. Try it.

Fillete al ajillo from Delicias Cafe. It's fish with garlic-chile dipping oil, steamed veggies and a feta cheese-spinach salad. 

 Chicken wonton soup from Boba Cafe. I heard that hot chile raises your metabolism. This spicy bowl should make your metabolism sky rocket. It's really hot, but it's really good.

Then, I started eating egg whites only. I also eat a lot more oatmeal in the mornings and buying more fresh produce. This means I eat a lot of seasonal foods and find recipes that include these foods.

Portion sizes! I know what portion sizes are. We all do. Sometimes they're so ridiculously small it makes me mad to think about it. But I've been abiding by these rules, mostly (...trying to). And to do this I add more variety of foods. For instance: at lunch I bring to work a large salad and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a cup of milk (you cannot have PB&J without milk. I tried. And the next day I brought milk). The salad is a filling lunch by itself so I have the PB&J for a snack as the workday winds down so then I'm not too hungry when dinner time comes around. And then dinner might include a small salad, lots of cooked squash, half a cup of white rice and marinated Cuban pork. It's filling, especially with a tall glass of iced tea.

To help me with portion sizes and calculating calories, I have signed up for Myfitnesspal.com. It has been extremely helpful lately because I now realize just how many calories are in some foods. 400 calories in my PB&J! So sometimes I make a half a sandwich instead. Only 17 calories in a fistful of carrots. I eat those with hummus instead of crackers or pita bread. It's like a game to me.

Exercising has become a daily habit in my life as well. I try to make it to the gym six times a week. Lately I hit a plateau and I keep telling myself that muscle weighs more than fat. I broke away from that, though, and have been losing one pound per week for the last three weeks.

These habits and changes were implemented into my life slowly. It is a lifestyle change. Before, I hated to get on the scale and I never did. Now I weigh in every week. I didn't pay attention to calories and now I do. I always filled myself and got full when I cooked something good. Now I limit myself, savor it and save some for lunch. I never paid attention to advice from others and now I eat more blueberries because my sister said they're good for you and I don't eat after 8 p.m. because my boyfriend said that's when your metabolism slows down significantly.

I've lost more than 30 pounds since last year and my blood pressure is amazing. It's a slow process, but just think: next year, if I keep this up, I'll lose another 30 pounds. That's 60 pounds! That sounds like a good deal to me. I'm in no hurry to get to the beach (I hate beaches anyways. They smell like dead things and sea creatures release sperm and eggs in it. Ew!). I decided to do it naturally and slowly because fake, powdered shakes sounds disgusting and skipping meals is ridiculous.

Asian food

I grew up on the Navajo Nation reservation and in a small town that has a population of about 3,000. There are no restaurants and the food in the city where we did most of our shopping and eating out was not really so good (I say this because food everywhere else is just so much better). My idea of Asian food was the Chinese buffet; fried rice, fried noodles, breaded chicken and sweet sauces galore.

When I moved away, my world changed. When I came to Las Cruces four years ago my idea of food changed too, especially after I started writing about food for the Sun-News. With all the different people suddenly around me, there came different foods; and a whole other world of Asian food.

Exploring all parts of Asia is great. It's not just greasy noodles or fried pork, it's peanuts, squid, raw fish and mind-blowing soup.

Here's a quick tour of Asia right here in Las Cruces:
Japan -- Sushi! I remember the first time I had sushi. It was at a Chinese buffet and I think something was wrong with it (I'm looking at you, Farmington). It was extremely fishy and gross. I spit it out and couldn't see how people could eat that crap. I decided to give it another chance, this time at the Empire Buffet. I heard a lot of good things about it and I saw how popular it was. I started with the California roll and it was fine. It was great! Over time, I got bolder and tried nigiri and temaki sushi with all kinds of large pieces of raw fish at Tokyo Sushi and Katana. I think I want sushi for lunch...

 The Las Cruces roll at Katana has a whole chile relleno in it!

Korea -- Kim-Chi House is about a year old and, boy, I'm I glad they moved in. It's where I discovered kimchi, a fermented vegetable side dish that I could easily make into my main dish. Kimchi, after all, is one of the worlds best foods. I don't know why I didn't like it when I first tried it. But I came back and tried it again and now it's one of my favorite things. The meats here are great too. They're grilled and marinated in a special, tangy ginger sauce and it usually comes with kimchi, rice and wontons. Even the Ramen noodle soup is one of the best dishes I've had in a while. It's spicy and has vegetables and a mix of other spices that takes a $.15 package of noodles to another level.  Kim-Chi House is one of my favorite restaurants in Las Cruces.

Spicy Ramen at Kim-Chi is awesome! especially with kimchi. 

Thailand -- Thai Delights serves up a great pad Thai noodle dish. The mix of peanuts and special spices is wonderful; so much better than buffet noodles. There used to be a restaurant called Bann Thai -- it's now out of business. I tried it once and wanted to visit again, but it quickly closed. I tried the Pannang Curry there and it blew my mind. It had coconut milk, lemongrass, chile and vegetables. It was one of the best things I ate. And curry remains one of my favorite dishes.

Pad Thai at Thai Delights is great! We ordered it for the office once. 

Vietnam -- Pho Saigon and A Dong restaurants are right on par with each other and you're not going to hear anything different from me. I think Las Cruces needed another Vietnamese restaurant to make more bowls of pho. I remember my first time at Pho Saigon: I tried the egg rolls and was expecting a fried one. They brought me a weird looking spring roll and I was confused. But I gave it a try and I'm hooked. I don't go to a Vietnamese restaurant without starting with spring rolls. 

Spring rolls at A Dong are made with mint.

Asian food is the most complex world cuisine. Ingredients are mixed and cooked in a way that's totally unrecognizable. And that's a good thing. Unlike the buffet, it's so fresh and there's so much variety. I never knew peanuts could be used that way. I never knew fish sauce was that good. I never knew how hot wasabi was. Ginger? I hated it, now I love it. Bean paste, sesame seeds, mint, cilantro, eggs and onions. Even what they describe as a "poor man's dish" is a simple yet an unbelievably tasty meal. I know I'm just commenting on the tip of the ice burg here, but that's the great thing about it: there's still a lot more to explore!

(Gosh, the food in that part of New Mexico, where I grew up, was bad)

So I hardly ever visit the Chinese buffet any more. The last time I went there, it was OK. Now I crave specifics. "I want Korean food today." "I feel like some soup, I want pho."

Photos by Andi Murphy
 

North vs. South: The best Mexican food in New Mexico

Many will agree with me when I say that there is a clear difference between northern New Mexico Mexican food and southern New Mexico Mexican food. And then they'll agree when I say southern New Mexico food is the best.

Growing up in northern New Mexico, I hated Mexican food. I didn't like either of the green or red sauces, I didn't like chile and I always ordered a hamburger when my family and I went to a Mexican restaurant. Nothing was very special for me. (Actually nothing in the Gallup and Farmington area -- where I'm from -- is special to me.) I hated all this stuff because it was always so hot too. Eating Mexican food was painful; it hurt. And I didn't like it.

I seems, to me, that in the northern part of the state, people judge the quality of the dish by how hot the chile is. If it's making your throat bleed and your eyes and nose water, than it's good. That's how it was in my hometown (Crownpoint, N.M.). It was like a tough contest to brag to everyone how hot things are. I always got "it's not even hot" when in fact, it was smouldering hot.

When I moved to Las Cruces as a college student at New Mexico State University in 2008, I saw the light. First, I resisted and never went to Mexican restaurants. Then I tried one place, and then another, and another, and another. I tasted the difference and was satisfied.

The red and green sauces were a lot more flavorful and didn't have such a strong focus on heat. (I'm still a green chile girl. I'm not particular to the roasted red chile sauce yet). The salsas were more flavorful too. It wasn't just tomatoes and fire-hot chile, I could taste the garlic, cilantro and limes for the first time. (Cilantro was another thing I disliked for a long time until I came here). I tasted Muenster cheese for the first time. In northern New Mexico they use cheddar/yellow cheese, which, really, does not go well with everything and is a lot greasier. A whole world of Mexican food items were introduced to me when I moved to the Borderland. Up north, the menu is pretty plain compared to the variety served down here.

And no wonder why. Las Cruces is closer to the border. Restaurant owners come from Mexico and make it their living to cook all this food. This is famous Hatch Green Chile land, this is where we host an annual SalsaFest and The Whole Enchilada Festival. There is a Mexican restaurant on every street corner. Las Cruceans take it seriously here.

I'm addicted to the stuff now. I eat Mexican food every week, sometimes more. My favorite things are street tacos and any fish dish on the menu. I'm also crazy for chips and salsa, even when the chile is hot, it's all very satisfying. (I guess, over these few years, I've built up my chile-heat tolerance too.)

When I'm back home in northern New Mexico I don't bother going to Mexican restaurants except for Delicia's in Albuquerque (they have a restaurant in El Paso and two in Las Cruces). I tried, but once you eat here, nothing else tastes the same. I notice the difference and I prefer the south.

If I ever move away I'm going to miss the food. I'll miss enchiladas from Delicia's and Andele, homemade refried beans at Ranchway, huevos rancheros at El Patron, fish at La Guadalupana, green chile cheeseburgers from El Sombrero and soup from Chachi's. And the chips and salsa from anywhere in town is the best.

I have to give Chachi's another try because I've only had the albondigas there. I also have to try El Jacalito again for the tacos al pastor. Oh, I'm hungry.... for Mexican food!

On the mend

The top two wisdom teeth came out no problem. A third, bottom, one required more expertise and a whole month to heal. The last and most recent one was brutal. The dentist cut, drilled, pulled and stitched a week ago and I'm still bruised and a little swollen. On the first day I didn't eat anything. After that, I have been on a liquid, geriatric diet that bans spicy and crunchy things.

My care givers gave me canned soup, pudding and Jell-O cups, a trifecta of store-bought things I really don't like. I slurped, sipped and swallowed these packaged meals and snacks for a few days and I was grateful for it because it soothed the harsh hunger that ensued my painful ordeal.

I'm still healing. I'm glad this is the last wisdom tooth of mine that has to be dealt with. Just as a precaution — and because I'm still sore and my jaw is still really stiff, I'm still on this liquid diet, but it doesn't come from a can anymore.

Remember my earlier blog about me hating soup? Boy, am I glad I'm over that stage! In this past week I have tried to make the best of my situation and explore some new menu items and make some new soups.

I made egg drop soup for the first time. It was really easy and very tasty. This is a good soup to have if you're mouth is on the mend. Recipe here. I added a little soy sauce to the recipe and used real chicken broth that was left over from some boiled chicken we had the day before.

Our family butchered a sheep for the first time last week before my ordeal. We had mutton steaks, ribs and fried intestines and with some left over meat my mom made mutton stew. I added pieces of frybread to the juice to make it soggy and soft. My mom also made blue corn mush, which is a fine ground blue corn mix, like cream of wheat, that I like to eat with sugar. Others like to eat it with salt.

I went to Chachi's for the first time in Las Cruces and I ordered albondigas, a Mexican soup with meatballs. It was great. Simple vegetable broth with large chunks of carrots, squash and potato with corn. The meatballs were the diamonds in this dish. They had a spice in it that made it very tasty. The limes and cilantro added a perfect accent, a touch of Mexican flavor to remind you that albondigas is a Mexican dish. Ah, anything served with limes and cilantro gets a gold star in my book.

I made aush, an Afghan soup the other day. It's quite simple to make, actually. It's ground beef spiced with coriander, paprika and tomato paste. It's served over noodles in a chicken broth with beans and I added kale for the vitamins. To finish this dish, you add yogurt and lemon. Dried mint is suggested, but I didn't really like that in there. I followed this recipe.

Just because my mouth is healing, doesn't mean there shouldn't be any flavors and variety to my meals. I got tired of canned, watery chicken noodle soup very quick. I need something from China, the Navajo reservation, Mexico and Afghanistan to satisfy me; and I deserve my satisfaction because I went through that pain and that hideous bout of swelling.

 

Next, I think I'll try to perfect a soup I made a few weeks ago. It had chicken, lentils, kale and noodles. It's spiced with turmeric, onions, bay leaves and some other stuff. It was really good and quick to put together (I also made up a turmeric baked chicken recipe that was genius! I need to perfect that one too). I also want to order the new spicy Ramen at Kim-Chi House. I had it a few weeks ago and it was the best twist on Ramen noodles I have ever had. I want to try the fish soup from La Guadalupana, the new Mexican joint in town and find a good clam chowder somewhere. Any suggestions?

And a bonus: I lost five pounds in one week by eating soup and laying around the house watching movies. If I keep it up I'll shed 20 pounds this month, which I need to do. So I will not complain about being hungry all the time. Soup is very healthy and can be really low fat. I find myself making healthier choices since this all happened. I'm eating things that I know will be good for me and good to help me heal. At Chachi's I was going to order an enchilada plate because enchiladas are soft, but I ordered albondigas instead because it was the special and I had never had it before. I can't wait to slurp down dinner. It's leftover aush tonight!

Being a vegetarian was a success!

So US VegWeek 2013 was from April 22 to 28. I took the pledge and I vowed to be a vegetarian for a whole week. 

It was a tasty experience.

On the first day I made spaghetti with no ground beef, asparagus and fresh ciabatta bread. The days after that included veggie sandwiches, cheese enchiladas, cheese pizza, vegetarian qorma, vegetarian Navajo tacos, salads and lots of oatmeal. I did have eggs, cheese and milk.

I had a good plan, which is where most of the success of being a vegetarian is. I would make sure to go shopping and have everything I needed for dinner and lunch. Sometimes this was hard because I think I made more trips to the grocery store for some of this stuff than usual. I had to change my cooking pattern and include a lot of different kinds of vegetables in one plate when usually I have a meat and one or two vegetables on the side. It was a challenge, but it was delicious. I think that's why it wasn't such a huge inconvenience for me. I liked what I was eating every day.

My sister, on the other hand, was miserable for a while — she actually had dreams about steak. She would eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches everyday for lunch, or raid the kitchen for odd ends of melons, cheese, crackers, fist fulls of peanuts and cereal. She would be hungry all the time especially after work when I was cooking. "I think I'm a lot hungrier when I don't have meat," she said.

She didn't plan her meals and she turned into a scavenger during the times I didn't pack leftovers.

We each had to add a day to the week because meat sneaked into one of our meals. So April 29 was the last day being a vegetarian. On April 29 we were at a barbecue place looking to order our favorite steak at Ranchway. Sure enough they ran out of steak, because it's so popular. My sister almost cried and we were both kind of dramatic. I wasn't as devastated as she was, but she got her chunk of beef ribs and I got my cheese enchiladas (which was vegetarian, haha). That was funny. We'll go there again on Saturday.

During this week I think I felt healthier. I certainly didn't get any stomachaches and I didn't feel full for long periods of time. I think I had more energy too. I realized how much meat is involved in everything and how much we take it for granted. We don't give a second thought to the fact that meat comes from living things that had to die. It's like meat has become something other than the flesh of an animal (because that's just gross), it turned into nuggets, sausages and cartoon characters.

I think I will make a personal pledge to cut down on the meat I eat and make sure to stick with Vegetarian Mondays and Wednesdays. Mmm, I have some left over garlic-lemon mayonnaise. I'll make more California grilled veggie sandwiches!

US VegWeek April 22 - 28

I'm taking the pledge to be a vegetarian for US VegWeek! You should join me! It's only one week out of the year and it's going to be tasty.

Like many who will take the pledge, I'm not a vegetarian. But I'm not a meat lover either, so it's going to be easy for me. I also usually try to have at least one to two vegetarian days a week. And on top of that, sometimes breakfast and lunch are naturally vegetarian.

I know there are many types of vegetarians and they each have their own labels. I'm not going to get into that. From April 22 to 28, I'm going to stay away from obvious chunks of meat. No burgers, no chicken, no pork (I don't usually eat pork anyways) and no steaks. No deli meats and no peperoni. I'll still have some milk, a little cheese and a few eggs but other than that, no meat.

I have found a few great recipes and I have a few good ideas:

• I can get a plain cheese pizza from Papa Johns and pair it with a salad. 
• I'll make a vegetarian qorma (Middle Eastern) with potatoes and peppers. Here's a recipe.
• I recently had an Indian taco at the annual American Indian Week finale. I can make a vegetarian Navajo taco without adding the beef to the beans.
• I can make falafels, or eat at International Delights or Santorini's. They're vegetarian and they're delicious!
• I can try to make vegetarian Bibimbap, a Korean dish with kimchi. Here's a recipe.  I could also go to Kim-Chi House and ask for something vegetarian. Smaller, down-to-earth restaurants would do that for you, especially if you're a regular customer.
• A grilled California veggie sandwich with homemade ciabatta bread. Here's a recipe. And here's a video/recipe for easy, delicious, amazing ciabatta bread. I tried it and it was brilliant. 

• I can have cheese enchiladas with rice and beans from my favorite Mexican joint. I can also make these at home. Ooooh, I can have left over beans from the Navajo tacos to eat with cheese enchiladas! Don't you love it when it works out like that?
• Vegetarian spaghetti or Alfredo with broccoli.

See? That's more than seven options for dinner (with leftovers for lunch). It doesn't seem like a challenge anymore because when you plan, you don't end up eating plain rice and carrots.

(And to keep getting my dose of protein I'll be adding lentils, quinoa, beans, nuts and mushrooms to these recipes or at least have them on the side. But like I said, I'll still have cheese, milk and eggs. Maybe I'll make vegetarian week a monthly thing, or an every-two-months thing...)

Here's something I featured in Pulses' Delightful Dish, our weekly entertainment magazine:

See how delicious that looks. And it's vegetarian.

Earth Day, April 22, marks the beginning of US VegWeek and I, an omnivore, am taking the pledge. And I say Italian food is the easiest to eat without meat because it's so flavorful and savory, you don't miss the meat. Lorenzo's has many vegetarian options. First, many of their pastas are meatless and it's always an option to add meat for a few extra bucks. 

Second, they have a line of delicious sandwiches that includes three vegetarian options, including baked eggplant, tomato-basil and "vegetarian."

For their lunch special ($9), you can pick two items out of select half sandwiches, side salads, side pastas and soups. I chose the baked eggplant and spaghetti con sugo (no-meat sauce).

It came pretty quick, just after I finished the complimentary appetizer of house Sicilian bread, which was great. They use Sicilian bread for their sandwiches, too, and it was the bed for a large slice of eggplant covered with a little tomato sauce and lots of melted mozzarella cheese. It was a little messy, but it had great flavors — a roasted vegetable background with savory bread and a slightly sweet sauce. The small bowl of pasta was fresh with a bright, savory tomato sauce and perfectly cooked spaghetti. 

All-in-all, it was a filling and satisfying lunch. My next Delightful Dish will be vegetarian too. Any suggestions?

Lorenzo's, 1752 E. University Ave., is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday and Monday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Friday  and Saturday. Info: 575-525-3170. Learn more about US VegWeek and take the pledge at usvegweek.com.

The Middle East!

I know it’s kind of impossible to find Middle Eastern food in Las Cruces. Our Mexican restaurants are a dime a dozen, but there seems to be very little room for anything else — or at least everything else comes and goes rather quickly. And if anything is labeled as being Middle Eastern, it usually includes a falafel and a gyro, which is not even scratching the surface of what Middle Eastern food is.

More than two years ago I moved in with my boyfriend — who is Afghan — and my idea of food and flavor was blown to bits. That’s when I became a “foodie” and a lover of good food from all over the world.

I had no idea what that side of the world was about, until I had a feast at his house. Korma, samosas, chutney, bolani, aush, na’an, kabobs, qabili palao, yogurt, mint, lemon juice (see a description of these foods at the end). My goodness, it was the best I ever had.

Before that, he always “bragged” about how good home cooking was and how much time was spent on making one dish, particularly palao. “We are the scientists of rice,” he says. After that first meal and tasting what he had to make for dinner, I was hooked.

Over some time, the spice rack at home grew to include jars of coriander, curry, turmeric, dill, cumin and paprika. I buy large jars of minced garlic, we have pounds of basmati rice, mung beans, lentils, lots of chicken breasts, plain yogurt is always in stock and there’s no shortage of onions. On any night I can make chicken korma (which is my absolute favorite) or my special, signature, Frankenstein-version of aush, a hearty bean soup with noodles and ground beef (sometimes he doesn’t tell me what I’m doing wrong). See recipe below!!!!

Samosas with a quick yogurt-dill dipping sauce.

Chicken korma and bolani.

Chicken and pea korma over basmati rice with yogurt.

I’m just scratching the surface of Afghan cuisine and I will not say I know everything about it. Clearly, there is a difference between the cooking styles of Afghanistan and bordering countries. I once got a complicated lecture on how things could easily turn into a Pakistani dish — and I still don’t understand it.

I’m so happy I met my boyfriend. He comes from a county I never thought about and I certainly didn’t know what kind of food they ate. I would have never tasted these wonderful flavors if it weren’t for him and his family. But now I’m hooked. It’s my soul food.

As always my motto is to go out there and try something from another country. If you just give it a chance, you could fall in love with it. Shall I tell you about my experiences with Ethiopian food next time?

Korma — A mix of spices, meat and beans like a chunky gravy on top of rice. It comes in a variety of styles and I like chicken, mung beans and peas.

Samosas and chutney — A mix of mashed potato, leaks and spices inside a few layers of dough. It’s fried and served to dip in chutney, a find blend of walnut, lemon, cilantro, vinegar and yogurt.

Bolani — Similar to a samosa, but bigger and thinner. It’s lightly fried. We use large egg roll wraps for this one.

Aush — A soup made with ground beef and noodles, made separately and served together. It’s topped with yogurt and lemon juice.

Na’an — A kind of Afghan bread.

Kabobs — Spiced meat — lamb or beef.

Qabili palao (national dish of Afghanistan) — The ultimate rice dish. It’s baked with meat (lamb or chicken), spices, carrots, raisins and cashews.

Yogurt, mint, lemon juice — The mustard and ketchup-salt and pepper of the Middle East.