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My mom always had a huge stack of tortillas, but there were fourteen of us. So we had to grab one quick, or they were gone. She always had a big pot of beans, another of red chile and a big pan of fried potatoes. That’s basically all we ate. Robert Abeyta, Sr.

• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup warm water

1. Stir together dry ingredients in large mixing bowl.
2. Blend in oil until mixture resembles cornmeal.
3. Add 1/2 cup water and mix until dough can be gathered into a ball; add more water if needed.

from localflavor magazine

This was handed down from my grandmother. When there was bread left over, my mom would dry it up. She wouldn’t throw it away. She would save it in the refrigerator until she had enough. It was easy to make and cheap. And my dad used to make it after my mom died. Marcella Abeyta

• 6 slices of bread, toasted and cut into one inch pieces
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans)
• 1/2 to 2/3 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
• 2 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons butter

1. Boil water, brown sugar and cinnamon for about three minutes.

from localflavor magazine

The food seemed simple, and we ate it a lot. We couldn’t afford a lot more. At the time, it seemed like the same thing all the time. But it’s funny, now it’s become the comfort food that we think of when we think of home. Raymond Abeyta

• 1--16 oz. can Mexican stewed tomatoes
• 2--8 oz. cans tomato sauce
• 12 chile piquins
• 1 teaspoon garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon ground oregano
• ¼ cup seedless raisins 1 cup brown sugar
• Dash of Salt
• 1 bunch diced green onions
• 1 1/2 cups diced green chile

1. Puree all ingredients except green onions and green chile
2. Add onions and chile. Serve with tortilla chips.

from localflavor magazine

I remember having a discussion about chile before I married into the Abeyta family. I thought I’d had chile, but it was the kind that had meat and beans, the canned type. Stuff from the Midwest. I had no idea what was meant when I was asked if I liked red or green. By the way, I love them both. Deborah Abeyta

• Three pounds pork meat

• twelve dried chile pods
• three cups water
• 1 teaspoon garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• Dash cumin

1. Cut about twelve dried chile pods open and remove stems and seeds; rinse. Boil pods in three cups water for two minutes. Place chile and water in...

from localflavor magazine

My grandma and my mom used to make Natillas. Everybody had milk in those days, and it didn’t take that much sugar. Besides, almost everybody had chickens for the eggs. So it was the best dessert we could make with a few ingredients. Marcella Abeyta

• 2 cups whole milk
• 2 eggs, separated
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 tablespoons flour
• Cinnamon

1. Dissolve flour in 1 cup milk.
2. Bring milk, egg yolks, sugar and vanilla to a boil over low heat, stirring constantly.
3. Beat egg whites and fold into mixture.
4. Chill.
5. Sprinkle with cinnamon before serving.

from localflavor magazine

• 4 packages active dry yeast
• 2 cups warm water
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 12 tablespoons sugar
• 4 large cans evaporated milk
• 4 teaspoons salt
• 8 tablespoons salad oil
• 16 to 18 cups all purpose flour

1. Dissolve yeast in water, blend in ginger and 4 tablespoons of the sugar. Let stand until bubbly.
2. Let stand until bubbly.
3. Stir in remaining ingredients, except flour.
4. Add flour two cups at a time. The dough should be too sticky to knead.
5. Place the batter in 8 well-greased 1-pound tin coffee cans. Let dough rise until it is about one inch over the top of the cans.

from localflavor magazine

• 1 vertical roaster
• 3 to 4 pound whole chicken fryer ( or 20 to 22 pound turkey)
• 1 1/2 cups olive oil
• 2 fresh lemons, juiced
• 4 fresh sprigs of thyme
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled and slightly crushed
• 6 cups chicken stock or water
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

• For a chicken, remove the wrapped innards that may be in the cavity of the bird and reserve for another use. Wash the bird well inside and out. Pat dry with a paper towel and in a large non-reactive bowl, marinate the chicken for at least 4 hours, refrigerated. Season the oil and lemon mixture with...

from localflavor magazine

Eleven years ago, Santa Fe music teacher and artist Valdez Abeyta y Valdez discovered three flats of adobes at her front door. They’d been left by her father, salvaged from a wall her grandfather had built over 100 years ago. The decision to build an horno with the adobes did not come lightly.

“I’d never built a horno before and got really nervous about placing the last brick. It’s like the keystone of a Roman arch, holding all the other bricks together,” she says.

Abeyta y Valdez replasters the oven each fall in mid to late October with earth she gathers from around the state. This year,...

Wednesday, November 1, 2006
by Kelly Koepke • localflavor magazine