As cooler weather settles in, look for October farmers’ markets to bring more foods that enjoy a light frost like chard, spinach, kale and winter squash. Salad greens should still be plentiful, along with carrots, beets, potatoes, turnips, Jerusalem artichokes and the last of the season’s fresh chile. Many markets…

Sun jewel melons, cantaloupes, heirloom tomatoes, fingerling potatoes, kale, rainbow chard, garlic, crookneck squash, bell peppers, eggs and cheese. Some foods you recognize right away; others you have to ask about. This is only a small slice of the amazing local foods found at the Albuquerque Downtown Growers’ Market in…

Pesto is a quick, easy summer dish. The best-known type of pesto in this country is pesto genovese, featuring fresh basil, pine nuts, garlic, olive oil and Parmigiano Reggiano. But that is just the beginning. Shopping at my local growers’ market this time of year reminds me of a favorite…

Mint from the growers market has many people thinking of cool, refreshing mojitos. Maybe it was the story about Ernest Hemingway’s mojitos that Paul and Barb Prior of Gourmet Gardens told me. Or maybe it was the memory of adding fresh mint to tea last summer. Something inspired my impulsive…

This week I got to the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market in time to get fresh peas. You see, last week when I met Ramon Corona at his market table on a Tuesday morning, early shoppers had already scooped up the prize. But pea season is officially here now, and Corona…

One of the most challenging aspects of preparing great food every day is finding the time. Like all worthy endeavors, it seems we could always use more time for menu planning, grocery shopping, food prep and cooking. We can ready ourselves for a busy week by over-cooking on the weekend…

Radish so red, radish so red Plucked from the heart of your warm little bed Sprinkle some salt on top of your head Delicious! — From “The Reluctant Dragon,” by Kenneth Grahame, 1898 To eat or not to eat? That is the question I regularly ask myself when I see…