Yerba buena (spearmint) tea has long been used for nausea and indigestion, heartburn, stomachache, and gas.

It's that time of the year not only to start drying and freezing fruit and vegetables, but also to start foraging for remedios, as has been done in northern New Mexico for centuries.

With today's health crisis, many people are turning to medicinal herbs for their health problems. In northern New Mexico this is nothing new, as people have depended on all types of plants, shrubs and trees, including their roots, to take care of whatever ails them.

Usually people who know a lot about medicinal herbs are known as curanderas or médicas. Most of them are women, some of who also double as parteras, or mid-wives. But the best way to keep yourself from having to go to the doctor is to follow the advice of a traditional refrain or saying, "curate en salud," cure yourself while in good health.

This refran or dicho, is simply telling people to take care of their bodies while healthy, and this usually implies having a good diet, plus a good outlook about life.

There are a number of herbs, or remedios, that most people are familiar with, such as oshá, which is considered one of the most popular herbs in New Mexico. Oshá usually grows in the high sierras in elevations of around 10,000 ft. and the plant when seen in the wild resembles a celery plant. It is used in treating colds and lung infections and many people chew the root to cure sore throats. It can also be used as a skin cleanser. When I was growing up I remember my mother always made sure we had oshá root when we went for firewood in mountains because it's supposed to ward off rattlesnakes. And some people even carry the oshá root as a charm to keep off witches. It is also said that Pueblo people used oshá to put it in their acequias to stop cutworms and other bugs from forming. Maybe that's why today you can also find oshá in some acequia banks.   

Above (left): Manzanilla (chamomile) flowers, consumed as a tea, assists with sleep disorders. Plumajillo (yarrow), has traditionally been used for wounds as it helps to stop bleeding, along with many other uses.

Another common remedio that is usually grown in gardens is manzanilla or chamomile. When someone usually can't sleep, they are prescribed a cup of tea before bedtime. It is good for treating stomachaches and to treat head colds, flu symptoms, and helps reduce fevers. It can also relieve aching joints and many people use it to wash their hair.  

Today most people don't recognize the plants outside their doors and many medicinal plants are simply treated as weeds, and thus seen as of no value.  

Almost everywhere one can see the rosa de Castilla, wild rose, especially along the banks of the acequias. Not only are the rose hips used to make jam, but the leaves and flowers can be used as eyewash or made into a strong tea for treating sore throats. The petals are also used to reduce fevers, especially in children.

In my property, and almost everywhere, we meet up with what, to me, is a very sculptural plant, especially after it dries in the fall, mullein or punchón. The leaves can be smoked for breathing difficulties such as asthma. Or, it can be made into tea to treat bronchitis and the tiny yellow flowers can be infused in oil and used to treat earaches.  

Most of the time we are surrounded by the different remedios but since we are so removed from nature we don't see them. Usually where there is punchón one will also find cottonwoods; or up in the high sierras aspens. Both yield many medicinal applications. A tea made from the leaves was used as a spring tonic and blood purifier; the bark when boiled and drunk help to reduce fever. Both aspens and cottonwoods are poplars, which are in the willow family, and yield salicin type chemicals, the precursor to aspirin.

The flowers of the chamiso blanco or rabbitbrush yield a rich yellow dye, and were used as a tea to break fevers through sweating. A strong tea was used in the bath to reduce the pain and swelling of arthritis.

A lot of these plants and trees were found in the commons of the land grants, either in the dehesas (llanos), montes or sierras. Some were used for medicinal purposes and others for food, such as chimajá, wild parsley, found in the llanos of Ohkay Owingeh-Alcalde, as well as the Pojoaque-Cuyamungue area in the spring.

Also found usually on the side of the arroyos at around 6,500 ft. elevation is the encino de la hoja ancha or Gambel's Oak/Scrub Oak. The branches are boiled and the liquid used to treat gum inflammation, scratches and abrasions. The bark was used much like quinine to treat recurring fevers.  

The sabina or Rocky Mountain Juniper have been used to protect against negative influences of all kinds. The needles were made into a tea to reduce fevers and deal with urinary tract infections. The berries were added to flavor alcohol and used as a digestive bitters.

The piñon tree is mostly associated with its pine nuts which are eaten roasted and are a delicacy for us nuevomexicanos. Along with carne seca, there is no better trail mix. Of all firewood, the preferred is the dried piñon wood. In the past the needles have been steeped and drunk to treat syphilis, and the sap - trementina - has been used to draw splinters, as a varnish ingredient, waterproofer, a dye and as an adhesive when grafting trees.

Also growing wild in meadows in the sierra is poleo, or wild mint, which also grows along streams and acequias. It is used as a stomach anesthetic and for indigestion. It's primo is yerba buena, or spearmint, which has a strong, cleansing and uplifting scent and the aroma is used to sharpen the senses. The tea helps with nausea and indigestion, heartburn, stomachache, and gas. Spearmint is also considered excellent for headaches and women use it for menstrual cramps.

Another plant that is widely used by the nuevomexicanos is the oregano de la sierra, which is as an antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal and is also used for cooking. Probably one of the most sought after remedios, which can even be found along highways, is cota or Indian tea. Not only is it a flavorful but it is also used as a diuretic, kidney cleanser and to control blood-sugar levels.

These are only a few of the remedios that can be found around the house, acequia, monte and sierra and all contributed to what people call "una vida buen, sana y alegre," a good, healthy and joyful life.

In early September, Elena Arellano's red chile took 1st place overall at the Dixon Cook-off.

Similar to other regions, the autumn season in northern New Mexico is marked with changing colors and cooler weather, providing us with a welcomed reprieve from the summer's heat, especially this year. The plants and trees are retiring for the season, and soon enough will yield to the winter. Food traditions are alive and well in the fall and if we're prepared, some of us have preserved much of our harvest for future consumption in the forms of drying, canning, or freezing.  

Our communities still rely on the traditional foods and dishes of northern New Mexico to fill their plates. From calabacitas to tamales, we covet them all. Elena Arellano is no exception and when it comes to food, her skills are well-known and highly regarded in and around her community of Embudo, NM.  

She remembers growing up nearby in Cañoncito, "Since I was little I remember helping out on the farm. I always liked to help outside more than in the kitchen, but I was expected to help with dinner when I came home from school," suggesting that her culinary skills didn't really blossom until later in life. "When I got married I started experimenting more. It was interesting to me to try different foods and recipes," she said, "but we still eat a lot of traditional foods like quelites and verdolagas."

Elena's culinary evolution stemmed from her creative side. She said she's always been interested in art and photography and it fueled her food endeavors. "The color and texture of food was very important to me," she said, "If it doesn't look pretty it's not going to taste as good." She has taken on catering opportunities throughout the years, but nowadays only caters occasionally and prefers small events. "The larger you get the less creative you can be," she said.

Like many of us, one of Elena's favorite traditional food is tamales. She's working with her local co-op in Dixon to organize a workshop there this fall, where she'll demonstrate the process of making tamales. "I'm going to show them how to prepare the masa, and how to wash the hojas (corn husks), and how to cook the meat," she said. The workshop will be interactive, allowing participants to both observe and assist with the process.  

Elena asserts that if you're going to prepare tamales, you better do it right. "A lot of people take short cuts in ingredients and you can't do that," she says, "You need to use good meat, good chile and good masa with good manteca (lard). I won't spread my tamales until I taste my masa and know that it's good and spreadable."  

Elena realizes the importance of knowing the source of what we eat, especially our youth. "A lot of people have no idea where food comes from. For them, food and supermarket are one and the same," she said. She told me that she often has atole (ground blue corn served as a hot cereal) for breakfast instead of the store-bought cereals. "It's healthy," she says, "It makes me feel good when I drink a cup of atole compared to eating a bowl of Corn Flakes."  

Despite the grave truth about the masses being unaware of the origins of what they consume, our food traditions in New Mexico are, after centuries, still thriving. We eat what we grow, and we love what we eat. Frijoles, posole, chicos, and chile; followed by natillas, bizcochitos, or pastelitos to satisfy the sweet tooth - they're New Mexico's soul foods and we cherish them. Ending on a high note, Elena says, "Anything we can grow here keeps us going."   

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ELENA'S GREEN CHILE STEW

Elena Arellano shares her green chile stew recipe with us, which recently won 1st place in the green chile category at the Dixon Cook-off in September. Her recipe was also featured in Saveur magazine in 2001.

INGREDIENTS

1. Roast

chiles, peel and coarsely chop.

2. Heat oil in a large heavy bottomed pot. Generously season beef with salt after it has been cubed. Add meat to pot and cook slowly, stirring often until browned on all sides. Add onions and garlic, cook, stirring frequently until onions are soft, (about 5 minutes). Add 3 cups water scraping any browned bits stuck to pan. Reduce heat to medium, partially cover pot, and simmer until meat is tender when pierced with a fork, about 30 minutes.

3. Add sliced carrots and cut potatoes to pot, reduce heat to medium-low and continue cooking, partially covered, until soft but not mushy (about 20 minutes). Add tomatoes, cumin reserved chiles and salt to taste and simmer for a little bit, (not too much, chile tends to get hotter if boiled) only until meat is tender when pierced with a fork. Adjust seasonings to your liking. Serve with warm homemade tortilla. Enjoy.

It's been a year now that we purchased and set up our heated green-house. In that time there has been a lot to learn and it's worth noting so that one does not repeat mistakes in the future. For example, next time we set up a greenhouse with radiant heat, I would hope we would remember to do so in a different order. This time around we first poured concrete pillars and placed anchor bolts at the point where each greenhouse purling would connect to an anchor. Then approximately 18" of dirt was removed where the greenhouse would be situated. Then 2" rigid foam insulation was placed around the entire perimeter. The mistake was in the next step: the greenhouse was first assembled and then the dirt inside was replaced manually with a wheel barrow, a very labor intensive mistake. We should have first filled the area with the tractor, then built the greenhouse. However, the Pex tubing for radiant heating along the floor wasn't available in time, so the assembly began before the fill.

In everything that we do, there are lessons learned. Whether we use the lesson is up to us, but sometimes remembering the details when you're about to repeat a process is nearly impossible. I tend to forget the details and for that reason, I keep a journal and recommend others do the same. It get's even harder when you try to think back from a year ago, and so much more difficult when remembering back five, ten years or more. Son los años, comadre!

We have kept a careful journal of what we have done over the year that we began our greenhouse project, for several reasons:

1) We hope to improve the production process in the future, expecting this greenhouse will provide cherry tomatoes to support our expansion to year-around production and distribution.  

2) We built the greenhouse from USDA-NRCS (Natural Resource Conservation Service) EQIP funding, and therefore, needed to keep track of invoices and expenses to be able to receive our cost-share reimbursement.  

3) After completion of the greenhouse we had to keep careful record of actual production because our greenhouse cherry tomato production is part of a USDA Western Sustainable Agricultural Research & Education project (Western SARE) to ascertain the profitability of this venture.  

Our project "The Assessment of the Economic Viability of High-Value Greenhouse Production", hopes to calculate the period of time it will take before we see a profit or return on investment. And I can tell you, without having calculated the exact time, I think in roughly two to three years, the cherry tomatoes would pay for the greenhouse kit, the labor to erect the structure, connect the electricity and water, install the heating system, cooling fans, and begin to actually show a profit. However, when you factor in the EQIP grant from USDA, the profit starts much sooner. The great part is that after it pays for itself, it is one more cash-flow stream that we can count on during the winter months when traditionally we've had to rely on farm income. The project brings us one step closer to fulfilling our long-term plan for sustainability.

Over the course of the year, we also learned that we don't like the drop-down sides of the greenhouse. The water fills in the plastic that lay on the floor, and in the end, the plastic gets mucky and there is not much you can do to keep it clean other than remove and replace as needed; but that would be a nuisance. (Note to self: next time, install roll-up sides!) We've learned that when the weather turns cold, the grasshoppers have found our oasis on the farm as well, so we bring out the NoLo Bait, biological grasshopper control. We found a new way to trellis the vines to accommodate more plants per square foot, which means more profit, sooner.

There is much to learn from keeping track of the dates you plant: the lunar cycles, watering sequence, amendments, etc. Sometime, when in the middle of a project, you are too close to the vine to see the field. Many a time, upon later reflection there may be a pattern that you missed in the moment. Those are the gems of knowledge we hope to find as we continue to log and note, the changes in this new bio-region that we have created right here in the heart of the Embudo Valley.

Eremita and Margaret Campos invite you to come and see a demonstration of their greenhouse project, and share in the details of their findings, on Tuesday, October 23, 2012 at 10:00 a.m to 1:00 p.m. For more information and/or driving directions, please e-mail algonativo@cybermesa.com or call (505) 852-0017. For more information on the USDA Western SARE Competitive Grants, please refer to wsare@usu.edu or http://wsare.usu.edu or call (435) 797-2257.

Congreso de las Acequias  

SAVE THE DATE!  

"The New Mexico Centennial: Acequias Past, Present, and Future"

Featuring NM State Engineer, Scott Verhines, as the keynote speaker.  

Saturday, November 17th

The Lodge at Santa Fe  

    Stay up to date on all of our events by visiting www.lascequias.org/calendar or follow us on Facebook  

March 2nd & 3rd, 2013 

Convention Center  

Las Cruces, NM 

Santa Fe County's Sustainable Land Development Code (SLDC) contains detailed regulations to guide future growth and development in the County in accordance with the Sustainable Growth Management Plan (SGMP)   

Public Review 

Series will take place between Wednesday, Sept 26th - Oct 18th in various communities throughout the county.

Click here for a complete schedule of meetings.