Fray Francisco Atanasio Domínguez Award from the Historical Society of New Mexico New Mexico-Arizona Book Award Finalist in History For much of the twentieth century, modernization did not simply radiate from cities into the hinterlands; rather, the broad project of modernity, and resistance to it, has often originated in farm fields, at agricultural festivals, and in agrarian stories. In New Mexico no crops have defined the people and their landscape in the industrial era more than apples, cotton, and chiles. In Fruit, Fiber, and Fire William R. Carleton explores the industrialization of apples, cotton, and chiles to show how agriculture has affected the culture of twentieth-century New Mexico. The physical origins, the shifting cultural meanings, and the environmental and market requirements of these three iconic plants all broadly point to the convergence in New Mexico of larger regions--the Mexican North, the American Northeast, and the American South--and the convergence of diverse regional attitudes toward industry in agriculture. Through the local stories that represent lives filled with meaningful struggles, lessons, and successes, along with the systems of knowledge in our recent agricultural past, Carleton provides a history of the broader culture of farmers and farmworkers. In the process, seemingly mere marginalia--a farmworker's meal, a small orchard's advertisement campaign, or a long-gone chile seed--add up to an agricultural past with diverse cultural influences, many possible futures, and competing visions of how to feed and clothe ourselves that remain relevant as we continue to reimagine the crops of our future.

Photos by Dorthea Lange and other FSA photographers whose names are less familiar. Focus is on agricultural communities, settlers fleeing the Dust Bowl, the classic Pie Town series, and various New Mexico villages. Further high-grade ore from the mine of 270,000 negatives now held by the Library of Congress. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

If you think New Mexico cooking is all about burritos and enchiladas, you’re in for a surprise! Long before eating “farm to table” was de rigeur, New Mexico’s small farms and ranches provided its families and communities with homegrown vegetables, fruit, milk, meat, and eggs. The state’s traditional cuisine, a mixture of Indian, Spanish, and Mexican flavors, is unique. Now you can learn its secrets and make its signature dishes wherever you call home. Interspersed with recipes for preparing New Mexico’s distinctive bounty—its honey, pistachios, lavender, sweet peas, garlic, corn, lamb, beef, buffalo, goat cheese, apples, and pears, as well as its famous chiles—are profiles of its best food producers and purveyors. Learn the foodways of family farms and ranches, mom-and-pop cafes, and spirited restaurants, and meet the people who love preparing and presenting this nourishing and delightful cuisine. The New Mexico Farm Table Cookbook passes on to home cooks everywhere the state’s most treasured recipes and techniques and its fresh takes on traditional ingredients; soon you’ll be making the best green chile cheeseburgers, sourdough biscuits, chile rellenos, empanadas, mole, and more with readily accessible ingredients and simple, clear directions. Bring some New Mexico enchantment to your kitchen!