Cooking All Sides

Previously I wrote about red and green chile and my equal aversion to both. Not surprisingly I've been in New Mexico for 12 nights and haven't yet tried either. Except for a green chile and cheddar scone that I found in a quaint bakery walking distance from the casita. I was pretty excited about the idea of eating a baked good with chile to see if I could appreciate the famed green pepper as bread rather than sauce. Unfortunately the scone was under baked and doughy inside, with barely a hint of either green chilies or cheddar.

The most fabulous treat for me in Santa Fe is StudioNia. I've danced in a few places in 11 years of practicing Nia. My introduction was in Colorado Springs at the downtown YMCA with Loretta Milo. I danced through my divorce, I danced when I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis; although sometimes I would writhe in pain, and crawl out of the studio and into the locker room where I would hide and cry in the steam room. I danced the night the Waldo Canyon Fire incinerated 346 house in my neighborhood (but not mine). I cried that night too telling Loretta that Nia was the safest container that has ever held me. I danced through several post divorce, post diagnosis, post fire moves up and down the front range of Colorado. I danced at Miramont in Fort Collins, the Lehman Y in Longmont. I mostly dance at the Littleton Family YMCA and the Buck Recreation Center in south suburban Denver.

And now I have been blessed to not only dance a few times in Santa Fe, but to have participated in the Manifest Yes! workshop with Nia co- founder Debbie Rosas. I won't write too much about the workshop, because I feel that Nia, like poetry needs to be experienced. I will say that the investment I made was very worthwhile. I am in Santa Fe to write, and dancing is always a lovely distraction. I left StudioNia yesterday with a plan of action to achieve my goals in 2018. Nia, to me, is so much more than a diversion. This moving meditation is an inspiration source. Poets and writers need bones and other hearty ingredients to simmer a creative broth. Nia is a delightful addition to my tureen.

Bonus! About 16 months ago, I wrote a poem, This Is How You Nia.  It has always been my intention for Debbie Rosas to see this poem, to know how much her 35 years of work have touched my body and my heart. Last April, during National Poetry month I considered randomly e-mailing it to her. But that didn't feel right. Yesterday after the workshop, cake and champagne toasts emerged to celebrate Debbie's birthday. I took my two typed sheets of emotion and rhyme and handed them to Debbie; a birthday gift of my words and my gratitude. That felt really good!

If Debbie Rosas hadn't been in Santa Fe to share her body of work, I would have attended a hands-on Chile Relleno class at  The Santa Fe School of Cooking.  What better way to learn to love this staple of New Mexico cuisine and culture than to touch, smell and taste? When it rains it does indeed pour, but my choice between cooking or cooking all sides (that's a NIA reference) was easy to make.

Though I didn't enjoy that scone, I'm still going to brave a lunch or two smothered in green and/or red chile.   And I will also continue to dance my way through life.

Time to Write,

Jane