14 Days in the Land of Enchantment - Day 5

Day 5 – Breakfast Burrito

Any one with any amount of fashion sense knows instinctively that black is correct for any occasion. From office to evening to a funeral to a wedding, you just can’t go wrong. Well it’s like that with burritos here in New Mexico. It’s good for any meal. And today it’s the breakfast burrito.

The day started out with the best of intentions. I wanted to pre-fund my caloric intake with an early morning bike ride. However, the gods of tire pressure were conspiring against me. No amount of coaxing could make the back tire inflate. I even offered to buy it dinner first but it still would not rise.

When did biking get so complicated? I remember hopping on my Schwinn Sting-Ray at a moments notice. No helmet, no reflective gear, no padded seat (or pants). Just me on the open road of suburbia standing on the seat, no hands on the handlebars. The wind in my hair (yes, I had some once) and Sinatra’s Strangers in the Night playing on my transistor radio.

A short walk stood in as my substitute today. Hardly the same thing but it’s easier on the joints, or so I’m told.

So we arrived at the Frontier Restaurant, one of the city’s many staple diners. And of course the breakfast burrito was proudly displayed on the menu overhead, along with the lite-lunch burrito and the late-nite burrito. See what I mean, always correct.

Breakfast burritos come in a number of varieties. Some are smothered in queso others with red or green chile sauce. Others include beans (black or pinto). For the meat lover, it can come with bacon, ham, or more authentically chorizo sausage.

The burrito I ordered was one of the more purist varieties. Along with the scrambled eggs, bacon and cheese, it included green chiles. These are not the chiles that you find in Midwest restaurants as part of their Santa Fe special. These are just spicy enough to provide a kick but still provide that roasted flavor.

Wrapped in a freshly made, flour tortilla, the dish was complete. Served with a side of beans, you get to enjoy the culinary experience well into the afternoon.

Then for dessert (also appropriate at any meal), was a sopapilla. It’s fried bread puffed with air in the middle. You tear it apart and pour fresh honey in the center to sweeten the treat.

Top it off with a steaming cup of coffee and the experience is complete, as is my burrito meter for the day.

14 Days in the Land of Enchantment - Day 4

Day 4 – Trip to Bountiful

Woke up today in our final destination—Albuquerque. But this time, the weekend resident becomes the weeklong resident. Wings Soaring, our ancient caretaker, welcomes us for our extended visit and my spirit lifts.

It is this second life that I step into now, like a comfortable pair of worn jeans. Neatly tucked away since March, it waits for me to return and reveal its bounty. It’s the other side of my mirror that reflects what might be—some day.

Provisions were first on today’s list. That means a two-block walk to the Downtown Farmer’s Market. It is high growing season and the pickings were astounding.

Yellow watermelon, anise-infused berry lemonade, chocolate-almond pastries, field-grown cantaloupe and fresh eggs of brown, blue and white.

Of course, no summer would be complete without homegrown tomatoes, in red and yellow, and beans, in green and yellow. Not to ignore other parts of the color spectrum, there were white potatoes and orange carrots.

We’ve got more fiber than we’ll need for the next three months but I guess it’s fitting that it’s not just the spirit that gets flushed clean on these visits. I guess we’re gassed-up and ready to go.