Fall and Italian food in ABQ

After a long wait, and with temperatures finally plunging into the 60s (though some 70s here and there), fall has finally come to ABQ! (Though apparently it's already been here for a good part of NM already. I keep forgetting how big the states are out here!) But, as expected, it's arrived in a very different form than in New England. This week, the leaves finally started really changing colors on the trees, instead of just being green and slightly yellowed at the edges, then falling off and dying like they have for the past few weeks. Nothing too special, most colors are pale yellows, though there are some orangey reds. It's different because these leaf colors occur alongside 1) trees that are still green 2) trees that are already bare 3) pine trees and 4) cacti, dinosaur ferns and scrub brush. And, though I didn't get any pictures of this, it was funny to see tree leaves speared on the cacti spikes!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
However, the definite highlight of the week was yesterday. That afternoon, me and a few others from the apartment hopped on the bus and headed off to Talin Market on Central and Louisiana to go pick up a bunch of things to make an Italian dinner. We started off with lobsters and clam chowder in mind (Talin Market has fresh Maine lobsters and Rhode Island cherrystones!), but we ended up being too tempted by the Italian food; we agreed to come back to the seafood later.

For an antipasto we picked up the fagioli, marinated artichokes, olives, capers, fire-roasted tomato, roasted red peppers and cappicola. We didn't pick up any cheese for that since I already had a chunk of parmeggiano reggiano mailed to me from home! We also picked up a few pounds of gluten-free fettuccine (they had Tinkyada), some local artichoke marinara sauce and shredded romano. Once we got back we set to work and it took us over an hour to set everything up.

 

 

I got to introduce everyone to the concept of putting capers on pasta (and just the concept of capers in general), as well as the fact that romano is a better pasta cheese than parmeggiano reggiano since it's not as intense and won't overpower the flavor of the sauce. They were all a little confused about the antipasto since they hadn't ever had it before and expected it to have lettuce like a salad, but still enjoyed it. Even my Navajo apartmentmate, who has told me he really only likes meat, kneel down bread, corn and green/red chiles, approved of it all. And the best part is, we made so much for only 4 people, so there are plenty of leftovers for the coming week!

Open flames and chainsaws: The Balloon Fiesta

Yesterday I was lucky enough to be able to go to the evening events for the 41st annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta (and Chainsaw Carving Invitational). UNM had a trip for students on campus during fall break so naturally I jumped at the chance to go for only $4. It was a long bus ride out to the fairgrounds, which are up in Rio Rancho, sort of a suburb of ABQ but still part of it. I was struck by just how open the sky was when we got there:

Killing time until the sun set and the inflating of the balloons for the night flight began, we checked out the carvings from the week's Chainsaw Carving Invitational competitions. Each competitor started out with 2 tree trunks and, in two different rounds, a 90-minute speed round and a round lasting all week (a couple hours each day, non-consecutive, but not to exceed 24 hours total over a 7 day period), turned then into the following sculptures. Keep in mind these are all only (somehow!) done with chainsaws:

 

  

 

 

Soon the sun began to set and I finally got a chance to see the pinkish color that the Sandias are so famous for. It's only visible for about 5 minutes, if that, so photos have to be taken quickly.

By the time the Sandias faded though, the balloons had begun to be blown up all around the field. Since there were no viewing spots and you could just wander around the field in between all the balloons, that's what we did until things got too dark to see, and we parked ourselves in the middle of a huge bank of balloons. For now, here endeth the words: now, just sit back and enjoy an hour and a half's worth of balloon photos!

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You'll notice none of these photos feature balloons in the air. Unfortunate crosswinds made that impossible, so we had to settle for seeing them lit up on the ground. However, that was still plenty neat enough, especially since they coordinated several "blast off burns" throughout the evening, where all the balloonists would simultaneously fire their burners for 5 seconds straight. Balloons would keep inflating themselves around us (in the end there were around 70, at least), and as it got darker, the different balloons' burners served to highlight different parts of each picture, and it was fun to experiment and capture different lightings when different balloons in different parts of the frame triggered their burners. Also, it was cool to see some of the novelty balloons, like Humpty Dumpty, a cow, a panda and a big stagecoach, to name a few. Once again, even though the balloons never got off the ground, it was still a wonderful experience!