Victoria Murphy ~ Santa Fe, NM

On Friday I will be staying with my mother at her home and I thought I would make one of her favorite dishes - Trenette con Pesce Spada E Spinach - otherwise known to my mother as the Pasta, Fish and Nuts dish. So since I have pulled out the recipe which has begun to yellow in my collection of recipes to copy it - I thought I would pass it along because it really is truly delicious. The recipe originally came from Cucina Italiana but I have modified to to our tastes.

3/4 of a can of anchovies fillets, drained and patted dry

2 large garlic cloves

3 cups Swiss chard, stems removed and roughly cut leaves

3/4 pound of firm white fish, swordfish, mahi mahi, halibut

4 roma tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped

1/2 cup pine nuts, roasted to golden brown

1/2 cup of slivered almonds, roasted to golden brown

1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs, toasted in 2 tblsp olive oil

1 package penne pasta, cooked al dente, and drained reserve 2 cups liquid. (I prefer whole wheat)

1/4 cup Olive oil

1 cup dry white wine

2 Tblsp lemon juice

2 cups reserved water from pasta.

In a heavy skillet add anchovies and olive oil and cook over a moderate flame. Stir until the anchovies dissolve. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the Swiss Chard, fish, tomatoes, nuts, and wine and simmer until the fish is cooked through about 3 minutes. Add mixture and lemon juice to pasta. Add 1 cup of the reserved liquid and toss gently. Add more liquid as needed.

Serve pasta sprinkled with bread crumbs and enjoy!

Imagine sitting on the front porch and listening to arias and opera rehersals in the background. That was my wonderful experience last weekend as I held this incredible home open. Only 10 minutes into downtown Santa Fe this 24 hour security gated community is beakoning your buyers to come and relax by the pool, listen to the various reknowned opera singers, but most of all to enjoy the home itself.

Your opportunity is this weekend with 2 open houses on Saturday and Sunday from 1 - 3 each day.

4465 sq ft, 4 bedrooms, 4 baths, 6 fireplaces, studio, center courtyard swimming pool with mountain views, 10 minutes to downtown Santa Fe, and an oversize 2 car garage. $1,160,000.00 The only single family home on the market in the wonderful Casas de San Juan subdivision.

I recently was told about a wonderful horse/ranch property website for my horse property listing. I was very impressed and even more impressed in dealing with the site and its owners. They were quick to get my property up on their site, and very friendly to deal with on the phone. If you have a ranch or horse property I recommend you give them a try - http://www.buyhorseproperties.com/

I have on many occasions invited friends over for Tapas and Paella so when an invitation came a few months ago I attended an event by Melanie Milasinovich also known as the Paella Queen. It was a fun and exciting evening with Tapas, Sangria and my favorite Paella. I had so much fun at the event that for my birthday I decided to fix a huge, huge pan of Paella and tapas for my friends. Paella is one of those dishes you can make simply or expand on it as one would with pizza. I personally love a fairly simple version which I am going to share with you. I have also been able to do it on my grill outside in the summer which adds to the party excitement. Also here is the You-Tube presentation of Melanie's Paella evening http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFS9y5vj32g. Also if you need some of the ingredients go to www.thespanishtable.com ENJOY!

Paella with Shrimp, Chicken, Serrano Ham and Chorizo (serves 10-12)

1/2 cup of olive oil (Spanish preferred)

1 lg onion, slivered

5 cloves of garlic minced

3 Chicken Breasts, Cut into 2 inch pieces

6 oz of chorizo, casting removed and cut into small pieces

8 oz of Serrano Ham, cut into thin strips

1 lb of shrimp, shelled and deveined

2 green bell peppers, cut into thin 2 inch strips

2 red bell pepperss, cut into thin 2 inch strips

4 large tomatoes, skinned, seeded, and chopped

2.5 cups of Bomba Rice

8 cups of chicken stock

1 tsp Turmeric

3/4 tsp Saffron threads, break down in a mortar and add a 1/4 cup of the chicken stock

1/4 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp thyme

salt and pepper to taste

Lemon Wedges

Heat the oil in a paella pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and brown. Remove chicken to plate. Saute the peppers, onions til they begin to soften. Add the garlic and cook for a few minutes. Add the chorizo and cook of 5-7 minutes. Add the chicken, spices, ham, tomatoes and rice. Mix well and cook for 3 minutes. Add the 1/2 of the chicken stock and mix well. Reduce the heat to Medium/Low and do not stir. Every few minutes add a bit more of the chicken stock - but do not stir the mixture. After about 10 minutes top the mixture with the shrimp. Continue to cook and add broth. After 5 minutes turn the shrimp and continue to cook and add broth as needed.

Serve with lemon wedges.

A few years ago I wrote a letter to the editor asking the simple question - Where is the New Mexico State Capitol building? The uniquely designed building was inspired by our state Zia symbol and is now hidden behind rambling overgrown shrubs and dying trees being choked by vines. I remember a woman responded to my letter that it had been a previous NM employee who had all of the trees and shrubs planted to hide what he felt was an ugly building. My thought is how dare one person makes that decision. Like it or not this is our State Capitol Building and it should be shown and well maintained not hidden. My husband and I have fun when we are in the vicinity the capitol by asking people if they know where the capitol is. When they point to the building we then ask - Can you see it? Often they start laughing realizing you can't see it. Perhaps I should make a video and post it on You-Tube and hopefully get the attention of our state officials into sprucing up OUR State Capitol grounds.