My Tiny Vegas: Las Vegas, New Mexico News, Stories, Photographs, and More!

Something for Every Traveler

by Birdie Jaworski


Teresa Victor at World Treasures & Traveler's Cafe

Teresa Victor stood, feet planted on the rugged slopes of Cuzco, the capital of the sun-worshiping Inca empire, the spot on earth with the highest ultraviolet light level. This was her third trip to Peru. On a previous trip, she hiked the Inca Trail, the twenty-eight mile ancient road to Macchu Piccu, in nearly impassable terrain high above the Urubamba River canyon cloud forest.

"I had a twenty-seven hour delay due to a cancelled flight in Lima," the Las Vegas resident reminisces. "But it was worth it. I saw beautiful weavings, antique 300-year-old textiles. I bought inventory for the store."

Victor's store, World Treasures & Travelers Café, shares space with textile-specialists Tapetes de Lana. Run by Victor's mother, Carla Gomez, the weaving studio and gallery is a non-profit organization designed to promote cottage industry and rural lifestyles, while preserving Northern New Mexico's rich culture and heritage. Victor worked as manager of Tapetes de Lana for seven years and taught weaving at NMHU. One of her weavings won an honorable mention at Santa Fe's famed Spanish Market.

"I'm from Las Vegas, grew up here," says Victor. "This is such a wonderful little town, but I didn't think so in high school. I went to college in Las Cruces, and was able to study abroad in Spain."

Her love of world culture's inspired Victor to open World Treasures & Travelers Café with some assistance from the New Mexico Workforce Connection.

"Opening the cafe was kind of a whim. I was traveling and needed some other income," Victor explains. "I'd bring stuff back from Peru and other places and sell it. My father is a coffee coneisseur, roasting his own beans for over 20 years. He pushed the idea. I'm a baker and thought a cafe would be a great addition to the town since Second Tome Around had closed."

World Treasures & Travelers Café uses only free-trade and organic espresso. Victor roasts her own coffee, and usually offers four types daily to customers - a house blend, and perhaps a Columbian, Ethiopian, Costa Rican, as well as other more exotic beans. Glass and hardwood cases boast homemade treats such as huge cookies, cheesecake, and several varieties of muffins.

"We try to be as green as possible," Victor says. "We have 50 kinds of loose-leaf organic teas. We have an unusual spicy chocolate tea and flavored teas such as red berries, green and African roobios chai."

A glance around the cafe's space reveals a cozy setting with wood tables and chairs where customers nurse hot drinks while their laptops chase the 'net on the store's free Wi-Fi. Other patrons sink into the couches by a crackling fireplace, reading paperbacks from the offered Book Exchange.

"We have about 500 books in our collection," Victor counts. "Book clubs frequent the cafe. Knitting groups. We have lots of board games for players. The Bridge Club comes. A drawing/sketching group. It's a great place to meet your friends, kick back, and relax."

A new addition to Victor's menu is a regular Open Mic night, the second and fourth Saturday of every month. Musicians, poets, and comedians take 5-20 minute turns at the microphone, entertaining a varied audience, some of whom get up the guts to grab the mic themselves.

"We get UWC students and townspeople alike," Victor says. "So far we've had around 40 people total each evening. Our youngest performer has been 10, and our oldest around 70! Some of our musicians have been professionals, such as Steve Ledger. A girl from the World College sang Japanese songs and while her friend played guitar last time. The mic kept slipping down! The performers sometimes get unintended challenges like this, but it's such a friendly audience. We all have a great time."

In addition to Open Mic night, the cafe hosts live music on the first and third Saturday of each month. Victor is also starting an Art Gallery on-site. Artists from Las Vegas and surrounding communities will rotate their art, with an artists' reception being held at the beginning of each month.

"I want to provide a little world culture here in Las Vegas," Victor smiles. "Our world is so big, but the internet and travel make it possible to pull the world a little bit toward us."

For more information on World Treasures & Travelers Café, please visit the cafe website at www.worldtreasuresimports.com, or email Teresa Victor at tvictor5@hotmail.com. Open Mic Night: 2nd and 4th Saturday of every month, from 7 to around 8:30. Private meeting space available, with beverages and food, for parties, meetings, etc.

Love and Sugar from El Salvador

by Birdie Jaworski

Beatriz Gibbs behind the counter of Talita's Bakery

Beatriz Gibbs travels in early morning darkness, in the bitter winter cold, to open the doors to her bakery's kitchen. She adds sugar to finely ground flour, mixes her ingredients in big metal bowls as the clock moves from 3 to 4 a.m. Paintings by local artist Floyd Lujan splash color against the wall as Gibbs kneads and stirs. In two months, Gibbs will mark the second anniversary of her dream-come-true, Talita's Bakery, naming it after a story about Jesus waking a sick little girl and saying to her "Talita cumi," which Gibbs says means "blessing and miracle, stand and walk."

Gibbs grew up in Chalatenago, El Salvador. She misses the fruits of her native country, misses the scent of ripe mango, the texture of soft papaya. Her parents traveled to Los Angeles twelve years ago to escape their war-torn countryside, and five years ago Gibbs, her husband, Emiliano, and their five children left the coastal city to settle in Las Vegas.

"We enjoy living in a small community where everything is close by, and you can check on your children easily," says Gibbs. "Las Vegas is so much quieter and safer than L.A., with no real traffic. The cold weather is not my favorite, so I
enjoy spring and summers the most here. We go out to the country for picnics and to enjoy the outdoors. At those times I miss the beauty and nature of El Salvador."

Gibbs carried with her a collection of heritage recipes, instructions for delicate breads and cakes scented with vanilla, with cinnamon and dried fruits. After discovering no Latino bakery in Las Vegas, Gibbs started producing tres leches cakes for friends and family, and the idea of owning her own business began to form. She practiced making pan dulce, the sweet bread of her home country, and as her confidence grew, so did the demand for her homemade treats.

"Right after I opened my bakery, the locals started discovering me," reflects Gibbs. "I began making birthday and special celebration cakes, made from scratch to order. My children help out - it's a family business."

The hours before sunrise find Gibbs baking fresh bread, including marranitos - a molasses-based bread, lemon and cranberry cupcakes, pastelitos filled with pineapple, cherries, and apples, banana nut  bread, banana bread pudding, and her unique cheesy buns. Gibbs' delicacies have a moist, rich, indulgent flavor without the overpowering sweetness of typical American bakery goods. Her simple buns are light, airy, but with enough bite to match any filling. She has begun making tortas, sandwiches on homemade bread filled with lettuce, tomato, ham, turkey, and salami.

Gibbs has expanded to sell other Latino products, like herbs for teas, Mexican traditional candy, Jarritos beverages in glass bottles.

"I am proud to be El Salvadoran here. There is a need for good Latino foods and baked goods. I feel that it is part of my service to offer these to the community," says Gibbs. "I hope to keep expanding, and to offer more Latino foods like soups and condiments. It's good to be a part of the community and to share my knowledge. Everyone needs a little sweetness in their life."

Talita's Bakery, 525 Grand Avenue, is open Tuesday thru Saturday from 8 a.m. till 6 p.m., but Beatriz Gibbs can bake cakes and special orders on any day. Please call 429-3278 for more information or to place an order.

Click on a thumbnail below to see some photos of Beatriz's bakery and goodies:

A Taste of Las Vegas, New Mexico

Food nourishes our soul

            

Mmmmm, homemade sopapillas!

Sopapillas - yummy soft fried dough pillows - are a New Mexican essential. They are served with every dinner, whether you order Green Chile Enchiladas or Spaghetti! Drizzle local honey on your sopapilla and swoon with delight.

Here's my favorite recipe for sopapillas. They are quite easy to make.

Ingredients:

1 pkg. dry yeast
1/4 c. lukewarm water
3/4 c. milk
6 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. butter
1 egg, beaten
3 c. flour
Approximately 2 inches cooking oil

Method:

Soften yeast in lukewarm water. Set aside. Combine milk, sugar and salt. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Stir in butter. Allow to cool until lukewarm. Stir in beaten egg and yeast mixture. Gradually add flour.

Work with hands if mixture becomes too thick to stir. Cover dough with a damp cloth and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

Punch down, turn out onto a lightly floured board, knead briefly until dough is smooth. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes. Roll to about 1/2 inch thick square and cut with a 2 inch cookie cutter.

Heat oil to 350°F.

Cook sopapillas a few at a time, browning on one side, and turning only once. They will puff up.

Drain on absorbent paper and serve with powdered sugar or fresh local Las Vegas, New Mexico honey. Enjoy!

The Hidden Sweetness Inside

Consuela Silva, 94, likes to be called by her late husband's name, Mrs. Eduardo Silva. He passed away sixteen years ago, after a vacation to his native Brazil where they dined on fried bananas, ambrosia, and spicy feijoada, a meat stew made with sausage, black beans, and handfuls of pressed garlic.

"We took a culinary tour of Brazil. We ate in some of the best restaurants in São Paolo," remembers Mrs. Silva. "One of my favorite dishes is the corn cakes. They make them with whole corn and coconut milk. I've tried to recreate them here at home, but they don't taste the same. One thing I can recreate is the dulce de leche. It was Eduardo's favorite."

Mrs. Silva slowly walked through her eat-in kitchen on the west side of Las Vegas. A carved wooden statue of the Virgin of Fatima with a delicate jeweled crown rested at the corner of her counter. She made the sign of the cross, kissed her fingers, and pressed them a scapula draped around the Virgin's neck. She turned down the gas on an almond stove. A pan shivered silent, the bubbling water inside receded, revealing a small metal can.

"I learned to make dulce de leche from Eduardo's mother. I can't drink my coffee without it." Mrs. Silva grinned. "And I don't limit myself to coffee. I like it on just about anything that needs a little sugar. Nothing in this world is so simple and delicious."

Dulce de leche is a popular dessert throughout all of Latin America. The name means "milk candy" in Spanish. The confection is gloriously sweet, gooey, creamy  - a caramelized milk that richly harmonizes coffee and chocolate as well as offers a delicious filling for many pastries and cakes. Its roots are uncertain, though forms of the dish have been described in French history dating back to the time of Napoleon. The most basic recipe for dulce de leche consists of slowly boiling milk and sugar, sometimes with the addition of vanilla and other sweet spices. The most popular store brands of the product, though, are made the way most cooks enjoy the treat today - by gentle boiling little cans of sweet milk.

Dulce de leche isn't hard to make; it just takes a bit of attention. The traditional in-the-can method is simple: Place an unopened can of sweetened condensed milk in a pot, well covered with water, and bring the water to a boil. Keep at a low boil for two to three hours, making sure the water level always stays above the top of the can. If the can isn't submerged, it may explode. The longer it cooks, the thicker the dulce de leche will be; after two hours, you'll be able to drizzle it, and after three hours, it will be thick enough to sandwich cookies. Make sure the can is thoroughly cool before you open it.

You can spoon the dulce de leche over ice cream, into coffee, or just eat it out of the can with a spoon. Mrs. Silva scooped a healthy dollop of dulce de leche into two ceramic mugs, then poured strong pinon coffee. "It's that hidden sweetness inside that lightens the black."