The Cantina - A Southwestern Outdoor Kitchen

The Cantina.  That was the perfect name for a Southwestern style outdoor kitchen. Our guests may not be quite as colorful as those in the cantina from Star Wars, however. 

Star Wars Cantina

The idea for the cantina came to me in a flash as I stood in front of our house one winter morning.  A large corner of the driveway was a no man's land, unused and unappreciated.  I pictured positioning a comfortable chair and small table there for my husband, Wayne, who frequently emerges from his nearby workshop to text and talk on the cell phone.

The area I spotted is bounded by a garage wall on one side and a house wall on another.  The winter sun passing over from east to west provides warmth, while mature honey mesquite trees in the front yard provide shade from the blazing summer sun.  I hoped Wayne would be agreeable to establishing another outside seating area.  The Desert Southwest calls us outdoors on all but the very coldest or windiest days.

Wayne not only liked the idea but visualized an expanded area enclosed by a low rounded stucco wall.  As soon as the wall was completed (we contracted out for it), Wayne laid a brick floor for a seating area large enough for a table and chairs.  And then amazing items started coming out of his workshop and garage, stoves of various sizes, a large tire rim for a fire pit, a wagon wheel, a longhorn skull for the wall, and kerosene lanterns.

Our Cantina

Now that the basics are in, we have been planning how to best utilize the cantina, especially what foods to prepare in it.  Its first use was to sit at the table, drinking morning coffee and eating conchas, a Mexican pastry.

And no worries about dropping crumbs from the conchas!

  
At the center of the cantina is a large grill to cook over mesquite wood.  Hamburgers and hot dogs are casual summertime choices, while rib eye steaks, baked potatoes, and grilled vegetables are more elegant fare.

 

A  smaller stove has already served to keep a pot of cowboy coffee hot for a few friends seated at the table (extra chairs brought in from the garage).

A fire pit is ready to roast marshmallows for s'mores or keep a pot of pinto beans simmering over the fire.

Two kerosene lanterns provide an atmospheric glow as the day draws to a close and the sun sets in the west.  

We tried out several names for the new outdoor area before settling on cantina.  Wayne said it reminded him of a typical bar in Boquillas, Mexico on the border across from the Big Bend area of Texas. He described a scene with Latino and Anglo patrons standing together at a rustic wooden bar, enjoying drinks and exchanging small talk without no regard for technicalities like border walls.    

Maybe if I sit in our cantina, close my eyes, and listen to the crackling fire by lantern light, I can conjure up some of those same images — heavily laden donkeys wading slowly across the Rio Grande, rounds of tequila shots and raucous laughter in a small, smoke-filled cantina, and the soft strumming of a guitar on a moonlit night.  

Planning for a Southwest Summer

I would like to write about springtime, but in my home town of El Paso, Texas, winter turns into summer so quickly that if you blink, you may miss springtime, as the saying goes. The local TV channels even run a contest for viewers to guess the day the mercury will first hit 100 degrees.  So instead of enjoying traditional spring weather, I am planning what the upcoming Southwest summer will bring to our household.

Unlike many people, I avoid traveling in the summer season because the house and yard need so much extra attention.  And who needs to be part of those crowds of tourists anyway?  I'm content to stay home and watch over the plants and pets. A stroll around our property as the weather is warming reveals opportunities for summer enjoyment but also summertime projects.

An early morning walk onto the second floor balcony reveals a calming scene to start the day. The neighborhood is still quiet, and I catch a glimpse of the mountains in the distance.   

The balcony is best enjoyed early morning or late afternoon.  I make a mental note to buy a small outside wicker table to complete a seating area. Where else am I going to put my glass of  jamaica (a refreshing Mexican drink make of hibiscus leaves)?

Time to go downstairs and out to the main courtyard.

A hummingbird feeder is in place in front of the kitchen window. Watching the tiny birds swoop in is a lot more entertaining than washing dishes.

The kiva fireplace is ready for use on a slightly chilly evening.  (Yes, we do have some chilly evenings in the desert.)

A large collection of pots, watched over by Mama Cat, reminds me that there is much work to be done this summer.  I need to discard the cracked pots and fill the others with colorful blooms to perk up our desert landscaping.  Thank goodness for low maintenance bushes like the pyracantha with its white blossoms and red berries.

The outside oven, the horno, is picturesque but not much used these days.  I need to locate a bread recipe to bake in the oven.  My husband, Wayne, tried to cook a pizza in the oven once but forgot that the pizza pan was bigger than the opening!

This area in the vegetable garden was designed to be a "secret garden" sort of spot.  Somehow it looks bare and uninviting. At least the pear tree provides shade.   Maybe a blooming plant for the table centerpiece would perk it up?

Walking around to the pool yard, I check the small cacti that I moved from inside several weeks ago.They already look like the sun is too strong for them in this location.  I hope the volunteer desert palm grows up nearby to provide shade.

Continuing around to the front of the house, I notice that this seating area (dubbed Sunset Heights because it is the perfect place to view magnificent Southwest sunsets) needs some attention.  The plants in the round area have not lived up to expectations to survive the harsh summer afternoon sun.  I"ll have to search out some truly tough plants.  One of the chairs has a crack, but it is easily and inexpensively replaced.  The metal seasons bench could definitely use a coat of paint.   

Thank goodness for the hardy, undemanding native plants that provide color and shade in this yard.

Creosote Bush

Volunteer mesquite bush 

I do truly enjoy a Southwest summer, although ask me again in August when we have had never- ending days of triple digit temperatures.  One of the tricks to enjoying our blazing summer season is  to beat the sun up in the morning and stay up late enough to enjoy the cooler nighttime temperatures.  No wonder the afternoon siesta came into vogue in hotter climates.  

As I go overboard making a list of summer projects, I remind myself to stop and enjoy what nature offers free of charge during a Southwest summer.  

A New Twist on New Mexico History

One of the perks of living in El Paso, Texas, my hometown, is taking advantage of the city's unique geographical location.We live at the westernmost tip of Texas with easy access to both Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Old Mexico and Las Cruces, New Mexico.  Even though Las Cruces, with a population of just over 100,000, is much smaller than its nearby cities in Mexico and Texas, the cultural opportunities it offers make it a prime location for day-tripping.

Location of Las Cruces, NM

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In past years, I commuted to Las Cruces to teach language classes at New Mexico State University.  I enjoyed noting the gradual change in architecture, weather and landscape as I barreled up the interstate highway, hoping to make it to a 9:00 am class. The houses of Las Cruces had more rounded edges, and their yards had imaginative xeriscaping.  Las Cruces' weather was often a few degrees cooler than El Paso, and, most impressive of all, the jagged Organ Mountains loomed in the distance. I let the atmosphere of New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment, wash over me and calm my soul.    

Organ Mountains, Las Cruces NM

Recently my husband, Wayne, and I spent a memorable afternoon at the Pat Garrett Western Heritage Festival in Las Cruces.  The event was held at the beautifully restored Rio Grande Theatre located in the downtown area.

Rio Grande Theatre, Las Cruces, NM

What first intrigued me about the title of the festival was that it was dedicated to Sheriff Pat Garrett. Wait a minute!  Wasn't he the lawman who killed Billy the Kid?  

For many years I, along with many others I am sure, have been fascinated by the legend of Billy the Kid. I looked the other way at reports that he had killed 21 men before his 21st birthday and focused on his youth, his nonconformity, and his appeal to the ladies.  And Billy also spoke Spanish, which is always considered an asset by this former language teacher!   I loved the 1973 movie (later released in video in 1988), in which Kris Kristofferson plays Billy.  And I have cheered along with a local crowd at the Billy the Kid Festival held each year in Lincoln, NM when, in the pageant finale, Billy outsmarts and shoots the deputy to escape from jail.

Billy the Kid

Now a festival was being held in honor of Pat Garrett, who in my mind was still the villain in this historical remembrance.

Festival program

We settled into comfortable seats at the Rio Grande Theatre to learn about western history from a different viewpoint. A live musical performance of nine historic western songs set the stage for our history lesson.  Next, we watched a movie, Four Faces West,  from 1948 with Charles Bickford portraying Pat Garrett.  We began thinking about Pat Garrett as a real person.  I had never considered him in any other context than Billy's killer.

Other scheduled events were a presentation and a reenactment of the trial of Wayne Brazel, the killer of Pat Garrett.  Another event was a lecture about the letters written by Pat Garrett to his wife, which demonstrated a human side of the lawman, who cared deeply for his family. 

The culmination of the festival was the screening of the movie Billy the Kid , starring Johnny Mack Brown as Billy.  The original world premiere of the film was at the Rio Grande Theatre in 1930.

On the hour drive back to El Paso, we chatted about how a day spent in Las Cruces felt like a mini-vacation, a break from ordinary weekend activities. And I will be on the lookout for a biography of Sheriff Pat Garrett by David G. Thomas due out in 2019.

We are indeed fortunate to live in the Southwestern United States which offers colorful history and cultural variety.