Lois Ellen Frank — chef, organic gardener, photographer, Ph.D. candidate and sole proprietor of the Red Mesa Cuisine, LLC, catering company — is passionate about the path she has chosen. Or did the path choose her?

In 1977, Frank graduated from the Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara, Calif., with a Bachelor of Arts in photography. While at school, she supported herself by cooking nights (and double shifts on the weekends) in restaurants. During that time, "I had a light above my dining room table," she said. "And I started photographing food for my assignments. The school awarded me a scholarship and said I was a food photographer. I said, 'OK,' " Frank recalled with a laugh and a shrug.

Frank went on to have a rewarding advertising career in Los Angeles, where she worked with some of the best food photographers in the industry, but said she missed working with chefs.

"They make things by hand and they're imperfect, and that's the beauty of it. Each plate is like a palette and slightly different," she said, adding that in most areas of the food industry, everything has to be uniform.

Frank remembers calling all the chefs she knew when she was working in Los Angeles. Mark Miller, creator and former owner of the Coyote Café, suggested she come to Santa Fe — he wanted to do research on chile and corn. Frank and Miller traveled to Mexico and South America together to research the foods of indigenous cultures, which led to more than 15 posters, including "The Great Chile" poster, the "Indian Corn of the Americas" poster and the "How Hot is Your Chile?" poster — as well as the popular The Great Chile Book (Ten Speed Press, 1991).

The Great Chile Book was a "very collaborative voice," she said. Miller initiated the project and did some of the research; Frank also researched and took all the photographs and John Harrison wrote the text. "That research is what brought me back into academia," Frank said. "All of these foods of ours that were indigenous to the Americas were not acknowledged as such. Italians didn't have tomatoes and the Irish didn't have potatoes pre-contact. Those foods are native to the Americas," she added. "So I started to do some research. I entered academia in 1997 and got my master's in cultural anthropology in 2002. Now I'm finishing up my Ph.D."

The title of Frank's Ph.D. dissertation is "The Discourse and Practice of Native American Cuisine: Native and Non-Native Chefs in Contemporary Southwest Kitchens," which also will be developed into her next book (the working title of which is The Turquoise Plate).

Frank said Red Mesa, her catering company, developed from people wanting her be their private chef. It began small and simple, she explained, but soon expanded as people asked if she would cater gallery openings and other public events. Frank is now a licensed caterer and has her own commercial kitchen.

Diné chef Walter Whitewater works with Frank much of the time. Whitewater learned to cook in the Native tradition as a young boy. In 1992, he began cooking professionally at one of Santa Fe's most beloved restaurants, the now-defunct Café Escalera. He has also worked at Mu Du Noodles, where he learned to prepare Asian dishes and sauces, and at Bishop's Lodge, where he learned the art of preparing contemporary Southwestern dishes.

"What I really like to do is cook," Whitewater said. "Lois was doing the Native food and I decided to tag along and learn more. Being on the reservation is part of my life, but I didn't get to learn about the meaning of food in the same way I learned through working with Lois. She has educated me to share knowledge with non-Native and different Native people, and I give her advice regarding how Native people look at and feel about food."

Frank, who was born and raised on Long Island, N.Y., is Kiowa on her mother's side and Sephardic Jew on her father's side. Although she did not grow up in a traditional Native American family, she has immersed herself in Native cooking and culture for almost two decades. Her catering company specializes in Native American dishes, which are so aesthetically pleasing that each presentation brings to mind a small, extremely precise painting.

Frank said that although she has a Web site and is open for business, she hasn't been advertising aggressively. All of her clients come by word of mouth.

"I have to finish my Ph.D., so I can't get too busy," she said. "After I finish it, I'll make some decisions (regarding the business). I think my true passion is the test kitchen at my home, and I like to research, write and photograph food — it's sort of like creating a story."

Another of Frank's passions is working in her garden. Last year, she canned 120 jars of tomatoes that she was able to use in her catering business for the entire year. Among the wide variety of plants she grows are chile, mint, sage, thyme, tarragon, oregano, wild currant and chokecherries. Whenever she can, she uses some of the fresh organic produce from her garden to cater events.

"I love working in my garden. Everyone wonders how I can do all that work," she said. "But when I'm out there, it's not like work." Frank said she talks to the plants and insects, telling them what not to eat, and has a small area for the squirrels and the bunnies to feed on. Her garden isn't fenced, she said, adding that she tries to coexist with other creatures.

During the weekend of Indian Market, Frank will offer her "Hands-On Cooking Experience with Native American Chefs," a kitchen-participatory class and three-course luncheon led with help from Whitewater. The class takes place from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Sunday at Frank's private test kitchen just outside Santa Fe. The class, $55, is regularly $95, but Frank is offering a recession special this year. If you can't make the Indian Market weekend class, Frank is offering a second one Sept. 4. Space for each class is limited; call 466-6306 for more information or to sign up.

If you're interested in learning to cook Native American cuisine, as well as learning about Native food and culture, Frank teaches private classes at her home and at the Santa Fe School of Cooking (visit www.santafeschoolofcooking.com for a full class schedule) with the help of Whitewater. For more information about Frank, her classes and her business, visit redmesacuisine.com or call 466-6306.

Recipes from Foods of the Southwest Indian Nations by Lois Ellen Frank with forward by Mark Miller (Ten Speed Press, 2002):


This recipe is easy to prepare and utilizes two very basic ingredients in Southwestern cooking: pumpkin and corn. It is a delicious and rich soup, and the ginger-lime cream adds a refreshing zest.

3 cups corn kernels (fresh if in season, otherwise frozen)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
3 cups chicken stock
3 cups cooked pumpkin
For the ginger-lime cream:
Juice and zest of 2 limes
1 tablespoon peeled and grated fresh ginger
1/2 cup heavy cream

To make the soup: In a covered pot, cook the corn kernels with a little water until soft, about 10 minutes. In a food processor, process the corn until smooth, about two minutes. Pass through a sieve and discard the skins. Combine the corn puree, garlic, salt, pepper and stock in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Decrease the heat to low, add the pumpkin and cook for 10 minutes while stirring. To make the cream: In another saucepan, cook the lime juice and ginger for two minutes over medium heat. Remove from the heat and pour through a sieve to remove the ginger.

In a bowl, combine the ginger and lime juice mixture, the lime zest (save some for garnish) and cream. Whip until mixture has soft peaks. Top each bowl of soup with a dollop of cream and garnish with the remaining lime zest. Serve immediately.


The Southwest produces an abundance of melon varieties. Many of the different pueblos and reservations have their favorites and grow only those specific varieties. Santa Fe is fortunate because during the summer months, farmers from all over Northern New Mexico bring their varieties of delicious melons to sell. For this recipe, if you can't find yellow watermelon, use pink. This recipe is cool and refreshing and a particular favorite of mine.

1 muskmelon or cantaloupe
10 fresh Indian peaches, or 5 commercially grown peaches (see note)
1 large prickly pear cactus pad (nopale)
1/4 yellow watermelon
Mint leaves, for garnish
3/4 cup prickly pear syrup

Cut the melon in half and scoop out the seeds. Scoop the melon into 1-inch balls and place in a bowl. Cut the peaches in half, or if using larger peaches, cut into slices. Add to the melon balls. Trim the cactus pad, cut into strips, and blanch in boiling salted water for 1 to 2 minutes. Rinse the pads under cool water to remove their gum; drain well. Toss together with the fruit.

Slice the watermelon into 1/2-inch slices and from each slice cut 1 1/2-inch triangles, removing the seeds as you cut. Toss the watermelon with the other fruit. Note: Indian peaches are grown in the desert by a dry-farming method and tend to be smaller than commercially grown fruits.


12 prickly pear fruits
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Wash and cut each prickly pear into quarters, leaving the skins on. Place the fruit in a food processor and process until pulpy and thoroughly blended. Press the liquid through a fine sieve; discard the skin and the seeds. Put the prickly pear juice into a saucepan with the honey and lemon juice and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Decrease the heat and let simmer for 10 minutes, until the mixture has thickened. Remove from the heat and let cool. The syrup will thicken further as it cools. The syrup may be stored in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 weeks.

Garnish with the mint leaves and serve with the summer-melon fruit salad.


In this recipe, New Mexican clay is molded around trout that has been stuffed with fresh herbs, wrapped in bacon, and then baked in a clay shell in an oven. Walter Whitewater, a traditional Navajo and contemporary chef, remembers stories he was told of food being baked in clay in open fires until the clay split open and the food was eaten. The clay keeps the trout moist and seals in the flavor of the herbs and bacon. It is one of the best baked fish dishes I have ever eaten.

12 to 15 dried corn husks
9 pounds nontoxic terra cotta clay (1 1/2 half pounds per trout, see note)
12 large sprigs thyme
12 fresh sage leaves
6 whole fresh trout, 10 ounces each
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
6 pieces thick bacon

Soak the corn husks in warm water for about 10 minutes until pliable. Remove from the water and set aside.

Divide the clay into six equal portions. Take one portion of the clay and, with a rolling pin, roll out the clay like a dough to about one quarter inch thick. Make sure it is the length of the trout plus 1 inch to ensure that the trout will fit into the clay covering.

Stuff 2 sprigs of thyme and 2 sage leaves inside of each trout. Sprinkle the salt and pepper inside and outside of each trout. Cut each piece of bacon in half and wrap one piece around the base of each trout and another around the top of the trout. Place the corn husks with the narrow side out, or lengthwise, and completely wrap them around each trout. Overlap the corn husks so that no part of the trout is exposed. You will need about 2 or 3 corn husks per trout, depending on their size. (The purpose of the corn husks is to cover the trout completely so that the fish does not stick to the clay.)

Cut each piece of clay in half lengthwise with a knife. Place a wrapped trout on top of one of the pieces of clay. Cover with a second piece of clay and seal the edges with your fingers. Make 3 small slits with a knife on the top of each clay-covered trout.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Place the clay-covered trout on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool. When the clay-covered trout is cool enough to handle, crack it open with a kitchen mallet or press down near the air vent slits with your hands. The clay will peel off with ease and can then be discarded. Serve the trout whole in corn husks. Note: Check your area to see what types of clay are available that are nontoxic and safe to cook with.