Southwestern Simplicity
Cora's Years
by
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PIÑON PICKING
I remember one day that we went piñon picking and I got on my knees to start picking piñon and I heard a rattle snake and I froze. Mama, daddy hurry!" "I’m scared!" I yelled. The snake was moving quickly and gracefully across the street over the dirt road. "You saw it didn’t you dad?" "It had large black eyes." Our friend Martin pulled out his rifle. "The snake is running away, but I guess he won’t come back." "Snakes are dangerous," Martin said. "I could never out run one of them." We went back to picking piñon. We picked a lot of piñon. Then we had a picnic. My mama said, "Here are some sandwiches and kool-aid." "Let’s eat, then we will pick a while more." My friend Imelda and I went running from tree to tree chattering away. It was so much fun that we would try and see who could pick the most piñon. My friend would say to me, "Cora, I am going to pick more then you." "Imelda what I am picking now is for you." "You are the only one that came from your family and I want you to have enough to take home." "Oh, Cora, you don’t have to do that for me." "Oh, I want to." "Imelda it will make me happy." "You are my best friend." "Okay Cora thanks a lot," Imelda said.
To roast the piñon, mama would put the piñones in a cookie pan and put them in the oven at 300 degrees, for 20 minutes then you move them around for about 20 minutes more. You continue tasting the piñons little by little while they are roasting. They are so good. My mama used to make the best piñon candy. She would shell it and rinse it, then she would boil milk and add sugar, and add the piñon. The candy sure was delicious, and it was not hard. It was soft to eat.
Let me tell you something about the piñon nuts. The piñon nut (called the pine nut and the Indian nut) has always been an important food to Indians and Natives. About four-fifths of the crop is sold outside the state, where most of it goes to the east side of New York. The piñon is a good nut, quite small, high in protein and carbohydrates like pecans, but lower in fat. You can keep it unshelled for about one year. If you sometime find a cache that belongs to a squirrel you could get about ten or fifteen pounds of piñons.
You can sometimes spread a sheet underneath the tree and beat the nuts down with a stick. The piñon nut is highly prized by wildlife. The squirrels love it as food and do other wildlife. It is good to start picking it as soon as the cones open. My father would bring pine cones that hadn’t opened yet and we would put them in the oven and cook them. Afterwards we would break the cones and take the nuts out and eat them. People from all the nearby towns and pueblos flock to the woods in the autumn to collect the nuts.
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About the Book
A city rich in culture, and A Hispanic girl rich in simplicity and beauty. Only 2 years old and eating hot chili. She only spoke Spanish and over years learned to speak fluent English. She thrived growing up with deep family roots, in her small adobe home on Lopez Street (front cover). Cora describes her triumphs, heartaches and simple lifestyle growing up in the enchanting southwest in the 1930's and 1940's. Santa Fe used to have a lot of rain and snow. Children in the community had to often walk to school, usually sometimes over a mile. Many people did not have vehicles, so people would walk everywhere. From Catholic schools to the traditions of Fiestas with the burning of Zozobra; to the lively carousel Tio Vivo. Cora describes a time in life when families didn’t have televisions and spent time telling stories. The story of the Llorona, told in a hispanic household, used to frighten the children to behave. While the glowing of the luminarias brightened up the city plaza at Christmas time and the roasting of piñon filled the air. As Cora matures and has a family of her own, she is diagnosed with Bipolar Manic Depression. She describes her struggle and the faith it has taken to control this illness. The book reaches into the spiritual side in all of us, while Corine (Cora), the author, TELLS IT ALL.
About the Author
Corine (Cora) Ortiz-Montoya was born in Santa Fe, New Mexico in the 1930's. She grew up with a simple way of life and shares her triumphs and heartaches. Having been a young Hispanic girl, a mother, a homemaker, a grandmother, and a great-grandmother, Corine’s experience as a writer is a natural talent. Corine attended Catholic schools and also attended a public school the last three years of high school. In 1956, she married John Anthony Montoya. After they were married, they had 2 sons and 3 daughters. He retired from the State of New Mexico where he soon after became ill and won his long battle with cancer. Corine was diagnosed with Bipolar Manic Depression in her late 30's and has controlled this illness with faith and medication. John and Corine still reside in their Bellamah home in Santa Fe after 47 years of marriage. With faith, medication, and belief in God they have successfully overcome and defeated their battles with cancer and depression. As strong Christians, they currently attend Calvary Chapel De Santa Fe and still enjoy family gatherings and traditional holidays with their children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.