Before I tell you about the pudding, a couple highlights of our evening at Bookworks in Albuquerque—the first indie bookstore on our tour after many museums. I signed a book for a ten-year-old girl who wanted her own copy because she is really into reading histories; her parents were thrilled to have a daughter so literarily precocious, and I was thrilled to see more evidence that reading is not dead. I also met one of the first-ever Native American Harvey Girls, who worked at El Navajo in Gallup—the Harvey location closest to the Navajo Reservation—during WWII. And Nancy and Laura and the rest of the Bookworks staff were great. They even made La Fonda Pudding from the recipe in the book for everyone—a pretty big group, over sixty people, many standing back through the aisles, and anxious for pudding. Interestingly, when we were at La Fonda itself the night before, they also served La Fonda pudding. Each preparation was completely different, and completely scrumptious. But, clearly, someday there will need to be a Northern New Mexico pudding bake-off on Iron Chef.

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