Article: New Mexico's beauty provides the perfect backdrop for spicy meals.

Byline: Amy Culbertson

In late September and early October, the roofs of south-facing portales _ porchs _ all over New Mexico sprout brilliant red ristras, vivid stalactites of chile peppers strung from the eaves to dry for the winter.

Begun as a way to keep food wrung from a hard land preserved through the winter, these ristras, now beloved by tourists as souvenirs, may be the state's universal symbol.

The ristras signal the winding down of green chile season, which in late summer and early fall perfumes roadsides, back yards and supermarket parking lots with the earthy aroma of chiles being roasted in big butane-powered drums.

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