This past Saturday morning I set out with my family to Patagonia, Arizona, about 50 miles southeast of Tucson, to visit the Native Seeds/SEARCH conservation farm. The drive is beautiful and the landscape of the Sonoita-Elgin-Patagonia area is very different from Tucson's desert, with rolling grassy hills and cooler temperatures.

The conservation farm is a 60-acre piece of land sown with native crops such as tepary beans, chili peppers, native varieties of corn and tomatoes, all grown organically.

The organization was having a Fall Harvest Celebration, with live bluegrass music, farm tours and a potluck lunch of foods made with native ingredients. I tried some squash cake, blue cornbread with cheese and chiles, and quinoa pasta.

I also spent some time talking with Benito Gutierrez, who works on the farm full-time. He can be seen in the slideshow roasting chiles. He lives in a travel trailer behind the farm's massive green barn. Gutierrez enjoys the peaceful surroundings.

"All I can hear at night is the coyotes," he says.

Here's a recipe using tepary beans, the variety grown by the Tohono O'odham Indians here in Southern Arizona. The beans can be found at the Native Seeds/SEARCH store on 4th Avenue.

Papago Tepary Soup

2 cups tepary beans, soaked overnight
6 cups water
4 slices bacon, diced or 1-2 tblsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 carrots, sliced
1 cup diced celery
1 clove garlic, diced
3 cups tomatoes w/juice
1 tsp mixed oregano and cumin
Dry red chile pepper (optional)

Drain soaked beans and bring to boil in big pot with the six cups of water. When the beans are tender, fry bacon until limp then remove it from pan. If not using bacon, heat a tablespoon of vegetable oil over medium heat; add onion, carrots, celery, and garlic and sauté until tender, about 8 minutes. Add bacon, tomatoes with their juice, and the oregano/cumin mix. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add vegetable mix to the beans. Cook another hour until beans are mealy-tender. Dried red chile pepper may be stirred into pot during the last 10 minutes. Serves 6. Serve with flour tortillas.