Happy Thanksgiving! Today, I talk with food and travel photographer Douglas Merriam, author of Farm Fresh Journey: Santa Fe Farmer’s Market Cookbook. He’s spent his 30-year career traveling the world, shooting for cookbooks, magazines, restaurants, and chefs. He’s a happy home gardener and a really accomplished amateur cook.

Most of all, Doug is a champion for local foodways. His cookbook is the definition of a labor of love. It took him years to put together, gathering recipes from the farmers and artisans who make much of their livings selling their products at the Santa Fe Farmer’s Market. He chose to self-publish the book so that he could control the profit distribution. He gives a percentage of every book sale back to the farmers that appear in its pages. If you want your own copy, you can pick one up at farmfreshjourney.com.

I believe the best cookbooks tell a story, that food itself is a narrative of the place and people who make it. Doug’s is a beautiful book visually — his photos are stunning — but more than that, he captures the spirit of the people who have been working the land in and around Santa Fe for generations.

Douglas Merriam and I met at that farmer’s market where he introduced me to Mia, the 12-year-old daughter of Jose, one of the farmers in the book. Jose dresses up as an elf for Christmas every year and spreads a little cheer at the market.