In at least one part of the world where chile is king—Malaysia—no one believes that Americans eat chile. Anne Raeff and Lori Ostlund had to convince their Malaysian friends that Americans not only eat the stuff but also grow it—in New Mexico. As the only Westerners living in Malacca, a historic seacoast town of 40,000 about 125 miles from Singapore, Raeff and Ostlund spread the truth about New Mexico chile during the 18 months they taught English at a community college there. In 1988 they returned to Albuquerque laden with enough Malaysian antiques to open Two Serious Ladies, a successful shop and gallery in upper Nob Hill. Just as they shared the West with Malaysia, now they share Southeast Asia—especially its furniture and cuisine—with friends at home.

Raeff and Ostlund decided to open Two Serious Ladies because they admired the furniture they found in Southeast Asia. (The shop’s unusual name comes from the title of a witty 1943 novel by Jane Bowles about two stodgy middle-aged women who venture out into the world for wild adventures.) Raeff and Ostlund make two buying trips a year to find high-quality items not made for export but rather for locals in the region. The women wanted to own a business that would leave them enough time and energy to write, yet another of their passions. The strategy has worked. This fall Raeff’s first novel, Clara Mondschein’s Melancholia, will be released by MacAdam/Cage, a San Francisco publishing company that specializes in new fiction.

Besides running a successful business, the women can also indulge their love of Asian cuisine in Albuquerque, where not only is chile plentiful but other common Asian food ingredients as well. They find everything they need at regular groceries and at 99 Banh and Ta-Lin, two large Asian markets convenient to the women’s Nob Hill home. The shelves at these markets are laden with packaged ingredients, and fresh produce comes into Albuquerque from California each Thursday. Among the rare items the markets stock are fresh lime leaves, an essential ingredient for Indonesian dishes. Whenever the women spot some, they snap ’em up and freeze a batch for later use.

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