A ristra in the kitchen, slowly disappearing.Back from a post-fire holiday in Taos County, New Mexico, where I encountered the Ristra Riddle, namely, how old is that ristra?Ristras are strings of chile peppers, garlic heads, hung to dry, typically under roof eaves or portales (porches). And that is where they often stay. I will bet that more ristras are sold in the Southwest for home decor than for consumption. Not that consumption is hard. You pick the dried peppers, put them in a bowl, pour boiling water over them, and in fifteen or twenty minutes they are rehydrated and ready...