1 post tagged “family blessings”

[Editor's note: This was a post I meant for last night.  Since then, we've received some grave news which may or may not see the light of Vox.  In the interest of praising God for the blessings we have when they come our undeserving way, I think I'll post this as I intended, and if you know about the grave news of which I speak, pray on and please don't take this as a flagrant example of insensitivity on my end.  This post is only meant as a lighthearted "Thanks be to God for my wife's skill in the kitchen."]

So, last night, I was treated to one of my favorite meals...a soup called "Pozole."  (I'm sure it has a hyphen or some fancy thing over the final "e"--this typist don't know how to do one of those things.)  The pictures don't really do it justice, but here's the deal:

It's cheap, nutritious, and (at the expense of sounding like a TV commercial) culinary fun for the whole family!  Our kids LOVED it. 

Maybe, if you're all lucky little duckies, Tasha will post her grubalicious recipe, but I know it has pork stew meat, some tomatoes or salsa, hominy (a very important addition, use the canned variety and save time--it's basically gigantic kernels of white corn grown in Paradise...), re-hydrated "Ancho" chilies that were roasted (you can use a can or so of chipotle peppers, to taste) and some kind of broth (which she must have imported from "Yummy Simplistic Goodness, Inc." or some fantastic place).

That's it for the soup.  Get the meat nice and tender, season with whatever (salt, pepper, I think some sort of mystery ingredients would do well, a couple of Bay leaves) and ladle up, brotha, soup's on!

But wait!  That CAN'T be it?

Well, not really.  Most of the ingredients (here's the "fun for the whole family" part) are added individually at the table, so you have bowls at the dinner table filled with:

Cilantro (NOT "Italian Parsley" or what have you!  It's CILANTRO.  Right next to the parsley.)

Cabbage (NOT Lettuce), sliced and sometimes diced.

Cheese (Don't think this is how it's served in Mexico, but we're Hussey's...need cheese...shred your favorite or use a Mexican white cheese.)

Lemon/Lime wedges or juice (concentrate works great)

Hot Sauce

Sour Cream

Onions (we like 'em red/chopped, but traditional recipes call for green onions usually)

Salsa

Tortilla or Corn Chips (we crumbled them on top)

Each person gets as much/little addition to the basic pork/broth stew that they want.  Hint: try the lemon/lime combo using concentrated jars of the juices, with some hot sauce, plenty of greens...and Presto!  Instant yumminess.  The soup comes alive with every ingredient, metamorphing from a boring broth with stew meat--yawn!--into a lively texture of blogalicious goodness.  Excuse me, I'm drooling...be right back...

[changes bib in background]...I'm back!

This soup is about the experience, the hands-on nature of the meal, and satisfying individual tastes.  It is now on the "high demand" list of Tasha's recipe collection.

Mind you, this a traditional Mexican dish, made over 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 ways (depending on who your grandmother dated and the proximity to the equator to her birth place...divided by the azimuth of the zenith of your birth star...plus your tax ID or SSN...times two.  See the chart for more info on this quick calculation that most Mexican grandmothers do in their sleep to determine which recipe to use.*)  If you know Mexican cuisine, which we don't, you may not appreciate the recipe changes.  However, having had the "real deal" over 14 years ago, I must vouch for Tasha's adaptation.

The beauty of it all is that the meal is CHEAP, ingredients-wise.  (Unless you live where produce costs your right arm.)  It's also one of the only meals I know that you make your own way at the table, so you really can satisfy everyone (unless they demand a "Kosher" meal, then they're up the proverbial creek with no paddle, canoe, or ability to swim).  Even Jonah the Wise, who demands as little produce and actual nutrients as possible, had a ball with it last night.  'Course, he added more cheese and chips than most others eating last night, but Jacob had more cabbage than your average family of rabbits. 

Overall, it was an enjoyable snippet of family, fellowship and happiness; a pre-cursor of eating at the Lord's Table.

Here are the pics.  Don't think the Food Network will call me anytime soon to replace a photographer:

  *The chart doesn't exist.