Pozole

NOTE: I updated this a bit - see details in the Pozole Revisit post.
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Pozole is a stew made from hominy corn (aka pozole or posole), and pork in a base of red chile sauce, and there are a million recipes out there.  Here's one more :-)

To a large soup pot, add:
- one recipe of Julie's Red Chile Sauce
- 2 medium onions, chopped
- 4* cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 lbs lean pork**, in 1/2 inch cubes
- 12 oz dried posole corn+++, soaked overnight and rinsed,
   or
   25 oz can*** hominy corn, rinsed and drained
- water to cover
- salt to taste

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 2 hours (+/-), stirring occasionally.  I like it best after it has simmered all afternoon with the lid off (Rick likes it a bit soupier).

Last Christmas eve, I followed tradition, and made this - I left it on the stove while we went out to view the lights, and had dinner waiting when we got back!

* you can also use chicken, or a combination
** I have been adding more and more garlic! And I like it very coarsely chopped.
*** I (originally) tried this with dried hominy, and didn't notice a significant difference. The directions I used said to boil, rinse, repeat *several* times, which was extremely time consuming and wasteful. After the water ran clear, the corn had to be cooked 2 hrs, until it "popped" - all that was not worth the slight difference (a bit chewier) to me.  Another approach I have seen that I have not yet tried is to soak the dried hominy overnight, then rinse and cook till it pops. I will probably try that. Apparently, frozen pozole is also available, but I haven't looked too hard for it.
+++ UPDATE: I have since tried a new process with dried hominy, and am now firmly in that camp :-)

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This dish is available all *over* New Mexico. In California, it is often a special at Mom and Pop Mexican restaurants.
Usual garnishes include minced onion, chopped cabbage, lime wedges, sliced Jalapeños, avocado, sour cream, fresh cilantro, and tortillas.

Julie's Red Chile Sauce

A long time ago, I called Mom's work to ask her to bring home some enchilada sauce (yep, canned). She wasn't available, but a lovely woman who worked with her started to take the message.

Heh. When she heard what I wanted, she said "Oh, no, no, no! Just make it from scratch!" And she gave me a recipe :-)

I've since moved to New Mexico, land of chiles, and have modified it somewhat (tho, really, not much!).
The key thing to keep in mind are the ratios: equal parts of flour, chile powder, and oil.

 Mix
- 4 spoons of flour
- 3 spoons mild red chile powder
- 1 spoon hot red chile powder
- 1 spoon dried, ground cumin

Heat 4 spoons olive oil in a pot or deep pan on medium high.  When "waves" appear in the oil,

stir in the powder a bit at a time. It should bubble.

I like a French whisk for this. Make sure to avoid the fumes.

When all the powder is stirred in, cook and stir a bit more to toast it. (If you've made roux, this is a familiar process)

Stir in several cups of water, mixing out any lumps, and avoiding the steam (seriously, avoid it!).

Reduce the heat to low; let the sauce cook to thicken and reduce, stirring occasionally.  Between stirs, there will likely form a skin - just stir that back in.

This makes a fantastic base for chili, pozole, enchiladas, carne adovada, and...

Adjust the ratio of hot / mild to taste.
Add salt to taste.

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Of course, you can always opt for the pre-made stuff (I have this, but haven't tried it...)

ABQ Snow

We're having quite a swing from our 70° weather of a couple of weeks ago!  This week is all about our much-needed precipitation.  

And today is all about staying inside and making pozole! :-) 

New Paints

I finally added to my collection of acrylic paints! Artisan (off Central in ABQ) had almost everything on my list, but were out of a few items - I looked for alternatives, and asked a *lot* of questions, and left with some interesting new things to try!

Last night, I ran some tests
- I used plain packing paper (sometimes pack-ratting comes in handy)
- For shading, I tried payne's gray first, instead of mixed (I like how this worked, so I'm going to try this for real!)
- Then I painted directly over it with a base color (one I never use)
- Then I used a new brush (less give than I'm used to) to spread my new translucent magenta - this is a slower drying paint, and I wanted to get a feel for just how slow
- Then I splashed around the new blue - I like this opaque color for washing over scenes for a misty effect; I was used to heavy body, but this is a soft body version, so I wanted to see how different it was (it's probably even better for how I use it!)

All in all, I had fun!

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Oh yes - These local art supply shops are great resources for tips on technique, art classes, shows, and where to get your stuff framed!

Support Your Local Trees

Another walk along the Paseo del Bosque Trail...

Albuquerque takes it's trees seriously! I think this one doesn't really need its supports* so much anymore ;-)

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* Jetty Jacks

Rio Grande Nature Center

We spent some quality time this afternoon at the Rio Grande Nature Center - we had been looking for different trails to access the river, and this fit the bill!

Today the river was full, but not overflowing into the flood plain, and there is still no hint of green...

But it was sunny, and in the 60's, and we were together :-)

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Additional Info:
- Trails are well marked and easy - there were a lot of families around.  You can pick up a 1-page trail map for some minimal cost at the visitor's center, but it is not as necessary as at some places.
- Parking is $3 / car (more for vans)
- Biking and walking in is free
- Street parking a block away is plentiful and free
- Getting there is easy: Rio Grande Blvd, turn West on Candelaria until it dead-ends, and park!

Diverse Winters

It's all about diversity!

Friends in Iowa are celebrating their "finally here!" snow, and Boston friends have had enough already!

My folks in California had to mow the lawn after the almost year's-worth of rain all in December, but are happily arranging wildflowers and camellias in vases all around the house.

Costa Rica is in full-on Summer - soft breezes, sunny skies, fiestas, flowers.

Today in Albuquerque, it was T-shirt weather - shiny bright sun, but no flowers or greenery yet.