November 28th - posole party

I have been wanting to make posole (a.k.a. pozole) since earlier this year. After enjoying it repeatedly at this fabulous establishment I became somewhat obsessed. I went so far as to pick up a couple packages of dried hominy and some New Mexico Chilies at Jungle Jim's, but when warmer weather (and the CSA, see my last post) came along I tabled the idea. Almost as soon as October was over, though, I looked at my calendar, as well as the date of the Greenacres pork harvest, and started planning.

After settling on a date (I knew it would be a project so Thanksgiving weekend seemed logical) and inviting friends I sat down and studied multiple recipes (see below). I started with the New York Times recipe as the base for mine. After a good half a day of posole-based internet research and synthesis I swung by Mazunte and picked some of the good stuff for Jonathan and me (for research purposes!).

Studying the dish in this light solidified what I already knew: posole is all about the broth. Mazunte's is a rich, thick, densely flavored broth that I just want to live in. After the broth it's all about the hominy and after the hominy I would venture to say it's all about the Mexican oregano. What it's not all about is the actual meat in the soup (pork in my case, chicken and pork in Mazunte's case).

This is my Mazunte copycat, and may not reflect other posoles, but I hope you enjoy it as much as we did! It is an all-day project (not including soaking the hominy overnight)!

Posole Rojo
Adapted from Simply Recipes, New York Times, Pati's Mexican Table, Homesick Texan, Culinate/Rick Bayless, and Food Network Kitchen (primarily)
Ingredients
Soup

• 1-11/2 lbs dried hominy (I used 30 ounces, which I think is a little too much), soaked overnight in water (I soaked for 11 hours) 
• 4 ounces dried red New Mexico chilies
• 4 lbs pork shoulder, most of the fat removed and cut in 1-inch chunks
• Kosher salt (plenty)
• 9 cloves garlic, peeled, divided
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 3 whole cloves
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 tsp. Mexican oregano 

Garnishes - don't skimp!

• Lime wedges
• Roughly chopped cilantro
• Mexican oregano 
• Chopped/sliced avocado
• Thinly sliced radishes
• Tostadas (Note: I prepared mine by coating corn tortillas in canola oil with a brush, placing them in a single layer on a baking sheet, and baking at 350 for 5 minutes, then flipping and baking for 3 more minutes. They should crisp up.)
• Finely diced white onion, soaked in ice water (to mellow the flavor) (Optional) 

Directions

• Drain soaked hominy and place in a large (like 3-4 gallon) stock pot with 4 cloves of garlic. Cover with about 6 quarts of water and bring to a boil. Let simmer over medium-low heat for 2-3 hours with the lid tilted, until tender. The hominy may "bloom" (burst open). (Note: I noticed that my hominy cooked unevenly, but the next steps took care of this problem. Feel free to cook yours longer if you experience this). Allow the hominy to cool in the water until you are ready to add it to the soup (this was 4-5 hours for me). It will continue to soften.
• Pat the pork dry and season with salt. Brown in a couple tablespoons of oil in a large (like 3-4 gallon) pot over medium heat. Work in batches so as not to crowd the pork. Add 5 minced garlic cloves near the end of the last batch and cook for a minute, until fragrant. Add 5 quarts water, pork bone, 1 tbsp. salt, bay leaves, 2 tsp. oregano, onion, and cloves. Simmer, partially covered, until the meat in very tender and the broth is very flavorful, about 3 to 3 1/2 hours. Allow the meat to cool in the broth (I cooled mine for about 3 hours on the counter) and skim as much fat off the top as you can. (Note: I like to use a spoon to skim the fat into a glass, then I skim this glass into another glass and return the broth from the first glass to the pot). Remove meat from broth and remove any remaining fat from the meat. Remove bay leaves and cloves if possible.  
• Once the hominy and the broth are going toast chilies in a cast iron skillet in batches until just fragrant. Slit lengthwise and remove and discard stems and seeds. Put in a saucepan and cover with water brought off the boil. Weight with a plate or bowl to keep them submerged and allow to soak for about 30 minutes, until hydrated. Puree in a blender with 2 cups of the soaking liquid. Strain out the tough solids and discard.
• Combine broth, hominy, and chili puree, plus 2 tbsp. salt, and simmer for 3-4 hours or longer. Add salt (you will need a lot) and liquid (I added 2 cups hominy-soaking liquid) as needed. The broth should reduce and be very flavorful and the hominy should be tender and flavorful. If not, keep simmering.
• Add meat shortly before serving.
• Serve with the garnishes. Crumble the Mexican oregano between your fingers as you put it in the soup. Break up the tostadas. 
• Invite some friends/family to share posole, or freeze some for later! 

November 10th - squash curry soup

The realities of life after the CSA have really started to sink in this week; lingering CSA vegetables, like carrots, sweet potatoes, and squash, have hung around long enough for the transition to be gradual.

Life during the CSA was full of incredible culinary growth and palate expansion for me (and Jonathan), but included a lot of (albeit self-imposed) limitations. I bookmarked tons recipes I came across on which I couldn't justify expending cooking time and energy. I even hesitated at free meals that would mean consuming calories that weren't coming from CSA vegetables.

Thus, one of the positive aspects of life post-CSA has been a feeling of excitement stemming from the freedom to use my "kitchen energy" however I like. I have found renewed motivation from culinary possibilities, including an unhealthy obsession with pastry (though this could also be due to the approaching holidays). It's almost like a whole side of my culinary self was put on hold from June until now and that I am in the process of waking up. For example, I hadn't made traditional pizza crust since before the CSA (that changed last night), focusing instead on "alternative" pizza crusts that use CSA vegetables (see here and here).

The bad side of life post-CSA includes the obvious - greens from the grocery store really suck, our diets probably aren't as healthy and diverse, and we now have to seek out and pay for produce, which is just a pain.

The really difficult part, though, is the feeling of indecision and accompanying anxiety over the limitless choices I now apparently have in the kitchen. This, of course, stems from a lack of (albeit self-imposed) limitations. Therefore, to quell these feelings, I instituted "soup week" on Monday to limit my choices and keep myself from wavering between pizza, chickpea salad, quinoa chowder, jap chae, Indian vegetable fritters, etc., all on the same night. At the time I didn't articulate this reasoning to myself, but it became clear a few days in.

Soup week started off on Monday with Swiss chard and potato soup from the freezer, followed on Tuesday by a new recipe from Elise at Simply Recipes (below). Next came cabbage soup on Wednesday, and finally there was carrot coconut curry on Thursday

We celebrated the end of soup week by making pizza on Friday.

Squash Curry Soup
Adapted from here
Ingredients

• 1 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion (about 2 medium onions)
• 2 tsp. minced garlic
• 2 tsp. minced ginger
• 1 1/2 tsp. curry powder (I used my favorite SWAD Madras curry powder) 
• 3/4 tsp. ground cumin (preferably ground from whole seeds)
• 1/2 tsp. ground coriander (I am wary of grinding this from whole seeds for some dishes as I can find it too pungent) 
• Pinch of ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 4 cups chicken broth, vegetable broth, or water
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 1/2 cups (2 15 oz cans) roasted pumpkin or winter squash (You can puree this ahead of time, but I never do for dishes like this since I am going to puree everything in the end anyway. Same goes for pumpkin pie and sweet potato pancakes.)
• 3 tbsp. heavy cream
• 1/8 tsp. black pepper
• 1-2 tbsp. lime juice (or lemon juice?) 
• Sour cream or yogurt for topping
• Toasted squash seeds for topping (optional)
• Naan or bread for serving (optional) 

Directions

• Melt butter in a large pot of medium heat. Add the onions and saute until they have some color, about 10 minutes.
• Add the garlic, ginger, curry powder, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and salt and saute for a minute.
• Add the water/broth/stock, bay leaves, and squash. 
• Increase heat to high, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
• Simmer 10-15 minutes.
• Remove bay leaves. Puree the soup using an immersion blender or blender.
• Stir in the cream, black pepper, and lime or lemon juice to taste. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed (more salt will be necessary if you used water or salt-free broth/stock).
• Serve with sour cream or yogurt, toasted seeds from the squash, and naan or bread.