Mexican Chicken Soup Ina Style

As a Barefoot Blogger, I have to say I have been thrilled to focus on many of the fabulous Ina Garten recipes in print. I have tried some recipes that I probably would have overlooked for one reason or another. Have they all been winners? No, but I have found a few that with tweaking, I could learn to really love. Today's challenge of Mexican Chicken Soup is such a recipe.

What did I love about this recipe? I loved the shredded chicken technique. I normally cook the hell out of a chicken and bone it and use the broth in some sort of soupy way. Well, since my 16 year old is a vegetarian, I have had to re-think my way of cooking. I am glad to change foods to suit her needs since she is such a good and wonderful child, who hardly ever gives me grief; I figure making things work for her benefit, benefit me too!

What I did or would do different:

• In this recipe I substituted the veggie stock for chicken stock.
  
• Good so far, I roasted the chicken and used the juices in the soup after I portioned out some soup for her.
• I liked the white corn tortillas! My tortillas really kind of thickened my soup.
• I did not care for the carrots. I understand their use in an aromatic sense, but they seemed out of place in this recipe.
• This recipe screamed for Hatch, New Mexico green chile's. Luckily as a good Mexican-American girl, I keep oodles and oodles in my freezer. I don't imagine even Ina goes to the lengths I do to keep a fresh roasted supply of these lovelies in stock.
• I would probably add some hominy in place of the carrots. Even fresh corn would have been a better addition here than the carrots. Do you understand....I did not like the carrots?
• I didn't like the sour cream either, but it did look pretty on the soup. It was optional, I felt it took away from the true flavor of the soup.
  

Did I mention I didn't like the carrots? Even potatoes would have been better here.

Pretty bird....

I Feel Like a Pioneer

Okay kids, by now you know all things for me are food related. Will you just look at all I got accomplished today!

Look at what came from my garden today.I bought some incredible peaches at the Farmer's Market at Pioneer Park. I made this dynamite Lavender Peach Jam. (I grew the Lavender, thank you)

I even had the energy to make Tiny and her crew some homemade chips, and guacamole.
Tomorrow I sleep in.

Reminder to vote in the poll. Upper right hand corner of this page.

Confessions of a Foodie

Macey's is my favorite grocery store. It is not the most convenient though is it? I wish it could trade places with Albertson's. One of my favorite past-times is reading the food ads. I subscribe to the paper for the Macey's food ad and the coupons.(I am cleansing my soul, by finally confessing my secret addiction.) I am probably the last person to know, but I couldn't believe how easy it was this week to plan my shopping.Normally, I sit down with about a dozen of my recent favorite cookbooks and various recipes I have copied from the Internet, and then I write down the items I need to purchase for the weekly menu I have created. THIS IS ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVORITE THINGS TO DO!! When people ask me about my hobbies, I am ashamed to admit that I love to plan menus and shopping lists, so I lie and say, "crafts". Why the heck do you think I am so fat? My life revolves around food; in every single aspect!! Reading about it, (600 cookbooks), cooking it (fancy appliances and gizmos), now I am admitting:

I love to shop for it.
(Any Grocery Store).

Somebody out there is reaching for the phone, right now, to call the mental hospital up the street to have me committed. (Ask my mother... all my life.. loved the store.) Okay, back to the shopping. You can go to maceys.com

and they will take you to a cool html of the current Provo store ad, where all you have to do is grab the item you want and it will create a shopping list for you. You can even put in any other ingredients, and you can select the coupons you want to use and they will price it for you.

Now if we can only get a Wholefood's Market in Provo....

A Recipe Collector from a Different Era

My Mother-in-law lost her mother Rae a few years ago, when she and her sister were cleaning out her home she found several old books. Included in these treasures were hundreds of hand written recipes. It was fun to pull these out recently and leaf through them. While many recipes would be considered unappealing to us today, there were several that were keepers. One keeper was called "Egg White Pie Crust".


I even found one that was labeled "1908 My Wedding Cake." What a great piece of history ! My kids had fun going through them and looking at the vernacular of the day, such as " Mother Etz's" cake. Or "Mrs. Holden's" Nut Bread. I don't think we will be having the Aspic with Salmon anytime soon!

Doughnuts Make You Fat

We cannot get doughnuts in Malaysia. A real cake donut is something we Gaddis' not only crave, but need with every fiber of our bodies. I have been doing some research online to find a do-able recipe, one that will satisfy and put a gut bomb in the tummy with the greatest of ease. Last July, I even bought 2 doughnut gizmos to help me acheive perfection. While these didn't taste like I had hoped, they sure look pretty. I will keep trying cake doughnut recipes until I am satisfied. Until then, I will probably gain lots of weight, testing and testing.

Comfort Food ..Thanks Grandma

4 cups flour
4 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. salt
2 T. Crisco
1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cup warm water

Incorporate well the shortening into the dry ingredients with your hands.
Slowly add the warm water until a nice dough forms, not too wet, not too dry.
Knead for 5 minutes.
Divide into nice round golfball sized pieces.
Roll them out nice and thin and round.
Cook them on a medium hot griddle and you have Flour Tortillas.

This is my ultimate idea of comfort food. I don't think I ever was at my grandmother Lucero's house when she didn't have homemade tortillas on hand. Now I make them so seldom it is a shame. I guess other things take my time and I forget the simple things that make me happy. Yesterday I made Chorizo, from my Grandmother's secret recipe that my Mother gave me years ago. I cannot tell you how happy I was today at dinner, scambled eggs with Chorizo and fried potatoes and fresh tortillas! Poor people food that I grew up taking for granted. Eating this simple meal took me back to humble yet sturdy kitchen tables laden with food made with love by strong women who knew how to feed not only the body, but the soul as well. Wow! Now that is comfort.