Whew—are you following along on Instagram because I feel like some weeks that’s the only place I post! Thanks for bearing with me as I am on and off on the blog. I’m rounding the corner of 27 weeks and starting to head toward the third trimester. Frankly, I feel like I should be at the end of the third trimester and am thinking that just one more time dead lifting David into a grocery cart is going to send me right to L&D.
I’ve still been keeping up with lots of cooking and baking—it is one of the things that David and I enjoy doing most together, and its relatively sedentary, at least as opposed to walking to the park and running around! The problem is that by the end of the day I sit down and can not muster the energy to actually write about the yummy food I’m cooking. But I’m going to keep working on it, because I have a few recent recipes that are really worth sharing! I have a recipe for an almost no sugar added Peanut Butter Swirl Ice Cream that I’ll be sharing on Full Circle Farms’ blog in a few weeks, and last night David and I veganized one of Irving’s favorite cookies for his birthday, and those definitely need to be shared!
Tonight I want to share a recipe for Posole (also Pozole), a vegan spin on a traditional Mexican soup. Almost 10 years ago now I was working on my masters degree in art education (did you know that I taught Jr. High and High School Visual Arts for 7 years?!?), and I was paired with a teacher for my student teaching who taught both Art and Spanish. I only officially shadowed her for the Art classes, but it was probably there in her art classroom that I began to fall in love with all things Latin. Just a few months after meeting Karla, I met Irving. The more I learned about Latin culture, foods, art, and music, the more I wanted to know!
One evening Karla invited me over for dinner and made me traditional Posole. It is traditionally made with braised pork shoulder, spicy chilies, a thin clear broth, lots of onion and garlic and seasoning, and hominy—a type of large corn grown in Mexico. It is served with what appears to be an entire salad on top—cabbage, green onions, cilantro, radish, avocado, and lime juice. I loved it, and copied down her recipe so that I could make it to impress Irving. Irving doesn’t eat pork so I made mine with chicken back then. Last week I made it with Jack Fruit—it was a dead ringer for the look and texture of shredded meat, but it’s a fruit, so it’s obviously completely plant based. Bonus, it’s a whole food as well—not a processed meat substitute.
This soup completely hits the spot in the winter. It got the stamp of approval from Irving, and I found David playing with his stuffed animals the next day eating a “soup with giant corn in it.” I think I’ll be making it again soon! Salud!
Posole
2 20 ounce cans of young jackfruit in brine (not sweet in syrup, found in Asian and Latin markets)
1 large onion
half head of garlic, minced
1 T avocado oil (or other light neutral oil)
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp adobo (Latin seasoning mix found in most grocery stores, or 1 tsp salt)
1 tsp Mexican oregano
1 t ancho chili powder
½ tsp annatto (also called achiote paste—found in Latin markets) (or substitute paprika)
1 tsp salt
18 ounce jar of crushed tomatoes
6 c water
1 large can hominy
Toppings
Half lime per person, sliced in wedges
4 scallions, sliced
½ c cilantro, rough chop
1 bundle of radishes, sliced
¼ head of purple or green cabbage, sliced thinly
avocado, diced
Slice/dice onion however you prefer! Add it to a large pot with heated oil and sauté until it starts to brown.
In the meantime, open cans of jack fruit and drain. Using your hands, break apart the segments (they are usually in triangle shaped chunks), discarding the round seed pods if you desire (they are completely edible, but detract from the shredded look). Once all of the jack fruit is shredded, add to the onions and mix well. Mince half a head of garlic and add to the mix. Add all herbs and spices and stir well. Allow to brown for a few more minutes until the bottom begins to caramelize. Pour in half cup of water and deglaze the pan. Repeat 1 or 2 times, allowing the flavor to develop.
Add the remaining water and the crushed tomatoes. Stir well and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and allow to simmer over low heat. After about 20 minutes, add the hominy, rinsed and drained, to the pot. Simmer for 10 more minutes.
In the meantime, while the soup is simmering, prep all of your veggies. I have way too much fun being a perfectionist with my radishes. For our 5th anniversary Irving and I went to Vegas and at one of our dinners we had the best Mexican food, with the prettiest garnishes. The radishes were sliced on the equator, and then into little julienned pieces so that they had pink tips! I have zero knife skills, but I try my best, and have fun trying to make my radishes look pretty! I’ve also used mini cookie cutters to cut cute shapes and letters out of radishes and float them on the top of a bowl of soup. Have fun with them!
Once you have your vegetables prepped and the soup has simmered, you’re ready to serve. Serve a big bowl a soup for each person and allow them to garnish as they like. We also serve ours with some warmed up tortillas—such a delicious dinner!
Buen provecho!
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