Chicken Tortilla Soup

I don't really have a story for this one...its sooper easy, healthy, light and delicious.

Yield: 6-8 entree servings
Cook Time: 30-60 minutes, depending on your chop speed.

Ingredients:
2 T vegetable oil
1 large yellow onion, small dice
2 ribs celery, small dice
1 poblano pepper, very small dice
1 banana pepper, very small dice
1 pepper in adobo (canned, in with the latin foods), minced with sauce
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 T oregano
2 t good quality chili powder
1 T ground cumin
1 t red pepper flakes if you still want more heat
8 oz (or the whole can, who cares?) fire roasted chopped tomatoes and liquid
1-2 boxes low sodium chicken stock
1 bay leaf
several dashes smoked Tabasco
1 cup black beans, cooked
1-2 cups, grilled chicken thighs, chopped
1 cup corn, fresh or frozen
1 lime, juice and zest

Garnish:
broken corn chips
shredded cheddar
chopped scallions

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a soup pot over medium heat until rippling. Add onions, celery and peppers. Sweat over medium about 10 minutes or until beginning to soften. Add a small amount of salt and the garlic, stir and continue cooking 1-3 minutes, careful not to scorch the garlic.
2. Add dry herbs and spices, toast all together for a couple of minutes, then add tomatoes, stock, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and add tabasco. Simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes and adjust seasonings.
   
3. Add chicken and beans, warm through, about 8 minutes. Add corn and cook until just heated through.
4. Finish soup with lime juice and zest, adjust salt, pepper and other seasonings to taste.
5. Ladle soup into warm bowls, top with a raft of chips and sprinkle with cheese and scallions. Plunk a couple of black beans and corn on top for prettiness.
   

Drink:
Dos Equis Amber or
Aged Tequilla with a splash of soda and a wedge of lime.

Basic Curry

I was always one of those "I don't like curry" people. Really turned my nose up at the stuff. When B started enjoying Indian cuisine with coworkers, he tried to get me on board and I firmly declined. One day I was at the market and spied an Indian frozen dinner, so I picked up a Chana Masala for B. He offered me a taste and I reluctantly accepted....and then I was hooked. So many flavors that were brand new to me. I promptly got on the web and started looking for recipes. Now more than 3 years later I have a couple of trips to India under my belt, a cabinet full of spices and a repertoire of dishes that I mostly make up on the fly. Today's recipe is a super basic dish that changes every time I make it. I like it best for breakfast....chalk it up to 5 weeks in India.

NOTE: like any good soup, stew or sauce everything is relative and to taste. The longer and slower you cook it the better and it is 2x as good the next day.

Yield: 4-6 entree portions
Cook time: up to 3 hours

Ingredients:

2 T canola oil or ghee
2 large yellow onions, small dice
1.5 inches of ginger root, peeled and thinly sliced
5 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced (you want about the same volume of ginger and garlic)
8 oz canned diced tomatoes and all liquid
1 fresh green chili, minced
1 dried red chili, minced
8 green cardamom pods, seeds only or 1 T ground cardamom
2 T ground cumin
2 T ground coriander
1 T fennel seeds
1 T ground turmeric
1 T chili powder
1.5 c garbanzo beans
1.5 c cauliflower florets
1 c frozen green peas
1 -2 c anything else like zucchini, potato, chopped spinach, tomato, eggplant, diced chicken etc
1-3 c water or stock as needed
6 cups prepared rice

Method:

• Heat 1 T oil over medium low in a medium sauce pan, add onions and sweat 5 minutes. Add garlic and ginger, continue to sweat another 10 minutes. Add a very little salt.
• Meanwhile, in a large saute pan or dutch oven, heat the remaining oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add the cumin, coriander, turmeric, and chili powder. Stirring constantly fry for about 10 minutes. Do not burn! Add sprinkles of water if it begins to catch. After 1o min, add fennel seeds, cardamom, and chilies - fry 3 more minutes.
  
• Add fried spices,tomatoes and any liquid to the sauce pan. Remove from heat and carefully puree with stock / water using an immersion blender. You're going for something about the consistency of catchup. Return the sauce to simmer and allow to cook down for 30 to 60 minutes stirring frequently. It will gloop all your stove...embrace it. Taste from time to time and adjust the seasoning to your liking.
• Add the garbanzos and cauliflower and any other additions, cover and cook till tender crisp. Add the peas 5 minutes before serving to avoid over cooking. Adjust the liquid content to the desired consistency, should not be soupy or too catchuppy, more like a nice thick pasta sauce.
• Serve over warm rice, along side any grilled meats or veggies, accompanied by steamy naan. My favorite seasoned rice recipe to follow soon.