(Dolen Perkins-Valdez, hardback). From the title you might think this is a book about the s-x word. It’s not. By a long shot. But the story, set in about 1852, is about a black slave woman, and her somewhat misguided “love” for her master. About the children she bore him, under the eagle eye of the master’s wife. But it’s all tied together with a yearly journey made to a place called Tawawa House, a rural inn of sorts in southern Ohio (a free State), that for some years allowed white slave owners to stay at the resort in rustic cottages with their black slaves, as couples. This place existed, according to the author’s afterword, and finally closed because some of the regulars (white couples who stayed in the main house) didn’t fancy this concubine business going on out in the woods. It’s about Lizzie’s relationships with the other slave women, about their desire to run to safety through the local underground, about them secretly meeting some free blacks, finding out more about abolition, and about the hardships all these black mistresses endured, and how little their lives were valued. A real stunning book. (I was sent this book as a perk from Harper Collins – because I had mentioned The Help. No strings attached – I could choose to mention this book, or not, here on my blog. I’m glad to because it’s a very good read.)
(Jamie Ford, on my Kindle). A poignant story about a Chinese-American, growing up in Seattle at the beginning of World War II. Henry falls in love with a young Japanese girl before her family is interned in a relocation camp. It a very secretive relationship because his parents would highly disapprove. The story goes back to the 40’s and forward to the 1980’s when Henry is in his 50’s and his wife (not the Japanese woman) has just died of cancer. The story pulls you in from the first page, especially when some artifacts are found in the basement of an old hotel which contain personal belongings from several Japanese families who were suddenly taken away back in 1942. You can see where it’s going, can’t you? I heard criticism of this book that it was just a little bit contrived. Halfway through I’m enjoying it very much.
(Kathryn Stockett on my Kindle, an excellent read); 
by Jetta Carleton (Kindle edition, eh); 
by Susan Richards (Kindle edition, good book); 
by Sally Gunning (Kindle edition, very good read)
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(Mario Batali & Gweneth Paltrow); 
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The first time I had posole was my first visit to Santa Fe, New Mexico. That was about about 20 years ago, I’d guess. It was a culinary tour, and the guide packed in 4 days of day and night eating, shopping, museums, tours and more food. It was heavenly fun. The food was out of this world. If you’ve ever had a food epiphany, then you can relate to what I felt on that trip. I realized I was truly enamored with Southwest food.
I’d never even heard of posole (poh-so-lee) until that trip, and hence learned that traditionally it’s a pork and hominy stew, typical of that region. Likely you can find it in Texas too, probably Arizona as well. In the stores there you can buy posole mixes (yes, I bought one). Hominy isn’t something I buy at all – I bet I’ve only purchased it a couple of times in my life (canned). But hominy is a requirement for this recipe. However, I didn’t have any. What to do? I used garbanzo beans instead. Not exactly authentic, but close.
In my repertoire of recipes I found one for posole made with chicken, so it at least gave me the formation of this recipe since chicken was what I had defrosting for the evening meal. The soup came together in rapid order – maybe not quite 30 minutes, but almost.
The recipe I was reading suggested you add a can of enchilada sauce. Well, I didn’t have that either. So I made my own. Well, actually, I just added the ingredients to the soup. Then I added in my own tweaking here and there (chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, some powdered cocoa), and now I’ve got a new soup recipe for my collection. This soup was fansastic if I do say so myself.
Now, I will say, I used Penzey’s turkey soup base concentrate for this recipe. And, if you read my blog piece a few days ago, you know that I’m a huge fan of Penzey’s soup bases. And once again, it provided a delicious depth of character to what was a relatively simple soup. The spinach is added in at the last and is barely cooked. I used baby spinach, which made the bites manageable. If you buy regular spinach, you’d best chop it up a little.
Chicken Posole, New Mexican Style
Recipe: My own recipe with inspriation from a couple of internet recipes
Servings: 5
1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts, no skin, no bone, cut in 1/2 inch cubes
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 whole onion — peeled, diced
1 1/2 whole red bell peppers — trimmed, cubed
3 cloves garlic
3 cups water
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon concentrate — preferably Penzey’s soup base
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon chipotle chile canned in adobo — minced
1 tablespoon chili powder
14 1/2 ounces garbanzo beans, canned — drained, or hominy
10 ounces tomato sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons dried oregano — crushed
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 ounces spinach leaves — baby spinach if possible
1 cup corn — fresh, or canned & drained
1. In a large nonstick skillet or soup pot add the raw chicken cubes with the 2 tablespoons of water. Cover, but stir frequently and cook until most of the water is gone. Remove lid and increase heat and cook until chicken pieces are lightly browned and cooked through. Remove to a plate and set aside.
2. Into the same pan add the olive oil, then add the onion. Saute until onion has begun to wilt, then add the red bell pepper pieces. Stir a bit and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and continue stirring for one minute.
3. Add the flour to the chicken pieces and toss until the chicken has absorbed nearly all the flour.
4. Add the water and bouillon concentrate (or use chicken stock in lieu of the water and concentrate/granules) and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat, then add the cocoa powder, chile powder, tomato sauce and oregano. Add the canned corn and bring to simmer again. Add the chicken pieces that have been set aside along with the cream. Bring to a simmer again, then add all the spinach leaves and stir in until they’re all covered in soup.
Per Serving: 466 Calories; 17g Fat (32.3% calories from fat); 39g Protein; 42g Carbohydrate; 9g Dietary Fiber; 116mg Cholesterol; 1019mg Sodium.
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elizabeth
said on September 22nd, 2008:
Sounds great! I have too many frozen chicken breasts from costco in the freezer. This recipe will be a good use for them. I just made some tortilla soup and this soup will be next.
Do you add the chipolte along with the tomato sauce, chili pwdr, etc. ? I will probably have to throw in a little cilantro too.
I’ve been using the knorr chic cubes for my soups, but ordered some of the penzeys chic soup base, can’t wait to use it!
Thanks for your blog posts!
Elizabeth – I did add the chipotle right along with the other stuff. BUT, when I opened the can of chipotles a couple of weeks ago, I carefully minced and sliced it up with a big chef’s knife until it was mostly mush. Then I scooped small little blobs of it onto a foil lined tray. Stuck that in the freezer. Once frozen I removed the little chunks and put them in a plastic bag (double layer), so when I need some chipotle, I just reach in the bag for one or two “pieces.” If you freeze the whole chiles, you’ll end up with larger chunks of chipotle in your soup. Those might overwhelm some eaters. I took a photo of the chipotles that way and have forgotten to write up the post about it. Thanks for reminding me! And absolutely, have some cilantro with it too. Since it had spinach, I thought it might compete. We had the leftovers for dinner tonight and it was just as good as the first time. Hope you love the Penzey’s soup base as much as I do. I made another soup two days ago (chicken chili) which I’ll post sometime in the next week or two. Glad you’re enjoying my blog. Thanks for commenting. I really appreciate it when I know there are people out there reading. . . . Carolyn T
J. LeNoir
said on October 5th, 2009:
Being a native of NM and the southern region (though I’m not naive with Northern NM), I must say that there is a completely different cooking style between the North and the South. Quite frankly, I prefer the southern style of Mexican food over the North. No comparison whatsoever between the regions. I also must say that “chile” in the north is bland and sweet, and “chile” in the south is warm to hot, garlic, onion, oregano, and no sweet! Taste for yourself, however, nothern “Mexican” food is tex, newmex, mex, and the real thing is southern New Mexico!