Posole

At holiday time people throughout the world honor traditions, and New Mexico is no exception. One tradition many here look forward to on Christmas Eve is a steaming bowl of posole (po-SO-lay), a spicy corn stew that is known as the ceremonial dish for celebrating life's blessings.

New Mexicans have been enjoying posole for centuries. The cuisine here springs from three cultures: Native American, Mexican, and European. The Rio Grande Pueblo Indians, and their ancestors, the “Anasazi,” or "ancient ones,” relied on corn, beans, squash, and chiles for sustenance. These early crops became firmly entrenched in the culture, forming the foundation of New Mexican cuisine even before the Spanish arrived.

Corn has been and is the major food plant of the Native Americans. Red, yellow, and blue corn are cultivated in New Mexico. The corn is ground into meal and flour for use in breads and tortillas, and it is processed into posole corn.

Posole corn is prepared by soaking hard kernels of field corn (traditionally white, although blue is sometimes used now) in powdered lime and water - a method thought to mimic the ancient preservation of corn in limestone caves. After several hours, when the corn kernels have swollen, the liquid is allowed to evaporate and the kernels to dry.

Posole is different from hominy, another kind of processed corn, which tends to be softer and more bland. Compared to hominy, posole’s flavor is intense and earthy, its consistency more robust. Since posole corn can be difficult to find, hominy is often used as a substitute in posole stew.

The variations for posole are many. Some make it with chicken rather than pork; some prefer to use vegetable protein rather than meat. While posole in Southern New Mexico is always made with red chile, it is not uncommon to find Northern New Mexico posole made with green chile.

Ingredients for Posole

2 lb. Pork chops or tenderloin (cut into 1" cubes)
dried long red chile (or you may use frozen or canned chile)
2 T. salt
2 t. Oregano
2 t. garlic powder
4 cans White Hominy
1 t. cumin

Preparation

Place cubed meat in a large kettle with oil and one tablespoon of salt. Cover meat and cook over medium heat. Add all other spices and cook; then add red chile sauce and hominy. Let simmer for 30 minutes. Add the additional salt or more if needed for taste.

To serve, ladle the posole into bowls and serve with flour tortillas.

Happy New Year!

Today is New Year's Eve and I am making the traditional Mexican "posole" which is like a red chile soup. It is always made on New Year's Eve and is supposed to bring luck for the new year. It's make with red chile, white hominy and pork. It's very yummy and pepper hot.

Here's hoping the new year brings much joy, happiness and good health. I'm speaking about my "back" issues. Thanks to all who ventured to my blog and read what I had to say. Hopefully next year I'll be blogging more than I have!

One more thing to buy

As Christmas approaches, I find myself thankful this holiday season isn't stressful for me. Afterall, the reason for the season is the birth of Jesus.

Today I have one last gift to get and then I am done. It's nice to just sit back and look at the Chirstmas tree, the decorations, the presents and everything else that goes with this holiday season. And the weather will be great today...in the 60's.

Now I didn't say anything about what the traffic will be like!! ;-)

Cold Sunday Morning

The rains are gone and I'm glad. Since AT&T worked on burying fiber optics in our neighborhood they made a royal mess of our driveway. Most of the gravel (at the end of the drive) is gone and they recovered it with what seems to be this "clay dirt" so now we have a muddy drive. I just wish they had done a better job. So anytime I walk out there with the dogs I ended up tracking mud in the house - no matter how well I clean my shoes! grrr

It was about 29 degrees when I got out of bed and it's slowly warming up. We should be about 45 today so that's not too bad. Don't get me wrong I LOVE cold weather...after the hot summer we had it's a welcome change ;-)

Skunked!

This whole concept is new to me. Have you ever had a skunk spray your yard...then your dog rolls in the stink? Well that's what happened to my dog, Jack. It's been a month, I think, but I think what happened is this: A skunk was exploring our back yard. The motion detector light came on...he/she got scared and sprayed the yard.

Then...my dog smelled and rolled in it. Funny how my female dog didn't roll in it. Anyway, then Jack comes into the house (my dogs are mostly indoor dogs) and rolled on the carpet, his favorite rug, some of the dog beds...oh great!! It took me all day to wash everything (including Jack). No dice! So I call the Vet and I'm given a recipe to de-skunk him. It's perioxide, baking soda and dishwashing soap. It didn't seem to work. I did everything possible! The only stink he has left is around his head/neck and when he gets wet it starts stinking again. I've been told it will take time for the stink to go away...but when??

Oh well, such is the life of living in the country where wild animals do their thing ;-(

Maintenance

Finally finished physical therapy (September) and now I'm doing the monthly maintenance thing. I must admit I miss working out at the gym with the trainer on a weekly basis but I'm still working out monthly. Not that I'm not working out totally...I'm still walking 3-4 miles a day, using weights...but it's more fun at the gym!

Pain is minimal...as long as I stretch twice a week...if only I can remember that ;-)

How hot is it going to get?

For over a month rain has not been present in my neck of the woods. I do remember back in May or June we had the wettest two months and then all of a sudden no rain! What gives? It does happen that we have a drought in the middle of summer. Well....it's August now and August is always a hot month.

So, I'm having to water almost everyday. I don't have just one or two...but 10 big flower beds. My flowers are important to me...especially the Purple Coneflowers. I grow them as a crop. Yes, they can withstand the heat and drought but not all my flowers can. And, container flowers require a lot more watering.

I have too much property to water everything. It would take all day if not a few days so I water only what is required. I guess time will only tell how much I will lose due to this heat and dry spell.

Sigh, when will this end? I'm hoping and praying for rain. Rain, Rain, Rain!!!

4 more weeks!!

That's what the doctors say. I have 4 more weeks of physical therapy. This week I lifted 85 pounds on my back. My goal is 100. Woohooo!

My workouts are great!! I love working on the machines and the dumbells. My back is doing a lot better. I still have my bad and good days but overall I have improved. ;-)

5th Week

I completed my 5th week of physical therapy and everything seems to be going ok. I'm hoping I won't have to do the full 12 weeks. We'll see. The personal trainer is great. He's a little friendlier now. Sometimes I'm afraid of him...well, not afraid - it's just sometimes I feel I'm in the Army!!!

A weird episode happened on Thursday. Apparently I was bitten by a fire ant which left me red and sore on my left bicep. Sure, I thought maybe I had overworked my muscle and for the life of me I could not figure what bit me. My friends thought maybe a wolf spider which I do have around my house (outside of course!). But, wouldn't I know if a spider was on me? Afterall I do have arachnophobia -)

Today the ant bite is much better. It's not as red, sore and itching.

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Little Taz

It's hard to believe only a few days ago my Little Taz was sick. It's not like her to be morose, lethargic and weak. Who knows what made her sick. Although, her Vet think it was a bird or lizard but I tend to think she had some sort of obstruction in her intestines which caused an infection...thus a high fever.

She's still taking her antibiotics but she's back to feeling normal. So normal...her loud bark is a welcome noise for us. She's rolling on the floor with her big brother Jack...bossing him around and she's back to the Taz we know!

Thanks goodness for modern medicine because I don't know what I would do if I ever lost my Little Taz!

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Physical Therapy

This will be my 4th week of physical therapy. Almost a month ago my slipped disc or what some people call a “herniated disc” went wacko! I don’t know what I did but the pain was severe enough it was hard to walk, get out of bed and function on a daily basis. Taking narcotics for the rest of my life wasn’t my idea of a *fix*.

How did I get a slipped disc? It happened about 10 years ago. I was walking downstairs in my favorite huarache shoes. Yes, they were old and worn down but I still loved them. I was carrying a cup of coffee in one hand and I was in a hurry. Before I knew it I went flying down the stairs, bounced on my tailbone and not a drop of that coffee spilled!! It’s true!! A year later I learned I had a slipped disc.

Normally, I don’t let something like that drag me down. I continued with my workouts and stretching really helped. That was 4 years ago. With my busy lifestyle it wasn’t always easy to fit in exercise in my daily routine. I guess I’m paying for that now.

Physical therapy has helped and I have a wonderful personal trainer who is helping me get back on my feet…so to speak. We’ll see…I’ve been told I won’t have rehab for the full 12 week period but instead possibly less since I’m already in good shape.

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About Me

This blog is all about me, what I care about, what I believe, what I may not believe but most of all my inner thoughts about life, in general…and my varied interests.

I’m originally from New Mexico and have lived in Arkansas since 1983. I love gardening, music, home crafts, working out and raising my two dogs. During the summer months you can find me in my garden. I grow Purple Coneflowers as well as other native plants.

I collect Indian Pottery and teapots, writing (short stories) and reading Mexican-American literature, building webpages….and looking at the moon (when it’s full). I’m mesmirized by the moon.

Any questions or comments…are welcome!

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