Tortilla Soup with Hominy

A while back I was eating tortilla soup nearly every day.
 I hadn't had it very many times in my life, and when I first made it, it was like I had found the perfect food.
I don't use meat so I added hominy, and it makes a very hearty meal.

Toast tortillas on a cast-iron surface with some oil or dry

Put in a pot:
Onion Garlic Bell pepper Vegetables like carrots, zucchini; whatever you have
Big long unusual-looking chili peppers
Hot peppers if you want (I prefer them just as garnish)
 Fry in oil and then cover with water
 When that's mostly cooked, add:
A ton of pinto beans
A lot of hominy

More water so it's soup

Spice with:
Cumin
A lot of cayenne
pepper salt

Garnish with:
cilantro
avocado
roasted corn if you want to get crazy
toasted tortillas cut into strips
hot sauce
Lots of lime juice

Serve with Light Mexican beer and/or tequila

Summer Heat: Peanut Noodles

This is the most delicious thing ever after a hot summer day with an ice-cold lager.

Here is where I got the recipe: http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2015/08/takeout-style-sesame-noodles-with-cucumber/
I included photos of the recipe because the blog post is so long that it was inconvenient to cook from. It says that it takes ten minutes to prepare. I timed it and it took me over 38 minutes, and that was using a food processor to mix instead of chopping the garlic and ginger. I encourage you to time it. too, and I will be working on shaving my time down.


I can't wait to eat it constantly and look forward to it all day!!
 

Summer heat: Watermelon Jalapeño Gazpacho

I ate this in Colombia on a hot night. It was actually more like drinking it. Since then, I've made it twice: only when the weather is hot enough. I cannot stress enough the importance of using seedless watermelon, and of not using too much onion or garlic. It's a beautiful color as well as a delicious and unusual taste.

Seedless watermelon, cut into blender-sized chunks
a peeled cucumber
a little bit of onion and garlic
lots of jalapenos
lemon
salt
Cilantro, extra jalapeno, and maybe avocado for garnish


Blend watermelon, cucumber, onion and garlic to taste (not too much), and jalapeños until smooth. Add lemon and salt. It should be sweet and hot as you can stand it. Salt the rim and serve in shot glasses with a lot of diced jalapeño and a little cilantro on top.

NOTE: This is not a meal. It's not even an appetizer. It will not fill you up at all, but if it's hot and the flavors are right it is so satisfying. It's fun to make with friends because some of them won't like it so it'll be a funny memory.

Caramelized fennel bulb

Slice and caramelize fennel bulb. Add salt and pepper.

Dan's Spicy Sweet Potato Home Fries

Chop and fry sweet potatoes with turmeric, rosemary, salt and pepper, and hot pepper powder. The ones we made used chipotle.