Soup and Sidewalk Tamales

Last Thursday I bought a dozen tamales from a street vendor.  This was out of character for me given my regard for proper sanitation and food handling practices.  As I was heading into the gym on Sonoma Highway for my last workout of the year, I heard a man call out “tamales” as he pushed his shopping cart down the sidewalk.  There was not another person within earshot so I did a double take and headed toward him.  Both of us spoke the others language in an equally broken fashion.  But it was enough for me to gain a trust in him and his product.  He showed me two varieties in his makeshift steam pots.  One was chicken with verde sauce and the other was pork in red sauce.  They looked good and I noticed a lot of effort went into making them transportable and kept hot.  The price was $2 each.  Out came my deep appreciation for his entrepreneurialism and my cashless wallet.  Thankfully, he took checks.
I decided to make a fiesta theme dinner that night.  The first people who came to mind that wouldn’t flinch about eating tamales from an unknown source were my parents.  So they were invited.  I made a delicious soup, salsa fresca and my beloved Mexi rice.  My mom thawed some beans from her freezer and we had dinner.
Everyone loved my soup.  It is my nameless recipe, developed and created on the fly.  I’m not opposed to canned broth, but when I make soup, I try to make my own broth.  It’s easy, less expensive, tastes better and is probably healthier.  Plus, it’s a good way to get the vitamins from the veggies into my daughters belly without her knowing it.
It went something like this:

  • chicken broth (simmer the following for 90 minutes)
    • about $2 worth of chicken pieces (these were wing drumettes)
    • a white onion
    • a carrot
    • a few stocks of celery
    • coriander seeds, pepper corns, bay leaf, salt and pepper
    • a bunch of cilantro
    • one leak, sliced lengthwise and then chopped
    • vegetable oil
    • flour
    • 1 large can of diced tomatoes (drained)
    • 1 large can of white hominy (drained)
    • onion and garlic powder
    • fresh squeezed lime juice
    • chopped cilantro
      • heat the oil, make a roux, add the rest of the ingredients except the juice and cilantro, add broth and simmer for 10 minutes, check for salt/pepper.  Add the lime juice and cilantro and serve. 

The tamales were delicious.  Each one was bow tied with a piece of corn husk.  It was a nice touch and an indicator of the love that went into them.  I hope I see him again around town.

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