Spicing Up Chicken Soup

I like spicy food, but real chili peppers put me in a panic. Small, cute...dangerous.

So sure enough, the grab bag that is our CSA turned up a red hot chili. Remaining calm, I carefully picked it up by the stem, dropped it in my "market" bag (a Domino Magazine R.I.P. freebie) and then forgot about it for a week.

As part of the freezer swap (we are loading in anew, but first the hoarded treasures must come out), I had two chicken breasts, bone in skin on, perfect for some soup. I also had a couple late summer ears of corn that needed to find their way into a meal, stat, and that darn little chili. Soup, spicy, chicken, corn...Mexican.

I won't pretend this is a Posole stew, since I didn't have hominy. But fresh corn subbed in nicely.

Spicy Mexican Chicken Soup

Olive oil

1/2 larger onion, diced

1/2 inch of hot red chili, seeded and minced

2 chicken breasts, bone and skin on

Cumin

Salt and Pepper

2 corn cobs, cut off kernels and reserve cobs

5 cups water

1 lime

1/2 tomato

1/2 avocado

4-5 sprigs cilantro

In a dutch oven (or any big heavy pot) drizzle olive oil to cover the bottom (about 2 Tablespoons) and turn the heat to medium-high. Chop up half an onion and mince a very small part of a red hot chili. Saute until they start to look translucent.

Push aside the onion and chili, place the chicken skin side down in the center of the pot. Season the chicken with salt, pepper and a sprinkling of cumin. Cook for about 4 minutes. The skin will begin to look brown. Do not turn it! But add in the two corn cobs and 5 cups water and more salt.

Turn back the heat and cook the chicken at a simmer about 8-10 minutes. Pull a piece of the chicken out and check to see if it is cooked through (white) inside. If done pull out chicken and set aside to cool.

Turn the heat back up and bring the broth to a boil. Cook for 5-8 minutes until it has reduced about an inch down the side of pot. Remove the corn cob and scrape off any corn bits and put them back into the pot.

Meanwhile, remove the skin and shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Add the corn kernels in to the soup along with the chicken and turn off the heat. The heat of the broth will cook the kernels perfectly. Squeeze in the juice of one lime. Taste and adjust flavors. I added a little more salt.

Spoon the soup into bowls and add on top tomato, cilantro and avocado.

Happy Sunny Tacos

Maybe it's because I associate them with sunny California and all my fun West Coast visits, but when I need a little cheering, tacos can go a long way.

Directions: Pile. Fold. Stuff face.

Long before they were in fashion, I was mildly obsessed with taquerias, specifically those that are mobile and a little dirty looking. The first time I visited California to see a college friend who'd moved home, we were in search of cheap eats and, naturally, we hit a taqueria. I wish I remembered where we went (someplace in LA, how's that for vague?), but I fell in love with the soft tortilla, the salty meat and the fresh mix of cilantro, onion and lime. And there were surprises, too: cabbage was a revelation, fish tacos, radishes, tomatillo's tangy green sauce. This was not the Old El Paso!

So for a little mood elevation, I pick up tortillas and the ingredients for any number of taco combos that are a dependable part of the Lemon menu. In this case I found a deal on beef eye round slices. I'm not a big fan of thin sliced beef because it is such a challenge to keep it moist, but for a quick dinner these worked out perfectly. Cook 'em fast over high heat on one side then turn off the heat and they'll cook themselves while you assemble the rest of the taco fixings. And oh what fixings: Add some black beans and sliced avocado, shred a little leftover cabbage, throw together some pico de gallo and a happy memory comes to the table.

Sliced Beef Tacos with The Works

1 can Goya black beans, low sodium

oregano

1 teaspoon white vinegar

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 package small flour tortillas (you can find them trans-fat free)

3-4 thin-cut beef round eye

cumin

chili powder

1/2 large tomato

1 bunch cilantro

1/2 red onion, diced

1 lime

1/2 avocado

1 cup green cabbage, shredded

2 ounces cheddar, thin sliced or shredded

In a small saucepan, add one can of black beans with their "juice" plus 2 cloves grated or minced garlic, a teaspoon of white vinegar and sprinkling of oregano (maybe a 1/4 teaspoon if you're measuring) and a pinch of salt. Heat over medium heat and move on to the beef...

Heat a nonstick pan over high heat and add a little olive oil. When it's very hot, add your sliced beef and sprinkle with 2 cloves minced garlic, salt, pepper, chili powder and cumin. This is one of the only times I use the sprinkling-cover (what is it called??) that comes with most grocery store spice bottles. Just a little, not too much. When the edges of the beef look brown, flip it over and turn off the heat.

Now for the rest of the fun: throw together in a bowl some chopped cilantro, onion, tomato and the juice of one lime. Slice some avocado and shred some green cabbage and if you've got it, cheese. Take the beef out of the pan and slice in strips. We used three rounds and saved the other half for the next night (with some Chimichurri.)

Pile it on a flour tortilla (heat them in the microwave if you are so inclined) and fold it over. Stuff face and feel the joy of a warm sunny California afternoon (ignoring the smog and traffic, naturally.)

Tally:

Great use of half-used vegetables (tomato, onion, cabbage, avocado!)

A touch of beef makes this not too unhealthy, not too pricey

Taco happiness lifts the mood on an ordinary night

Leftover toppings + leftover beans = lunch the next day