Chicken Tortilla Soup for a Below-Freeeezing Day

It was a blustery day in this thin-aired part of Colorado...a dusting of snow turned into a few inches, and we kept ourselves bundled up at home, enjoying the fireplace, some wassail, a couple of board games, and this wonderful soup. 

Ingredients
1 hen
1 32oz can whole, peeled tomatoes
1 10oz can enchilada sauce (green)
1 onion, chopped
1 4oz can chopped green chile peppers
2 cloves garlic, sliced
2 c chicken broth
1 14.5oz can chicken broth
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 10oz pkg frozen corn
1 T chopped cilantro
Corn tortillas
Veg. oil

Directions:
Place hen, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chiles and garlic into a slow cooker.  Pour in chicken broth, and season w/cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, and bay leaf.  Stir in corn and cilantro.  Cover, cook on Low for 12hours.  At this point, I usually let the entire slow cooker pot cool, then I place the removable pot into the refrigerator overnight.  The next morning I take out the hen and shred the chicken.  I pour the entire contents into a regular pot for the stovetop, along with the shredded chicken, and I reheat on the stove.  The extra day makes the soup flavors blend even more, and allows the hen to cool down enough to handle.

For tortillas:  Preheat oven to 400F, lightly brush both sides of tortillas w/oil.  Cut tortillas into strips, then spread on a baking sheet.  Bake in oven until crisp, about 10-15min.

(*Note - original recipe found on www.allrecipes.com.)

Omuraisu for Breakfast? Hai!!

Omu Rice - my son's favorite thing to eat for breakfast.  It's just a fried egg over fried rice.  What you don't see pictured here is the ketchup he smears over the top of the egg before digging in.  (Wasn't sure I could capture that attractively.) 

Mind you, the fried rice I use for omu rice is not the same that I make for a normal dish.  A lot less complicated, and because the omelette-style egg is placed on top, I don't add egg into the fried rice itself.  First, I fry up a few slices of bacon, let the slices cool and then I crumble them, and place to the side.  Depending on the amount of cold rice I take out of the fridge (placed in there from dinner the night before), I cook 1/4 c to 1/2 c of chopped onion in a different pan with a few tablespoons of vegetable oil over med-high heat.  Today I added some chopped up carrots for a little more flavor.  Next, the cold rice goes in and is stir fried until it looks about right.  I add the crumbled bacon and some flavoring - soy sauce of course, salt & pepper.  After it looks and tastes perfect, it goes on a plate.  In the same pan, I add the beaten egg (or eggs if you like the omelette to be thicker), and fry it up nice and golden, and FLAT.  It goes on top of the egg, and as earlier mentioned, top with ketchup!  Note: if I don't have bacon, I sometimes stir fry chicken in lieu.  Or, I'll just add some bacon grease to the onion while stir frying (making sure to lessen the amount of veg oil).  Oishii desu ne!

And to begin again...a little bit of nostalgia

Thanksgiving a week ago...another holiday memory to add to my family's repertoire of giving thanks together.  Tried and true dishes on the table, the humorous misadventures of new things we thought we'd try, torn magazine recipes strewn across the counter.  A day marking the end of fall with kids running around the house like crazy, to later join us with clasped hands to express funny and serious thankful sentiments.  Food, family and...to be honest...football.  Great time, as usual.

I went home nostalgic, loving that feeling, and hoping that our children carry on the same traditions when they grow up.  And then I started thinking about their buffet tables...what foods will they have?  Of course, the traditional fare, but it was my generation - my sisters and brother - who grew up on Okinawa, who recognize the textures, the tastes, the flavour of our childhood foods.  Thanksgiving on Okinawa meant that we roasted a couple of turkeys for our aunts and uncles to take home after they came to dinner.  And on that table was more than buttery mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, candied yams, and pie.  There was konbu, sashimi, rice, okazu, Okinawa donuts (sato andagi), and all kinds of other side dishes.  I remember our first Thanksgiving together when the older of us left home and moved to the States - I was at college and three of us congregated in my little apartment.  Our meal included sushi, teriyaki chicken, and yakisoba, at the very least.  Over the years, those home influences have slowly dissipated. 

So I begin this blog again with renewed vigor to focus on some Okinawan and Japanese dishes and their stories.  The goal...to remind my children of their heritage, to give them a taste of who they are and where they come from. 

And the first entry:  sekihan.

Sekihan is a mixture of sweet rice and regular rice, steamed with azuki beans.  Here's the recipe, so simple:

Equal amount of sweet (mochi or sushi) rice and regular short-grain rice.
The correct amount of water you'd usually add for the amount above.
Drain a can of red kidney beans, or azuki beans.
Mix the beans in with the uncooked rice, in a rice cooker.
Steam according to regular rice cooking setting.
Let sit 20min.  Mix.  Serve.

(finished product pictured in photo below and yes, it was a success (defined as eaten with no complaint) )

Crazy for Curry

My family loves curry. We eat Japanese Curry, Thai Curry, and Indian Curry. On rice, it's a hit with my kids, and I never get a fight from them about finishing their dinner. I really prefer to make it from scratch, but there are so many mixes and pastes out there that help cut down the prep time. And they are fabulous! Last night I made a very quick Indian curry dish using a bottled curry sauce from Whole Foods. I've forgotten the brand, but I sauted about a pound of diced chicken in 2 T of olive oil. Then I added the curry sauce. I let it simmer for about 20 minutes, and before serving mixed in 1/4 c of heavy cream. In the past I've added a can of kidney beans to the sauce as well. Soooo heavenly.

Denver Kohaku Uta Gossen

As a blast from my past, I spent Saturday at the Denver Kohaku Uta Gossen, which is a competiton between a women's singing team (the Red Team) and a men's singing team (the White Team) for best team singing performances. Sixteen individuals from each team were judged individually by a panel of ten, given points for vocal quality, stage presence, etc. The individuals' points totals were tallied, and the team with the most points won, which in this case happened to be the Red Team (yay!). The competition lasted from 12 to 6pm, but we were there early, of course. Mom sang her signature song, and my children were able to experience something similar to the concert-like experiences I had as a child on Okinawa, tagging along with Mom for most of her performances. The show was held at the Denver Buddhist Temple, right downtown. Here's a picture of Mom holding the Colorado Consul General of Japan Trophy:

Butternut Squash Souffle

Of all the winter squash, my favorite is the flavorful Butternut. It keeps for months, and sometimes even increases in flavor with time. The hard, thick skin varies from creamy white to beige, and the yellow-orange flesh is rich in vitamin A which is important for healthy skin, vision and bones. You can't go wrong with this bell-shaped beauty! My kids' favorite way to have this vegetable is steamed, mashed and served with salt and butter. This week, with all the cold weather, I found an old recipe I pulled from a magazine years and years ago for a butternut squash souffle. I cut the squash into cubes (after removing the skin, fiber and seeds), and steamed it in my wok until I could pierce the pieces with a fork. I then mashed the squash and combined the following into it with an electric mixer:

3 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

I poured this mixture into my lovely Le Creuset, and baked for 75 minutes at 325 degrees. The souffle solidified well, and this was a wonderful mix of the sweet and savory flavors of the squash and seasonings. A bit sweet, it made a delicious side dish!

The Shopping Experience Is Progressive

If you're a regular Whole Foods shopper, you know how awesome this store is. I have been won over by their amazing prepared foods department. WOW - you don't have to be a young, hip professional to run in for quick, tasty, and healthful fare. It works for families like mine, too! I have been meeting my brother there for lunch from their sandwich section. Or grabbing a quick cup of lobster bisque with Mom. Just the other evening on the way to basketball practice, the kids and I took a look at the entrees and side dishes, all made with natural ingredients, and our on-the-go-dinner fell into place. This will most definitely be our new 'quick dinner' place. No more yucky fast food that we eat just because we are starving after school and work, in between activities. We love how the entire Whole Foods shopping experience is made to appeal to the five senses. It makes us want to come back for more, even at $7.99 a pound! I had the lamb curry; my daughter had the turkey stroganoff; and my son opted for the mac 'n cheese made out of penne pasta and the best, creamiest cheese ever.

Check out one near you!