Chile Pasilla and Garlic Soup - a Healthy Fiesta for Your Taste Buds

My three favorite things about visiting Cozumel, Mexico are diving, eating and grocery shopping to bring a bit of this beautiful island and country into my own cocina.  

I just came home from another delightful journey to Cozumel.  I can still feel the power of Nature's currents pushing us along fantastic drift dives.  I can still taste the tacos I had with a group of nine at Los Otates, where the entire bill for nine with dinner, water and beer cost us $77 US dollars.   I bought a heap of chiles I don't usually find in the international markets, or even in the local mercados, especially for the price I paid.

Today I tried a delicious soup from my new package of Pasilla Chiles.  Before trying, I've read that they are a lower to medium-hot pepper with a sweet, but smoky flavor with hints of cocoa, excellent for salsas, stews and soup.  These are sometimes used for mole sauces.  I also read that ancho peppers are mistaken for pasillas up here in the States, but are a good substitute if the real deal is not available.

This soup is wonderful for so many reasons.  It's vegan (without the sour cream), vegetarian, low carb, low fat and healthy.  Just guessing with the said ingredients, it's probably low-calorie and vitamin-packed.  It is also not too hot or spicy for those who prefer things that way.  It's savory, earthy and perfect comfort food in the colder months.

I found an easy, low-cost way to do this soup on the Food and Wine website.  I tried the recipe exactly, but found the soup slightly bland.  I know in my Mexican travels and recipes that not all Mexican cuisine needs to be spicy; however, I did need a bit more depth to remind me of the savory but not spicy flavors I was enjoying a week ago in soups and stews.

So, this is my altered recipe adapted from the Food and Wine recipe I found here.

I opted not to make my own croutons, and did not have an avocado on hand for the toppings.  I did not use crème fraîche, as the original recipe calls for.  I am just guessing that the average Mexican home cook on a budget tighter than ours use sour cream instead.


You will need:
large saucepan 
your favorite way to puree - food processor, stick blender, regular blender, etc.

1. 3 large dried pasilla chiles
2. 1 quart hot water, boiled
3. 2 tablespoons olive oil
4. 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
5. 1 head garlic, cloves peeled and coarsely chopped
6. 1 large tomato, cut into 1-inch dice
7. 1 teaspoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican
8. 1 teaspoon powdered cumin
9. 1/2 Tablespoon of concentrated tomato paste, or 1 Tablespoon of regular
10. Salt to taste (start with 1/2 teaspoon, go from there)
11. 1/2 of a lime
12. 1/4 cup sour cream
13. 1 Hass avocado, cut into 1/2-inch dice (optional)
14. 1/4 cup cilantro leaves

In a large bowl, cover the chiles with the boiled water; set plate over the chiles to keep them submerged. Let soak until softened, about 20 minutes.






  

Strain and reserve the soaking liquid. Do this by taking out the chilies first, in what now should be finger-friendly warm water.  Squeeze gently to get more of the flavorful liquid and seeds out before straining. Stem (if necessary), seed and coarsely chop the chiles.

 
In a large saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook over moderate heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the chopped chiles and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the tomato, oregano, a pinch of salt and the strained chile soaking liquid and bring to a boil. Cover the soup and simmer gently over low heat for 20 minutes.

Working in batches, puree the soup in a blender, processor or your stick blender. Return the soup to the saucepan, bring to a simmer and season with salt to taste, tomato paste, cumin and squirt in the lime.  Simmer low and uncovered for 20-30 minutes to slightly reduce, thicken and marry the new additions.

Ladle the soup into bowls. Top with sour cream, avocado, cilantro leaves, croutons and serve.

Makes about four 1 cup servings.  (One cup for me, three for my husband)

Muy delicioso!

(Very delicious)!

Thank you for reading!

Homemade Low-Sugar Strawberry Jam Made with a Bread Machine

Spring is my favorite season; warm, bugless sunny days filled with the potent fragrance and color of early flowers like lilies and lilacs after a long, gray and cold winter.  And, BERRIES!  Lots of berries!

I look forward to berry season each year.  I use them on everything from cereal to salad, yogurt, muffins and now fresh jam!

I never, ever imagined that I'd make my own, especially because I saw how Grandma made jellies and jams.  It is a favored memory but it would be too much labor, time and volume for me.  The family would drive two hours to get to the country for the best pickings.  We gathered wild elderberries in buckets on the roadsides and visited the farmer stands for baskets full of berries, plumbs or grapes later in the summer.  Once and a while if we were lucky, and if Grandpa netted the cherry tree well in their back yard, and kept up his watch shooting enough BBs from his pellet gun into the air to scare the birds, we managed a jar or two of cherry jam.

Making jam or jelly with Mom at Grandma's was fun as a child, but it looked complicated.  There were so many large pots simmering on the stove, strainers, and huge metal cones with holes to mash berries and grapes into juice without all the seeds.  There were thermometers and times where my brother and I had to be quiet for a few minutes as Grandma and Mom behind her shoulder watched them closely.  There were also times where we had to leave the small kitchen quickly as Mom and Grandma poured hot fruit liquid into glass jars and pour hot wax to the top.  Then, sometimes there was some boiling of the jars if I remember correctly, or perhaps that's an overlapped memory of their vegetable canning.

Anyway, there was no way I was ever going to do all this, no matter they were the best jellies and jams I ever had.

Thank goodness for my very dear friend, Elaine.  She bought us an Oster Bread Maker for our wedding.  I had it on our registry because I couldn't wait to make homemade bread, pasta and pizza dough for my first time.  This machine is great for all of these.  It cuts down on time, the physical labor of kneading and mess.  Spreading your counter, floor and ceiling with flour is avoided with most of the recipes.

As you can see by the photos, I like to mark recipes I've tried with a blue postie.

I have tried eight from the Oster user manual  (the green tab is a quick measurement guide).


Surprisingly, there are recipes to make just a jar or two full of jam or marmalade.

I was so excited!  Could I actually make jam as good as Grandma, without making 2 dozen jars with all those contraptions?

Yes, I can!  The bread machine heats the ingredients up to just the right temperature for the right amount of time, so no watching the clock or thermometers.

Plus, this recipe is LOW SUGAR.  Most jam recipes call for double or triple the amount of sugar.  Pectin for low or no sugar recipes MUST be used.

And, don't skimp and use bottled lemon juice.  Most bottled lemon juice is diluted with water.  Only 100% fresh squeezed lemon juice will work with the pectin to make it gel.  You will only need one.

I've only made strawberry and blueberry jam, or a combo of both in the past three years.  Strawberries are my favorite, and our new home has a blueberry patch.  I love blueberries, too, and these two berries are easy to do since there are no large seeds to filter.

I plan on posting a blog entry when my blueberries are ready, and Elaine with her kind, beautiful daughter will help me pick them and make jam as we have done in the past.

For now, here's the recipe for the strawberry jam I just made.  Strawberries are super-cheap in my area now, so I'll be making more.

Copied and adapted from Oster Bread Maker's User Manual received in 2009.

Makes 2-3 cups

1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon powdered low-sugar pectin
1.5 cups fresh strawberries, sliced or diced
(dice smaller if you want more jelly or @ three cups,  keep them in slices or larger chunks if you want a thicker jam with more strawberries, but approx. two cups.)
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Combine all ingredients into bread pan
Select Basic setting

Press "Start/Stop" Allow to mix 5-6 minutes, scraping sides of the pan with rubber spatula.

Press "Start/Stop" to cancel
Select Bake setting
Press "Start/Stop"
When Unit signals and display reads "0:00," press "Start/Stop"

Using hot pads, remove bread pan
Pour jam into glass container(s)

Use old jam or jelly jars, or any smaller glass jar with a lid. 

Cover. Refrigerate to set  (at least overnight or 8 hours)

My Version of Buffalo Chicken Dip (lower fat, too)

After referencing a few Buffalo Chicken Dip recipes, I decided to 'wing' it on my own.  Most were similar, so I was confident in altering it a bit to suit the number of guests and their tastes.  I also took the advice from two friends who make this extremely scrumptious - use rotisserie chicken.  It's got extra flavor already baked in.  One of those friends have also poached chicken breasts (which cuts more calories).  Both friends have told me to stay away from canned chicken.  I've had this dip with canned chicken.  It's not bad if you have some on hand and need to make something in a pinch, but, fresh chicken will give it a signature 'wow' factor.

Plus, fresh is cheaper.  For example, typical dip recipes call for two cans of chicken, which are around $3 or more.  So, $6 for two cups of chicken, when you can get about 3 cups from a rotisserie chicken for around $5.

This is a spicy but smooth dish.  My choice of music was some Bossa Nova since it's like salt and pepper - it goes with almost anything.  However, this appetizer is a twist on a favorite in sports bars and corner taverns, and, you're making this for friends and family.  Play a classic favorite of yours that reminds you of good times with the folks you are making it for.

Preheat oven to 350

3 cups of shredded, rotisserie chicken.

3/4 cups light ranch dressing

3/4 cups hot sauce (I used Franks)

1 8oz package of light cream cheese.









Melt and stir cream cheese in a saucepan on low.

As it's almost smooth, add dressing and hot sauce.

Blend until smooth.

Add chicken.

Pour into shallow baking or pie dish.

Bake 20 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.  Don't let it get too brown, unless that's your intention.

I made this for 13 of us at Easter and it was devoured.  We didn't miss the cheese or its extra calories, as most of the recipes call for.  We enjoyed the extra kick of the extra sauce

I made this the night before and it warmed easily in my brother's microwave to serve (3 minutes, then stir, 3 minutes, stir, until hot).  And, I swear, it tasted better the next day.

This appetizer was a huge hit with my family.  And now, the secret is out that I made it with lower-fat ingredients.