"Comida Corrida" Chile Soup

In Mexico, especially in Oaxaca, they have this wonderful thing called the comida corrida.  Comida corrida translates to "fast food", but it's not the type of fast food by U.S. terms.  For around four dollars, you can get a three or four course meal, with a homemade drink.  It is usually composed of some kind of light soup, main entree, and dessert, and also comes with some type of water-based drink (such as water mixed with tamarindo pulp, watermelon juice, hibiscus, or citrus). It is the economical way to eat lunch in Mexico while getting some variety in your lunch.

This soup reminds me a lot of the type of soup that can be served with the comida corrida (minus all the tasty toppings).  I won't lie, this soup was a bit labor intensive.  You will need:

- 2 dried guajillo chile peppers
- 2 fresh poblano chile peppers
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 2 Mexican calabaza (or two small zucchini), chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 2 cans of Goya tomato sauce, Spanish style
- 1 tsp of oregano (preferably Mexican)
- half of a box of elbow macaroni
- one large plum tomato, chopped
- 9 cups of water
- 2 vegetable bouillon cubes
- handful of chopped cilantro
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- toppings: avocado, lime wedges, croutons or tortilla strips

Place the two poblano peppers over a low flame on the stove, turning until blistered on all sides.  Place into a large ziplock bag.

Start with a dutch oven or a large pot and coat the bottom with extra virgin olive oil.  When the oil is hot, saute the onions and calabaza for three minutes, then add the garlic and saute for another two minutes.  Add chopped tomatoes and oregano, then sprinkle with some salt and pepper and cook for another minute, being careful not to burn the garlic (add more olive oil if it's dry).  Add the water, tomato sauce, half of the cilantro, dried guajillos and bouillon.  Cover and bring to a boil.

While waiting for the soup to come to a boil, remove the poblanos from the bag.  Remove skin and seeds from the poblanos, chop, and add to soup. Simmer on med to low heat for about 45 minutes to an hour. While soup is cooking, boil the pasta but don't add to soup.  When the soup is done, remove from heat and add the remaining cilantro and remove the guajillo chiles.  Blend some of the soup using a hand blender.  If you don't have a hand blender, put half of the soup and vegetables into a blender.  You want to blend the soup to make it a bit thicker, but so that there are still some chunks of vegetable left over.

To serve add a half of a cup of the macaroni to each bowl (you want to always keep the pasta separate, so it doesn't get soggy if you are saving some leftovers).  Add soup, top with chopped avocado, squeeze of lime juice and either croutons or tortilla strips.  This soup is entirely vegan, but you could also add some parmesan cheese, queso fresco, or shredded jack.  Add more salt and pepper to taste. 

I'm Back!

Hello friends. Sorry I have been MIA for quite some time.  Some exciting things have been happening in my life, but now I am back.  Today I am getting a refrigerator delivered, as I only have a mini-fridge in my new apartment. It doesn't work so well and is only big enough for condiments.  I haven't cooked a single thing in almost three weeks and I am excited to start some new recipes. It was my birthday this week and I went to two amazing places, Blossom and Casa Mezcal.

Blossom is rated one of the best vegan restaurants in NYC. I liked it even better than Candle 79, where I went for my birthday two years ago.  For appetizers we had these Porcini Cigars that were amazing! Porcini mushroom, tempeh, almonds, wrapped in phyllo dough with this cashew pesto all over it.  Next we had Ravioli filled with smoked tempeh, spinach, pine nuts, and crimini mushrooms. The whole thing was topped with this creamy cashew sauce. The last appetizer was a watercress and arugula salad with cherry tomatoes, fava beans, and white asparagus.  This was tossed in a lime-peppercorn vinaigrette. My main meal was a Seitan Scaloppini. The Seitan cutlets were in a delicious lemon and caper sauce on top of mashed potatoes and sauteed kale. Blossom has a few other restaurants in NYC, and now I want to check them all out!

On my actual birthday, I went to Casa Mezcal. I remembered to take a picture this day, because my tlayuda was so beautiful!  They have some vegetarian options here and I loved my tlayuda, topped with black beans, cheese, avocado, tomato, peppers, onions, and mushrooms. I have been to Oaxaca, Mexico a few times and in my opinion Casa Mezcal is most reminescent of authentic Oaxacan food. Their hot sauces, guacamole and chips were great.  This place has one of the most beautiful bars and they have such a diverse variety of beverages. I love the hibiscus salt they put on my margarita.

Thai Food... I Love Thai Food.

Living by Roosevelt Ave, there are so many delicious Mexican restaurants. I was pleasantly surprised today by friends with a delicious fried corn quesadilla with oaxacan cheese and sliced avocado. I wish I had remembered to take a picture, but I ate it so fast. I am so lucky to live in Queens, which has every type of cuisine you can think of (and good at that). I can get not only traditional Mexican, but also Thai. Thai food is vegetarian friendly, and it is one of my favorite cuisines. For dinner I had some papaya salad (som tum). You can ask them to make it vegetarian (it traditionally has dried shrimp in it and/or shrimp paste and fish sauce). I made this from scratch once and it came out pretty good, but was pretty labor intensive. I prepared the green papaya the traditional way, by peeling the papaya and then using a large sharp knife to make cuts in the flesh, and then shaving it off with the knife. Click on THIS to see a video of it. It's pretty amazing. There was green papaya everywhere in my kitchen. Tonight, I also had red curry with vegetables (eggplant, baby corn, carrot, thai basil, broccoli, bamboo shoots), no tofu. Good stuff.

Mexican Corn Soup (Sopa de Elote)

Today I stepped into the supermarket and noticed they had fresh ears of corn on sale, so I decided to make Mexican Corn Soup. Thanks to a Christmas present from my aunt, I have a lovely hand blender which makes pureeing soup so easy!

4 ears of corn, cut off of the cob with a knife

half of a medium-sized onion chopped small (I used a red one)

half of a red bell pepper chopped small

one finely chopped jalapeno, no seeds!

1 tbsp of oregano (preferably Mexican)

1 tsp of garlic powder

1/2 tsp of cumin

olive oil (I always use extra virgin)

about 3 cups of vegetable broth, depending on how think you want the soup (I used Emeril's)

1/4 cup of cilantro (you can put less or omit it if you hate cilantro)

tortilla chips

Optional: mexican shredded three cheese blend (omit this to make it vegan), avocado, lime

Sautee the onion, red bell pepper, and jalapeno, along with the oregano, garlic powder, and cumin in enough olive to coat the bottom of a medium sized pot. When the veggies are translucent, add the corn and a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Sautee the corn for about three minutes and then add the vegetable broth. Simmer for about 15-20 minutes. Turn off the stove and use a hand mixer to puree the soup. Add fresh cilantro. Ladle into a bowl and add a small handleful of cheese and mix until melted. Add tortilla chips on top. I wished I had avocado, but I didn't, I would have chopped some also for the top. If you don't have a hand blender, you can use a food processor or regular blender. Don't puree the soup too much!