- The fall season

Green is the color of spring ...

Patch #66

but I could be forgiven for thinking it's actually fall ...

as hundreds of live oak leaves turn brown and flutter down with the barest breath of wind. Fortunately, the leaves are being pushed off by the rapidly swelling buds of new leaves that will soon emerge ...

Green is also the color of dinner ... a soup recipe cobbled together from two sources. One called for boiling the aromatics, the other for sautéing, one called for stock, the other for water, one suggested chicken, the other pork, and on and on.

So I made up my own recipe and since Don liked it enough to ask for a repeat, I thought I'd best write it down.

Pozole Verde for two (no leftovers, but easily doubled)

1/2 medium onion

1 medium poblano pepper

1 large clove of garlic

4 small to medium tomatillos

1/4-1/2 tsp. each chipotle powder, smoked paprika, cumin and coriander

2-3 cups chicken stock

1 14-16 oz can white hominy, drained (or better yet, fresh corn cut off the cob)

2 cups cooked chicken (rotisserie leftovers) and/or leftover grilled pork cut into small bite size pieces

1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds

Chop the onion and poblano, saute in olive oil with a whole peeled clove of garlic for 2 minutes.

Add roughly chopped tomatillos and sprinkle with 1 tsp. of mixed spices (add more if you like a lot of heat). Continue to saute 4-6 minutes until tomatillos are tender. Remove garlic clove, put through a garlic press, and add back to the pan.

Stir in 1 cup of stock and a handful of fresh cilantro leaves. Purée in a blender or food processor.

Return purée to pan, add more stock, chicken and drained hominy. Cook at medium heat until gently simmering, 5-10 minutes.

Saute pumpkin seeds in olive oil with a pinch of salt and a sprinkle of spice mixture. Stir until seeds toast and begin to pop, about 2 minutes.

Garnish soup with lime wedges,cilantro, chopped avocado, sautéed pumpkin seeds, radish slices, and sour cream added to taste.