Mexican Corn Soup

I've become slightly addicted to Pinterest! It is perhaps slowing down my actual blogging (and my actual life) but I have so many ideas floating around my head!

One of the many recipes I have pinned waiting to try was this Mexican Corn Soup from the Vanilla Bean Blog. The picture in the Pin had gorgeous subdued autumnal colours - I was a bit surprised when mine had an incredibly bright vibrant summertime yellow. (Perhaps different corn? We don't seem to have the varieties I saw in the US here in Australia.) In any case it was still a beautiful colour.

My next surprise was how quick and easy it was to make - the cooking time is a fraction of many soups. (So on an evening with a dentist appointment, a long wait at the doctor for a sick child, some last minute shopping for school cooking tomorrow and some homework I still managed to get this on the table by 7pm.) 

The final surprise was how delicious it was and that the whole family felt the same!

This one will definitely be made again.

Mexican Corn Soup - served 4 (just)

Ingredients

4 1/2 cups corn kernels (This was 8 fairly small cobs of corn)
1 cup vegetable stock
60g (4 Tb) butter 
1/2 cup cream

1 1/2 cups milk 
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 clove of garlic, minced or pressed
1 large green chili, seeds removed, finely sliced
a dash of Tabasco sauce
1 cup tasty cheese, grated
salt and pepper, to taste 
1 large avocado, diced  
1 lime

few sprigs of coriander (cilantro) Optional


Method

In a blender or food processor, puree 3 1/2 cups corn and the stock, thoroughly, until smooth. 

Melt the butter in a stockpot. Add the corn puree and simmer over low heat for five minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Stir in the milk, cumin, and garlic. 

Heat to boiling, reduce heat and stir in green chili and Tabasco sauce. 

Add shredded cheese and remaining 1 cup of corn to the simmering soup, and stir until the cheese melts. 

Add salt and pepper to taste. 

Top soup with avocado which has been tossed in the lime juice and some coriander leaves (cilantro). 
Serve with Tortillas.

Enjoy

Nicola 

Mexican Pork Ribs in Orange and Chili Sauce

This is where the "almost" comes into the Blog Title!!

We had a family meal on the weekend with my brother, his wife and my adorable niece (nearly 2) and nephew (nearly 4). They live on a farm and are meat-three-times-a-day eaters so there is a little food culture clash between our families. But we are all passionate foodies and very big users of spices so we fit in with each other and manage to eat well together. 

So we cooked a meat meal! A Rare Event! (It was delicious)

The other culture clash between our families is that they don't fancy the internet and insist no images of them appear on the WWW. Thus my photos are a bit poor as I had to take them quickly and before hitting the table

They came in the late afternoon so we started with some Guacamole, a Chipotle Dip I found on a Costco adventure and some Tortilla Chips.  

Then I made an Orange & Chilli sauce based on one I found online to fit a Mexican Theme. 

Mexican Ribs In Orange & Chili Sauce

(Costillitas en Naranja)

Ingredients

• 2kg Pork Ribs 
• 2 Tbspn vegetable oil
• 2 medium onions , sliced
• 1 can 450g can diced tomatoes
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 dried Chipotle chili
• 1/2 small tin of chipotle in adobo sauce
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground clove
• ½ cup fresh orange juice
• ¹⁄3 cup dry white wine
• 1 Tbspn brown sugar 
• 1 teaspoon orange zest 
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• fresh Coriander (cilantro) (for garnish)

Method:

• Heat oil in a heavy based pan over a medium heat.
• Add Onions, Saute until soft (approx 5 min)
• Add garlic, chilies, cinnamon and cloves to the onions cook and stir for a few seconds.
• Add Tomato , cook for 5 minutes or until bubbling.
• Add orange juice, wine, orange rind, salt and sugar and cook until bubbling.
• Lower heat, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes.
• At this point I put some aside for the vegetarian serve.
• Then I browned pork ribs over a high heat, spooned the sauce over them, covered the pan and baked it for 1.5 hrs in a moderate oven. 

• 

  Sneaky (and poor) photo at the table

• Next Remove ribs to serving platter, keep warm.
• Skim the sauce and discard the fat.
• Stir in the vinegar.
• Spoon Sauce over the ribs.
• Garnish with coriander

I choose to serve it with mash as we had a potato glut and it worked really well together - I guess I would normally have chosen rice though.

I made a simple corn salsa - corn off the cob, diced fresh tomato, parsley, coriander, lime juice and olive oil. I also cooked a few baby peas. Mia had some leftover Vegetarian Chili, some reserved meatless sauce and all the vegies.

It was a cold and rainy night here - as was most of Sydney’s summer :( - and this was a very satisfying comfort food meal.   

Nicola

Around the World in 18 Fridays- Week 2- Mexico

Hola!


This week we're visiting Mexico, with a delicious vegetarian chili con carne!

It's the perfect vegetarian dish- lentils and kidney beans make it high protein, but most importantly, it's really delicious and tasty!

The sauce isn't comprised of particularly unusual ingredients, but it's a great combination!


I'm not sure where it came from- it's just a family tradition now.


I served it with brown rice, tomato, guacamole, cheese, shredded lettuce, grated carrot, crushed corn chips and greek yogurt.

But thats not to say it wouldn't be nice say...... in nachos (or tacos or burritos)!


Vegetarian Chili Con Carne


Ingredients

• 1 tbs of olive oil

• 1 medium onion, finely chopped

• 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

• 1 large red pepper, chopped

• 1 chilli, deseeded and chopped

• 2 tsp of paprika

• 2 tsp of ground coriander

• 1 tsp of ground cumin

• 1 tsp of ground chilli

• 1 400 gram tin of diced tomatoes

• 1 400 gram tin of red kidney beans, drained

• 1/2 cup of dried green lentils

• 1 vegetable stock cube/ 1 tsp vegetable stock powder

• 2 tbs of tomato paste

Directions

To prepare the lentils, gently boil them in 2-3 cups of water for about

20 minutes, until they are soft to bite. Set aside and drain. 

Sauté the onion in a large pan for approximately 5 minutes, untilsoft. Add the capsicum and garlic. Fry for an additional 5 minutes. Add in all your spices and stir through vigorously for about a minute. 

Stir through the tomatoes, tomatopaste, red kidney beans, stock and 

green lentils. Simmer for approximately half an hour and serve
with brown rice and condiments:tomato, guacamole, cheese, shredded lettuce, grated carrot, crushed corn chips and greek yogurt. 

Other ways to serve: on toast, over a jacket potato, in nachos, in tacos or in burritos.

Mia