A New Year's Day Tradition

About 6 years ago, at this time, Bill and I went to New Mexico and visited the Santa Fe/Albequerque area. The square in Santa Fe was so beautiful. It was all decorated for Christmas. On the roof tops of the hotels, restaurants and shops were several lit up bags called Luminarios. And, hanging from the eaves were strands of red New Mexico Chili Peppers. It was so festive. The weather was so cold that we had to buy ear muffs. And, our noses were frozen. Eventhough it was so cold outside, the inside of the shops and restaurants were so warm and comfortable. Our hotel and the restaurants had adorable little stove like fireplaces. It felt so good to sit next to one and warm up our frozen hands and noses. Another thing that we loved were the warm dishes made with the delicious New Mexico Chili and the Posole. My Aunt Teresa lives in Albequerque and made the most delicious Posole for us. It felt so warm and tasty going down after a cold day of sight seeing. If you have never had Posole, it is a hominy and pork based stew. I found a recipe on the internet and am cooking it right now. I hope it tastes as good as my Aunt's Posole. If so, it will become our New Year's Day Tradition. If you would like to try this recipe, I have it at the bottom of my post.

Here are some of my memories of Santa Fe. Here is me and Bill at the Hilton.

This is the inside of a famous restaurant called Pasquals.

A view looking down on the squareRight along side of the Governors Palace is where the Indians set up their blankets and lay out their beautiful, handcrafted turquoise and silver jewelry. When I was a young girl, I remember my aunt and cousin, Patty coming to visit. Patty was my age and had all kinds of gorgeous jewelry made by the Indians. I couldn't wait to go to Santa Fe someday and buy some for myself. And, finally my dream came true.

This is the Governors Palace.

This is the Church of Loredo.

There is a famous story about the staircase inside of the church. The story goes, that a traveler stopped by this church and built this staircase so that the nuns could climb up to the loft where they would sing. This mysterious traveler, built this staircase with no nails. And, he mysteriously left when he was finished.

Here are some more pictures of around the square. I was taken in by the architecture in New Mexico. I was raised in California and hadn't done much traveling. So seeing this amazing place was just awesome to me.

Posole (Hominy Soup) Recipe
Ingredients1 1/2 lbs. pork shoulder

1/2 onion stuck with 2 cloves

2 cloves garlic, peeled

5 peppercorns

1/2 teaspoon whole cumin seed (ground cumin can be used in a pinch)oregano, pinch
1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tablespoon oil

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

pinch/teaspoon cloves

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

4 cups canned white hominy, drained and rinsed

3 to 5 cups pork broth from cooking pork shoulder

1 cup canned chopped green chilies

Salt to taste
2 whole jalapenos, canned or fresh, chopped (optional)

Preparation

Sear the pork in a bit of hot oil and then add onion, garlic, peppercorns, cumin and oregano. Fill with lightly salted water till meat is barely covered. Bring to a boil (skimming off any foam) and then simmer, covered, for about an hour. Reserve the liquid and cool the meat before cutting into small cubes (may be torn in the style of pulled pork if desired).
While the pork is cooling, saute the chopped onion and garlic till the onion turns clear. Add the rest of the spices, the pork followed by the hominy and finish up with the reserved pork broth. Simmer for an hour or so, and if you can wait, let it sit overnight for the best flavor.
To serve, provide chopped onion, shredded radish, pickled jalapeno pepper slices, shredded cabbage, lime wedges and tortilla chips (fried up fresh from flour burrito shells if possible). Each person mixes in the ingredients as they desire, dressing the soup with lime juice and topping it all off with the crispy tortilla chips. I’m getting hungry thinking about it!