Page 13 - July Aug flipbook

Preparation
Peel garlic cloves and reserve 2 for chile sauce. Slice remaining garlic.
In a 7- to 8-quart heavy kettle bring water and broth just to a boil with sliced garlic and pork.
Skim surface and add oregano.
Gently simmer pork, uncovered, until tender, about 1 1/2 hours.
While pork is simmering, wearing protective gloves, discard stems from chiles, and in a bowl, combine chiles with boiling-hot water.
Soak chiles, turning them occasionally, 30 minutes.
Cut onion into large pieces and in a blender purée with chiles and soaking liquid, reserved garlic, and 2 teaspoons salt, until smooth.
Transfer pork with tongs to a cutting board and reserve broth mixture.
Shred pork, using 2 forks, and discard bones.
Rinse and drain hominy.
Return pork to broth mixture and add chile sauce, hominy, and remaining teaspoon salt.
Simmer pozole 30 minutes and, if necessary, season with salt.
Pozole may be made 2 days ahead and chilled, covered.
While pozole is simmering, stack tortillas and halve. Cut halves crosswise into thin strips.
In a 9- to 10-inch skillet heat 1/2 inch oil until hot but not smoking and fry tortilla strips in 3 or 4 batches, stirring occasionally, until golden, 1 to 2 minutes.
Transfer tortilla strips with a slotted spoon as fried to brown paper or paper towels to drain.
Transfer tortilla strips to a bowl. Tortilla strips may be made 1 day ahead and kept, covered, at room temperature.
Serve pozole with tortilla strips and bowls of accompaniments.
Yummy Summer Fun
You know those rubbery, tasteless strawberries one finds in grocery stores? So sad. So ‘unstrawberryish’.
Several years ago I stumbled upon a tiny strawberry stand located on Hwy 12 between Santa Rosa
and Sebastopol. Lao Strawberries offers the best strawberries I’ve tasted since I was a wee tot stealing strawberries from my Mom’s garden. They taste like strawberries coated in strawberry sugar.
A couple of years ago a local newspaper featured an article about Lao’s Strawberry stand. Now the secret is out! So, be prepared (depending on the day and time) to stand in line. They also offer blueberries, apricots, flowers, and various vegetables.
On Wednesday mornings my granddaughter and I go on a “strawberry hunt”. I hand her a basket of strawberries (occasionally add a few blueberries), and off we go! Strawberry fruit ice pops soon followed.
Strawberry Pops
Strawberries from Lao’s Strawberry stand. Mash up. Put in popsicle containers. Freeze for a few hours. Done!
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