Posole (puh-SO-lay) is a dried hominy stew that I first experienced when I lived in Arizona in the late ’80s. Having Iowa roots and a true affection to anything corn, I was drawn to this wonderful, comforting Mexican stew. It’s not that much different from the hominy my Mother served in her Iowa farm kitchen. Posole is known to bring good luck for the New Year, or anytime you need a little luck (or just plain comfort food) in your life.
Bring in the New Year with a little luck and Posole. Your tummy will thank you!
Dried Posole (hominy)
POSOLE
2 cups dried posole
6 cups water (more as needed)
1 pound lean pork, cubed
1 teaspoon chile caribe
1 tablespoon minced onion
2 teaspoons salt
1 clove garlic
dash oregano
1 teaspoon saffron (optional and I do not use)
avocado slices for garnish
Brown pork cubes in a small amount of olive oil until starting to brown.
Browning Pork Cubes for Posole
Add water and add dried posole, chili caribe, onion, garlic, oregano.
Cover and cook over low heat until done (4+ hours). Check often and add water as needed. Add salt immediately before serving. Garnish with avocado slice. Serve with guacamole and chips, hot sauce or any other Mexican favorite sides.
Kolaches originated in the Slovak countries and our Smaha family brought this Bohemian tradition to America when they immigrated to Iowa in the late 1800s. This tradition has been passed down in our family for many generations. Kolaches are wonderful any time of the year but especially wonderful at Christmas. My family tradition is to have them Christmas morning while we are opening gifts and sipping coffee or hot chocolate.
Christmas Morning and Kolaches 1987
This picture was taken in Christmas morning 1987 with my Mother, Mother-In-Law, and oldest daughter, Megan. Let the Kolache feast begin!
My all-time favorite Kolache is cherry. This season I was fortunate to buy a large container of fresh frozen tart cherries that I’ve been saving for Kolache filling this Christmas. Other years, I have used canned cherry pie filling. I have made Kolaches from old-fashioned sweet dough recipes but a new favorite is the sweet dough recipe for the bread machine. In a pinch, I have used frozen bread dough, even though not sweet, is very good.
Traditional Kolache come in many flavors including the timeless Bohemian prune or poppy-seed fillings. My Mother’s Kolaches were fabulous and we waited with excitement while they baked, poised to snatch one as soon as they came out of the oven.
Everyone’s Kolaches are a tad different. My Mother didn’t add the crumb topping to her Kolaches but a wonderful farm neighbor, Nellie, made Prune Kolaches with crumb topping in her old wood stove. You haven’t lived until you’ve had Kolaches from a wood cooking stove. My Aunt Lora, baked Kolaches that she pinched closed at the top and sprinkled with sugar. Equally wonderful.
Wishing all of you a wonderful Christmas and many cherished family traditions.
SWEET BREAD DOUGH (FOR BREAD MACHINE)
1 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast
4 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons butter
2 eggs
1 cup less 1 T. water
All ingredients should be at room temperature. Add the ingredients in the order listed above.
Run the machine through the dough cycle. Remove and work on floured board to desired loaf, rolls, etc.
CHERRY FILLING
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 cup juice from cherries
3 cups pitted tart red cherries (water pack)
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 teaspoon red food coloring
Combine 3/4 cup sugar with cornstarch. Stir in cherry juice.
Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, till mixture thickens and bubbles; cook 1 minute longer. Add remaining sugar, cherries, butter and food coloring and cook until thickened. Mixture will be very thick. Let stand while preparing bread dough for Kolaches.
PREPARING THE KOLACHES:
Pinch a piece of dough about the size of a walnut (or ping pong ball) and place on a greased baking pan. Cover with wax paper then a towel and let rise until double in size. When risen, push centers of balls down and fill with cherry filling (or filling of choice). Let rise again and bake at 400 degrees.
KOLACHE CRUMB TOPPING (Optional)
1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 teaspoon salt (omit if using margarine)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Mix all ingredients together (use a pastry blender) until crumbly and use as a topping for Kolaches or coffee cakes.
My Mother grew up in the depression and had a knack for making the most out of everything. Every year, she would make a large pot of Turkey Vegetable Soup after the big day. The aroma of the soup allowed us to relive Thanksgiving Day all over again. I love to add caraway seed (if you are Czech…it’s a true passion). Yum!
Turkey Vegetable Soup
TURKEY VEGETABLE SOUP
1 Turkey Carcass (leftover from holiday meal)
Diced Potatoes
Pearl Barley
Corn
Green Beans
Green Peas
Diced Onion
Diced Celery
Diced Carrots
Diced Red or Green Peppers
Bits of leftover dressing
(Whatever you feel like throwing in the pot!)
Pinch of oregano, parley, thyme, dill, caraway seed
Salt & pepper to taste
Remove carcass/meat/skin from broth. Strain broth. Return bits of turkey to the broth. Chill overnight.
Skim fat from broth. Bring broth to slight boil.
Add vegetables, herbs, and seasoning. Simmer until vegetables are tender.
Fresh Vegetables and Barley chopped and ready
The soup freezes so well and provides you with a taste of Thanksgiving long into the winter.
Do you have a favorite turkey soup that is tradition in your family?
I am NOT a curry fan but my pantry held a lonely butternut squash and I was in the mood for soup. Every ingredient was on hand, except for the curry powder. Pal, Maribeth, to the rescue.
This recipe came from the cookbook, Colorado Classique, by the Junior League of Denver. WOWZA, is it good! I was so excited to share the news of this great recipe that I called older daughter, Megan, to extol the virtues of this wonderful fall soup. This recipe will officially become one of my new traditions.
BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND APPLE SOUP
Serves: 6
2 onions, chopped
3 tablespoons of butter
2 ½ cups diced butternut squash
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and chopped
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons curry powder
Pinch of grated (or ground) nutmeg
3 cups chicken broth
1 cup milk
½ cup half-and-half or heavy cream
Zest and juice of 1 orange
Salt and pepper to taste
Whipped cream or sour cream and chopped parsley for garnish
In a 3 quart saucepan, sauté onions in butter for about 5 minutes or until soft.
Saute Onions
Add squash and apples and sauté for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Saute Squash and Apples with Onions
Add flour, curry powder and nutmeg. Cook for 2 minutes.
Add chicken broth, milk, half-and-half (or cream), and orange zest and juice. Simmer slowly, uncovered for 15-20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
Puree the soup in a blender or food processor. Season with salt and pepper and sugar. Serve hot topped with a dollop of cream and a sprinkling of parsley.
This soup improves with time. Prepare a day or two in advance and refrigerate until ready to heat and serve.
Once upon a time, a little girl named Cathy sat in her Mother’s kitchen in rural Iowa, watching her Mother make amazing dinners every night with items from the garden or raised on their farm. The smell of baking bread, when walking through the door after school, is forever engrained in my memory. My Mother would tell stories about the food she was preparing and memories of her childhood and my Grandmother’s cooking.
I come from a long line of great cooks who cooked from the heart. A pinch of this. A pinch of that. My Mother was one of six children raised in a 5 room home. Grandma Susie cooked all of her meals over a wood cookstove with all water coming from a water pump. Just think what she could do with today’s conveniences.
Recipes and sharing of recipes is truly a gift for our families. It brings us together to create memories and traditions. Even in the hustle bustle of career and family commitments, this is a tradition I hold dear.
After several years, I compiled a cookbook for my family and close friends including my favorite recipes and short memories of many dishes. Little did I know that my daughters would cherish these comments. The picture below is the cover of my cookbook and captures daughters Megan and Sarah helping to make a cake when they were little girls. They loved to be a part of the process, especially when it came to a dessert and licking the bowl.
In addition, I started a family Christmas newsletter several years ago that always included a special recipe. Friends and family have commented each year about how much they look forward to the newsletter and have adopted recipes shared as some of their favorites.
After retiring last year from a corporate sales leadership position, my daughters encouraged me to take my stories and recipes to the web. I hope that you will join me on this journey and become an active part of this website and discussion. What stories can you recall from wonderful aromas and occasions in your family? What stories and traditions is your family weaving?
Fork Lore 