Since coming home from Oaxaca, I have had lots of fun entertaining with Pollo Borrachio topped Peppered Rice--it is so great because you can make a double or triple recipe of each and have multiple servings. (recipes follow)   And...the best part, the flavor of the Pollo seems to improve with each reheating.  When I had the Pecos River Cafe In New York City, we could never make enough servings when we had it on special.  The recipe is from Sonora.

***This Sunday, July 24 from 1:30 to 3:30 PM I will be at the Treasure House in Old town  Albuquerque autographing my cookbooks and serving Perfect Guacamole with Tostados.  I would love to see you then!  Old Town is always so much fun visiting the shops.

This past week, we got in a new batch of Blue Corn Flour.  Did you know that blue corn is the only "perfect food" , having all the necessary vitamins, minerals  and amino acids to support good health?  That is how the Ancient Anasazis flourished.  They had little else to eat, but lots of blue corn to  and were perfectly healthy--sort of.  Most lost their molars before 30 due to the hardness of the ritualistic, aboriginal blue corn.

To this day--each of the 19 Pueblos in New Mexico has their own  blue corn variety and they do not hybridize it to make it more productive, because it is sacred.  All of the Pueblos but the Zuni are patriarchal, meaning that each monitored and grew their own blue corn for Kiva ceremonies  and for rituals, not as a food stuff.  Only the Zunis are matriarchal.

The lack of modern agricultural science applied to the development of blue corn has resorted in a very limited supply of seed corn, hence this limitation makes the blue corn in limited supply and more expensive.

The blue corn we sell is roasted for extra flavor and is 100% pure blue corn, not filled with white or yellow corn, making it more flavorful and nutritious.   Our's is also ground very finely, not coarse like so many that are on the market.

We are featuring it at 20% off this week or $4.80 instead of $6.00, just before we have to have a price increase due to the greater cost to us.

One of my favorite blue corn recipes is the Blue Corn Parfait Bread I feature in our weekend and week long classes as a great accompaniment to  Bowl o Red with Fixins''n Mixin's.  We also give a copy of the recipe with each order.

We still have a very few openings for this week's class tomorrow evening at 5 PM.  It is the Take a Tortilla and....  And, we are taking reservations for our two fall weekend classes September 16-18 and November  4 - 6.

Wish me well next week with my knee replacement. I look forward to being up and at 'em very soon and will soon be creating the fall and winter schedule of classes.

In the meantime,  good health to everyone and stay cool.

Here's the recipes from my "Southwestern Kitchen"  cookbook. 

POLLO BORRACHO (DRUNKEN CHICKEN)

This is a very yummy Sonoran chicken dish that you don’t see too often. It is somewhat reminiscent of picadillo, a cinnamon scented ground pork or beef dish accented with nuts and raisins. It is delicious served over rice, particularly peppered cumin rice. For an attractive presentation, mold the rice into a dome shape and arrange the chicken around the rice.  Or, if you are using Basmati rice, just place the chicken of a fluff of rice.

Yield: 6 servings

¼ cup vegetable oil

2 Tablespoons butter or margarine

2, 2 ½ lb. chickens, cut into serving pieces, or 8 chicken legs with thighs or 2 pounds of boneless skinless thighs

¼ lb. cooked ham, coarsely chopped

1 cup raisins

2 cups beer (see Note, below)

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground coriander

2 garlic cloves, minced

¾ teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper

½ cup piñon nuts

½ cup pimiento-stuffed olives, thinly sliced

1 Tablespoon capers, drained (optional)

1. In a heavy, flameproof casserole dish with a lid, heat oil and butter. Add chicken pieces and sauté until golden. Add ham, raisins, beer, spices, garlic, salt and pepper.

2. Cover and simmer until the chicken is tender when pierced with a fork, about 1 hour. Place the piñon nuts, olives, and capers and in small bowls for garnishing.

Note: You can use flat beer, or even frozen beer that’s been left from a keg.

PEPPERED RICE

This is one of my all-time favorite rice recipes and can easily cut in half.

 Yield: 6 to 8 servings 

2 Tablespoons lard or butter

2 cups diced green, red bell  and yellow bell pepper

1 medium-sized onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 teaspoon cumin (comino), divided

1-1/2 cups uncooked long-grain rice

1-1/2 cups chicken stock, hot 

1. Using medium heat, melt the lard or butter in a 3 quart saucepan with a close-fitting cover. Add the peppers and onion and cook until onion is wilted. Add the garlic, ½ teaspoon cumin and rice, and stir until well mixed. 

2. Add the hot stock and mix to distribute the rice evenly. Using medium high heat, bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low, cover and steam for 15 minutes without disturbing. Then add remaining cumin and stir. If not as tender as desired, cook to desired doneness.  If dry, add more stock.  Taste and adjust seasonings—I have always found the seasoning in the stock precludes the need for salt in the recipe.