Seems it never rains in Southern California
Seems I've often heard that kind of talk before
It never rains in California
But girl, don't they warn ya
It pours man it pours
And man is it ever pouring. We have been having rain on and off over the last couple of days. But today ---pouring rain, heavy wind, huge seas, lightning, thunder and hail!! TV news is predicting wind gusts up to 60 knots and up to 25 foot waves later this afternoon.
One of the number one questions we get as boaters is - "What do you do when it rains?" Well, we go inside and keep dry. And we float. We also have an added advantage if there is a power outage (there have been several today), we just fire-up the generator and we have full power.
Today is the perfect day to stay inside, bake some bread and have something yummy simmering on the stove. I decided on Tinga Poblana - a Pork Stew with Smoky Tomato Sauce and Potatoes. Start by cutting a pork shoulder into cubes, 1 to 1 1/2 inches. Bring about a quart of salted water to a boil in a large saucepan, add the pork and skim the foam that rises to the top during the first few minutes of simmering. Add dried thyme and bay leaves and simmer, partially covered until the meat is tender, about an hour. If you have time, let the meat cool in the broth Remove the meat and strain the broth, reserving 1 cup of the broth.
Cut a few red-skinned potatoes into quarters and boil in salted water until just tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and chop into 1/2 inch dice. Chop canned tomatoes into 1/2-inch pieces. Fry chorizo sausage, that has been removed from the casing, in a large skillet over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes. Remove the chorizo, leaving as much fat as possible in the skillet. Raise the heat to medium and add the pork and a medium diced onion. Fry, stirring frequently, until well browned, about 10 minutes. Stir in a minced garlic clove and cook another couple of minutes.
Add the chopped tomatoes, dried oregano and the chorizo. Mix well and simmr for 5 minutes. Stir in the potatoes, the reserved pork broth, chipotle peppers and the adobe sauce from the can. Simmer gently for 10 minutes and season with salt and a tiny bit of sugar.
Spoon the stew into a warm dish and top with slices of avocado, queso fresco and slices of onion broken into rings.
Stew simmering on the stove:
And a few rolls to mop up the stew juices:
