An unforgettable taste :)

Food has always been used to bring families together, with all of the fond memories we build and memories of home. The variety of smells that fill the room as the family sits around the table, as we catch up and to celebrate joyful times together. Imagine the most beloved memories being tied to a single dish, a dish that can make anyone, especially me, feel better when i am sick. Seasoned just right, the rich, brothy body that warms my soul. Every 2 months, this soup is made, and every time it connects me to my Hispanic heritage. We only prepare this soup. The bright, sweet taste of that luxurious broth filling my mouth and embracing my taste buds. Pozole Soup is the amazing dish i just described. It has brought me out of difficult times and replaced them with fond memories.

A stainless steel pot looking me in the eyes, peering over, feeling the heat hit my face and hearing the bubbles popping softly. The smell of the pozole soup fills the house. Making the lovely, rich, green chicken soup mixed with white balls will always be a special occasion dish in the Ramirez house. It brings us together as we sit, catching up, discussing things that we do not talk about on a day to day basis. The day my mom cooks, this savory treat lasts a whole week for us. We have it for a week straight: breakfast, lunch, dinner, and we never get tired of it. This native dish from Mexico is a tradition to eat this soup on any holiday. It’s kind of a birthday tradition since I have it every year as the main course. Pozole made me excited for my birthday to come! I looked forward to having it on my birthday to have the thing that is filled with my culture every year.

 It was so unique that we would bring out the fancy bowls to enjoy this warm, flavorful dish. I would always call first dibs on the chicken soup. No one but my dad would eat it. The chicken soup was kinda our thing. The chicken soup is always in the smaller pot, and the beef soup is in the bigger pot as my mom preferred beef over chicken. My siblings would wake me up to go eat with them the morning after it’s cooked. The only leftover that when you pop it in the microwave, It’s still delicious like it’s fresh. Anytime we would eat, my mom would always invite my extended family to come to eat with us. The soup is almost too good to eat alone. There was this one time my cousin dropped my siblings and me home from work to eat with us. It’s a delicacy that can never get old.

My mother blesses the soup somehow every time. The recipe originates from Mexico as a traditional soup that was used to bring families closer and celebrate the good times in life. This recipe has a very minimum spice to it. It comes in two variations, one with green broth, which is generally made with chicken and beef and a red broth which is made for pork. My family and I always make green soup as this was the soup that my mother was taught. The soup calls for this stripped-down corn kernels called Himony, shredded chicken, or chopped beef, whichever one you prefer, Mexican oregano, salt, pepper, and green sauce, which is how you get your spice kick from. You would usually top it off with shredded cabbages, red radishes, limes, and onions with a side of tostadas on the side. We will always admire my mom for how she makes the pozole as it takes so much attention to perfect. She keeps the recipe the same while somehow going beyond perfect every time.

We’ve grown to appreciate this soup as the years go by. I’ve mentioned this, but it truly is a unique way my cousins and I bond. This soup gives us all an excuse to meet up for one night out of our busy schedules to sit down, enjoy each other’s company, and to catch up on everything that has happened in our lives. We cherish it as we don’t know when the next time all of us are going to be under the same roof. I hear about my family’s triumphs and glamour, but I also hear about their failures and the downfalls that we don’t hear, we let go, and celebrate with one another as we value our limited time. It’s not the actual soup’s recipe that makes it worth waiting, however many months I have to; time spent, I get to have my family over my house and get to spend a whole night just smiling with each other. Those are the nights that we end it with us saying “I don’t want to go, but I have to.”The night would close as we say our goodbyes. The urge to want to have another one will happen right as everyone leaves.

As we grow up and move on from the city we were raised, we will always remember the dinner we would have. It will give us our youth and innocence back while nostalgia rushes back. Pozole will be a part of our childhood, the wild idea that will always reign true in our hearts. It is a link back to home. I will always have pozole and feel as if my mom makes it better, and this is because it will never be the same unless I have it with my girls...and Julian. I cherish just being able to have an opportunity to see them. We care about each other, we root for our success, and we will be there for when someone needs a shoulder to cry on. They are some of my best friends. Pozole reminds me of them and my mother, which is the main reason why I eat. It tastes incredible, but it always will taste better when I have the people I love by my side to share it with. It’s a feeling I know I take for granted as I don’t tell them how much I love them and appreciate them often. I can’t wait till I see them again, and I have our favorite food together, to take it in and enjoy it for once like a moment to last for a lifetime.

Images attributions:

"Photo of Pozole Verde" by Foodista is licensed under CC BY 2.0

"Monterrey Nuevo Leon, Mexico" by Distrito Médico Monterrey is licensed under CC BY 2.0