Hominy

Growing up in a multi-cultural family... kinda...we had interesting food to eat.  My dad's family were Californians from the 1700's, by way of Spain and then Mexico.  My mom's family were very much Heinze 57'ish; Irish, English, Welsh and Swedish.  Mom would make food items with strange names.  What the heck is 'Slumgullion?'  I don't even know if it's real, or something she made up.


But she's the one that would come up with things like chicken and dumplings, ... good, solid fare, mostly tasteless.  Dad sent her to my godmother to learn how to cook Mexican and thank the gods, she had a great aptitude for that.


One of those things she learned to cook was Menudo.  I know... many of you out there turn up your noses at the very thought of cooking with tripe.  And honestly, I would never eat the tripe.  What I loved about the Menudo was the hominy and the broth.  I'd grab a tortilla and use it as a conveyance device to get those little corny morsels up to my mouth, along with the broth that had soaked into said tortilla. Still, you can't make Menudo taste like Menudo without the tripe.  Needless to say, I have never made Menudo.


But Posole!  Now here is something you can make WITH hominy and pork.  Safe, sane pork. :)  


So, since I don't make menudo, and I still love hominy, I try to find things to do with it.  Tonight, we're using hominy as a side dish.  Sisters and I just put together a concoction in the slow cooker that contains green chilies, diced onions, grey Mexican squash, yellow squash, hominy (YAY!), sour cream, salt, pepper and a Mexican shredded cheese mixture.  I have made it before, so at least I know it's edible, but I have to wonder, if my mom had whipped up something like this, would it be called a 'slumgullion?'


Oh holy carp!  I just googled Slumgullion, and it's not a made up word.  It's FOOD!  It's Slumgullion!  But, let me tell you, what mom made had no relationship to what's in that recipe.  Ok, check this link... it makes MUCH more sense!  Dang, who doesn't love etymology?  And after reading that article, I am reminded of something else Mom called Mulligan stew.  I can't remember what that was and I am guessing it's because I tend to let unpleasant memories fade as much as possible.  Please, if you are a lover of the REAL Mulligan Stew, do not be perturbed; I am sure what Mom made had absolutely no resemblance to the real thing. Oh yes, for sure, Mom never made THAT.


Hominy is apparently a food item that can bring back many memories of my childhood, as you can see from the preceding.  I miss my mom and her weird use of the English language; sammiches, HOUSEpitals, and a phrase I hesitate to share with the general public, but it has something to do with haemorrhages and is totally revolting, as she exhorted people not have have one.  Very strangely, as she was the only person I had ever, thankfully, heard use that phrase, I found out  from my dear friend Polly, that HER mother used the same phrase.  I shudder.


And this is what I am thinking about on this Saturday afternoon; Mom, hominy, Slumgullion and menudo.  It's good to be American. :D


Love to all!!!