Feeling a little disconnected

I had started this blog to talk about all the great Phoenix food finds but nowadays it's all about finding the best products but for the best price. As a stay-at-home mom I don't have the luxury anymore to just pick up the greatest looking new food. My husband and I were looking at the budget and thinking of ways to trim it a bit. Well, the big fat hungry elephant in the room was my grocery spending. It wasn't crazy but it is sure a big part of our spending every month. So, in an effort to be creative but not shoot myself if I didn't buy everything from the farmers market, I ran through my fridge and pantry and the Rick Bayless book I had picked up at the library and see what came together.

I decided to make the Red Chile Seafood Soup since I had most of the ingredients and that a small trip to Food City wouldn't break the bank. Also, it reminded me of a soup I used to get all the time as a kid in Del Mar at El Pescador.

There were some new ingredients I was about to try. I am a little embarrased to say that I'd known about Epazote and Chayote and Guajillo Chiles since I was like 10 (that was 20 years ago) but had never used them. So, here was my chance.

Food City had what I needed and this wasn't too time consuming, as many of Rick Bayless' recipes often are. Cooking in my house now is doing it as fast as humanly possible so that my son doesn't have a meltdown waiting for his food.


After making this tangy tart sweet broth with soft 'taters, squash and fish and slightly chewy shrimp, my husband has requested that we make this a regular dish. Success!! Even my 18 month old really liked it. However, he only ate the broth and sucked on the lime wedges.

So, I encourage you all to try a new recipe, it's helped me feel a little less disconnected.