My Grandmother's Recipe

Two weeks ago I entered a photo contest on the Santa Fe School of Cooking. This was a contest where you enter a photo of a dish that was your mother’s signature dish. The prize? A cooking class for 2.


Now the winner of the contest would be the one who received the most votes via the face book page. So it really turns into a popularity contest. This was ok as long as I would win!

My mom didn’t cook, couldn’t even boil water when she got married. Her idea of cooking was Velveeta cheese and spam. My dad was always the cook and maybe his dish was his beans. I do have that recipe but decided not to use it.

My paternal grandmother was the cook that I tend to follow these days. Enchiladas, empanadas, and her dish of Calabasa. Calabasa apparently means a pumpkin but to my grandma it is a squash dish. This dish is a kind of 1 pot Spanish rice.

I make huge pots of Calabasa, serve it for dinner then freeze the rest for other meals. I made this large pot of Calabasa, took photos before dinner then submitted the photo for the photo contest. Then I had to lean on my friends for votes.

I won!!! Thanks to my friends and family who came together I won during the hours.

So here is the recipe and I’m not including amounts because you can make it for 2 or for 12, just make the amounts you need:

Calabasa

Chicken cut into pieces
Squash, I use a combo of zucchini, crook neck and whatever else is fresh. Cut into bite size pieces
Corn, I use fresh cut off the cob when fresh otherwise frozen
Carrots cut into bite size pieces
A chili pepper or 2
Fresh tomatoes and water to cook rice
Cloves of garlic chopped
An onion chopped
Brown Rice
Olive Oil

Put a little olive oil in pot and heat it. Add your rice, onions and garlic to sauté. Add enough water and/or tomatoes then add all of the veges, chilies and pieces of chicken.

Cook for about 45 min until rice is cooked.

For a vegetarian version use garbanzo beans and maybe a little tofu.