Week of April 15: Pozole Rojo and a Full House

The shelter was at capacity — 40 residents inside, which is about as full as it gets. We made pozole rojo. It takes longer than most things we cook, but it feeds a crowd and it fills people up in a way that lighter dishes don’t. You don’t leave a bowl of pozole still hungry.

The pork broth started at noon. By 6pm it was ready.

Outside we had 15 people. A mix of regulars and a few faces I hadn’t seen before. There was a family — a woman with two kids, maybe 8 and 10. They don’t qualify to stay inside. They ate outside. I tried not to think about it too hard, which is the wrong instinct. I’m working on that.

The 20 lunch boxes the next morning were the last of the pozole in containers, a couple of tostadas each.

Out of pocket: $62. Dried chiles, hominy (none donated this week), tamarind for the agua. The pork was donated.

Rob, Armida, and Wendy came this week. Five of us total. Pozole for 75 people takes five people. We finished at 8pm and nobody complained.