Mexican Memories

I think I have talked about my friend in AZ that is Mexican. She was my friend, Mexican culture guide, matchmaker, coworker and mamita. She knew everyone. Through her, I began to know so many people. A good thing when you have just moved to a new location. We would go dancing at a bar called Los Olivos. There, dancing was so different than in the North East. Here, to go dancing, means to pick up people. There I guess it could mean the same thing as well but everyone would dance with everyone and guys were not afraid to dance and it usually meant, "hey, I just wanna dance." So in a typical night I might dance with five guys. All shapes and sizes. Some spoke English, some not. It was so much fun just to enjoy the music and get out and dance.

I always think fondly of Sandra whenever I make a dish that she taught me or when Cinco de Mayo approaches. While she never taught me this dish, I still very much enjoy it as a light meal packed with lots of vegetables.
Loaded Tortilla Soup with Shrimp or maybe I should say
Sopa de Tortillas and Camarones
What you use as your ingredients strongly determines the flavor of the soup. Especially the salsa part. Choose a salsa with lots of flavor, prefereably some type of smoked salsa.

1 lb medium shrimp, shelled or unshelled
5 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic
1 red pepper, chopped
1 cup corn
1 teaspoon cumin
juice of one lime
1 cup fire roasted salsa or chipotle salsa
Garnish with:
green onions chopped
avocado, sliced
cilantro, chopped
tortillas, salted and baked

Saute onion in and chopped pepper in olive oil until softened. Add minced garlic and cook one minute more. Add broth, cumin and salsa. Cover and cook for 20 minutes. Add corn and lime and finally the shrimp and cook until its pink. Add s and p to taste. Spoon into bowls and garnish with vegetables of your choice.