Guns n’ Posole

I bought another gun today. I took my 14 year old nephew to Wally World and we checked out a couple of cheapo .22 rifles, looking for something he can use for target practice and general plinking while visiting his granddad in Fort Stockton. We settled on a Savage Mark-II, which came complete with a 10x scope, cable lock and earplugs for about $130. What a deal.

The kid was thrilled beyond words, as I knew he would be. His father is, um, inaccessible, and it pretty much falls to me and his grandfather to provide the male role models that a boy needs. I’m really not very good at it, having never been a dad myself, but I figure that anything I do is better than nothing, and so far, that seems to be a viable strategy.

It’s been at least fifteen years since I bought a firearm. I wasn’t surprised by all the paperwork, but I was caught a little off guard when, having completed the transaction, the Assistant Manager escorted me to the front door, carrying the gun herself. Standard procedure; you don’t wander around Wal-Mart armed (did I mention I also bought a brick of ammo?). If you want to continue shopping, you put the gun in your car, and come back inside. I found the whole thing eminently sensible, actually.

I returned to a house permeated with the tantalizing odor of MLB‘s green chile posole. It’s been cooking All. Day. Long.

Remember in the Bible where Esau sold his birthright to his brother, Jacob, in exchange for some red stew? Esau would have thrown in his right arm had he smelled MLB’s green chile posole. She starts with the standard posole mix, which she buys in Santa Fe, where they know about such things. She then adds a few vital ingredients, such as cubed pork, chorizo and green chiles, and sets it to simmering for hours. And hours. And hours.

Serve it up with some homemade guacamole and a stack of hot flour tortillas, and you have a meal so good that it borders on erotic.
It’s been a good day, a day that could easily inspire a C&W song, preferably sung by Marty Robbins (who put the “Western” in C&W). But I’m really too stuffed (the phrase “full as a tick” comes to mind) to think about that. Maybe Scott over at The Fat Guy can come up with something.

Update – 2003-11-25:The posole recipe is now published in the comments to this post, courtesy of MLB, who claims that it’s such a secret that even she doesn’t always remember it! Just another way of saying, YMMV.

7 comments

  1. My mouth is too busy watering to come up with anything. I WANT THIS RECIPE!!!!!!!!! I’ve never even *heard* of posole. Yes, I’m lame, and I use Windows, too. Send me the recipe.
    FWIW, it’s finally gotten cold enough around these parts to think about pulling out the dutch oven and doing up some sinus-clearing chili.
    Dang, I’m hungry! Oh, and make sure I get that recipe.

  2. Scott, it’s out of my hands. I’ll check with the chef and recommend that she share the recipe, but that’s the best I can promise.
    I know who wears the apron in our house!
    She uses Windows too, so I don’t think that’s necessarily a mark against you.

  4. Julie, you got right to the heart of the matter. As good as these things are hot out of the crockpot…they get even better left over! Why is that? I guess it’s because the flavors have more time to get acquainted. So, yes, we have leftovers. But…they’re MINE, I tell you…MINE! ALL MINE!!
    Bwaaaaahhh haaaaa hhaaaaaaaaaa…….

  5. Eric, I’m sure you’ve thought of this already, but the .22 caliber matches at the Midland Shooters Association rifle range could be a lot of fun for you and your nephew. Shooting at those type events is infinitely more enjoyable than plinking in the caliche pits.
    But, more importantly, the participants must observe some very strict safety rules at those matches. It’s an excellent way for a shooter to develop good safety habits.

  6. George, I have indeed considered joining the MSA. I’ll see how the kid’s enthusiasm for shooting holds up, and go from there. Thanks for the tip.
    I don’t know how competitive he is, but I’m sure that the matches are valuable even if you’re just competing against your last score. But I do like the emphasis on safety, and that’s something that I’ll be stressing as we’re out in the field.

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