I attempted Tortilla Soup

...and it was pretty good. It was a last minute decision on Tuesday. It was very cold outside, and I had just done a whole lot of laundry, and I was starving. I was in the mood for something spicy and hot and delicious. I also knew I had a good amount of the ingredients necessary for tortilla soup in my kitchen, including a whole lot of cilantro that was on its way to going bad. I searched around on Epicurious and settled on adapting

this recipe.

I adjusted the proportions slightly because I was only making soup for one (I still ended up making enough for two huge bowls, which I ate almost all of). I decided to use three cups of stock (I actually used chicken stock instead of vegetable stock, because that is what I had). I did not use "non-stick vegetable oil spray" as the recipe suggests - I used olive oil. I also cut out the zucchini and I added a LOT of lemon juice, which I think is vital to the recipe - the soup needs the zesty-ness. I also chopped up some tomatos and threw them in there.

I liked the fact that the recipe suggests cutting up tortillas and putting them in the soup as it cooks - it gives it a really good corn flavor and thickness. I also crisped up two additional small corn tortillas in the toaster oven and crumbled them on top for extra texture, along with cubed avocado and some grated sharp white cheddar. A more traditional mexican cheese would probably have been better, but you gotta use what you got in the fridge.

I am looking forward to making this soup again with a bit more preparation and some more authentic ingredients. BUT at least now I know I can make a very tasty tortilla soup with basic ingredients that are usually on hand in my kitchen.

This is what it looked like !