Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me

Chicken and rice with zucchini and corn. My sister R will have to remind me of its real name. This is somehow different then Arros Con Pollo. Sister if you're out there reading let me know how you see it. As I recall this was much richer, velvety. And the vegetables really sang out. My mother put in little corn cob chunks and they absorbed the sauce and had juicy tomato'y flavor. I used frozen but in the summer it pays to break real sweet corn cobs into pieces. I'm tellin' ya, you'll be sucking on them little cobs grrrrrl. The two vegetables are the real shiners in this dish.

I must have done something right this week because the food gods have been shining down on my dishes. I always screw up my Mexican rice somehow. But this time I used Basmati rice. I soaked it first and then put it along with the zucchini and corn in the pot with the chicken and broth in the oven, lid on, for about 15 minutes at the very end and it was perfect! The rice absorbed all the stock and tomato flavor. The zucchini was tender and not overcooked.

I braised my chicken legs before adding stock, jalapenos, tomatoes, cumin, garlic, cilantro and onion. My mom left the chicken on the bone to allow the deep flavors to penetrate the stock. The meat just falls off. I have to say this is one dish where I leave much of the fat in the stock because that is what gives the rice a silky texture in my opinion. But if you wanted to be a stick in the mud you could take it all out before adding the veggies.
I hope this good luck with cooking lasts.