Pheasant Tortilla Soup

My mother and I are so alike.  We sound the same on the phone, have similar wide-mouthed, eye-crinkled smiles, and we both think the ultimate display of love from a spouse is an unsolicited housecleaning.  We both wear the same shoe size, think Robert Redford is a dreamboat, and eat too many peanut M&Ms.

We share a mutual affection for Neil Diamond. Need I say more?

But when it comes to cooking, we can't be more different. She will follow the recipe to the letter, grocery shopping for each and every ingredient and using the 1/8 tsp. measuring spoon to ensure an exact amount of cumin.  She finds comfort in methodology, the idea that by following instructions, results are assured. 

Meanwhile, I dash, pinch, toss, and substitute.  I leave things out, add things in, dig in the back of my fridge for nominees to go in the pot, and say "Well, that'll work" a lot.  I find joy in making do with what I've got, using my intuition when it comes to how much cumin a recipe really needs, and never having the same meal twice. 

Perfect example of my tendency to tweak: pheasant tortilla soup.  Of course this was a recipe for chicken tortilla soup, and of course, I figured a prairie chicken harvested this past fall would do just fine in the soup pot. And it did - flavorful, warm and soothing, and even pretty to look at.  Pheasant is NOT chicken, though.  In this soup, the flavor isn't much affected, but the texture is different, rougher and drier than the steroid-laden, salt-water-injected chicken breasts we find in the supermarket nowadays.  But in my humble opinion, a hot bowl of soup, created by making do with what you have, is one of the simplest paths to happiness and contentment.  

Pheasant Tortilla Soup

Found this recipe in an advertisement for cough syrup, adjusted as I saw fit.  It's not a really heavy, cream-laden tortilla soup like you see in chain restaurants.  Instead, it is brothy, with chunks of goodness, just what you want on a cold, sniffly winter day.  The tortillas are going to get mushy in any leftovers, so stir a handful of those into the individual soup bowls instead of dumping them all into the pot at once.

About 3/4 lb. pheasant breast
Olive oil
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cumin 

1/2 tsp. salt
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 red pepper, diced
1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes, juice and all
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
5 corn tortillas, cut into thin strips 

Garnishes: Shredded cheese, chopped cilantro, sour cream, and diced avocado

Rub pheasant with 1 Tbls. olive oil, chili powder, cumin and salt.  Roast in 375 degree oven until cooked through but still tender, about 20 mins.  Set aside to cool slightly.

Heat 1 Tbls. olive oil in soup pot. Add onion, garlic and pepper and cook until softened, about 5 mins.  Add tomatoes and broth and simmer 25 mins.  Meanwhile, shred the cooked pheasant into bite-size pieces.  Stir meat into pot, along with any accumulated juices.

To serve, ladle soup in bowls, stir in handful of tortilla strips into each bowl and garnish.