I come from a diverse family and background, experiences that profoundly shape my world view and the approach I bring to my vocation. My mother is a first-generation Colombian immigrant and lifelong educator. I identify as Latino and it is only by English naming convention that my name is not George Kimbrell-Zalamea.

As a boy I was very close to my maternal grandfather, who was in his later years, among many other things, a food writer for years for El Nuevo Herald (Spanish version of the Miami Herald). He also authored several best-selling cookbooks in Spanish. He and my mother taught me how to cook from a young age, but more importantly they taught me to love and savor food and cooking. The ritual of it. The delayed gratification of it. Food as a sacrament and cooking as a creative art. The natural world and its bounty as our heritage, connected to our ancestors. These principles are all deeply engrained in my ethos, qualities that undoubtedly steered me to my vocation of protecting planet and building a better future for our food.

Historically, because Colombia is a Catholic country, the meal was made on Christmas Eve because of midnight mass: people would fast all day and then attend mass; the soup was an easy to digest post-service meal.

So, growing up we made Ajiaco every Christmas Eve, and I have continued that cherished holiday tradition with my own family (even still with Abuela, when we can). Often we will couple it with homemade bread and a Jamaican recipe to represent my wife's heritage. We take pride in instilling in our three children the cultural traditions of both our families daily in big and small ways: cooking, music, language, religion, storytelling.

We also make Ajiaco other times of year of course; it is a comforting soup, at once both humble and proud, and perfect for our rainy days here in the Pacific Northwest.

Today we take time to honor and express our gratitude to all the mothers among us, as well as Mother Earth, and I'm proud of our collective work at CFS dismantling industrial agriculture and championing a new food future. 

Bogotánian Ajiaco recipe (traditional Colombian peasant soup)

A few notes on the recipe:

This is my family's traditional recipe as taught to me by my mother and grandfather, and it differs slightly from some other Colombian ajiaco recipes you might find. 

Using three different potatoes is important and serves a purpose. Sabanera/russet will give it the creamy quality; pastusa/Yukon golds provide flavor and texture; criolla provide yellow color and sweetness.  The soup is from the Andean part of Colombia, where hundreds of types of potatoes are grown.

Guascas is the star of the soup, gives it a particular earthy taste and fragrance, a culinary herb with medicinal benefits.  You can find it dried online, but in a pinch you can sub in watercress.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds sabanera (substitute russet) potatoes
• 1 pound red potatoes
• 1.5 pounds papas criollas (or sub yellow potatoes)
• 3 pounds bone-in chicken (using a whole skin on chicken is best)*
• 1 beef shinbone
• Large onion, peeled but not diced
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• Black pepper
• 4 large scallions, trimmed
• 4 garlic cloves, diced
• 5 ears corn, husked and cut into 3-4 pieces
• 10 grams dried Guascas
• 1/5 cups heavy cream
• 1 large cup capers
• 3-4 ripe avocados, cut into wedges
• 3 cilantro stems
• Lime wedges and aji

*Note: A vegetarian or vegan version can be easily made, by simply omitting the chicken and using vegetable stock instead to make the broth and vegan sour cream alternative.

Instructions:

1. Simmer the chicken in a large soup pot filled with water. Add the whole onion, shinbone, and half the chopped spices (guascas, garlic, scallions, salt and pepper). Skim off the foam that rises to the top occasionally. Cook until the chicken is cooked through (~45 m). 
2. While the broth is simmering, peel and half or quarter all the potatoes. (A second pair of hands is helpful!)
3. Using tongs, remove the chicken from the pot and place on cutting board to cool. Discard the whole onion and shinbone.
4. Strain the fresh chicken broth twice and return to cleaned soup pot. Add the second half of spices and the potatoes. (Throughout, add more guascas liberally as needed to taste and aroma.)
5. While the potatoes are cooking, breakdown and shred the now cooled chicken into 1-inch long pieces. Discard the carcass and skin.
6. When the potatoes are soft (~45m), mash a few into the side of the pot, making the soup thick and creamy. Leave some potato chunks.
7. Now add back in the shredded chicken and chopped corn on the cob, and simmer on low/medium (~20m). Stir with wooden spoon and add water/more broth if/as needed for consistency.
8. To serve, in a large bowl first pour in heavy cream to taste, then the soup on top of it.  Float the avocado wedges and sprinkle capers to taste, garnish with cilantro, squeeze of lime and aji optional.

Enjoy!