Last week, I feasted on an absolutely delicious posole. If you aren’t familiar with this hearty soup, you are missing out. It is a main course dish that consists of pork, onions, garlic, dried chiles, hominy and cilantro that simmers together in broth.

Traditionally, it was served at Christmas and comes to us from Mexico’s Pacific coast area. As I savored each bite, I was reminded of how very much I love regional foods and especially hominy. Posole and hominy are the same thing. The name hominy comes from the Algonquian word “rockahominy.”

I grew up with hominy served as a frequent side dish with pork. In the South, that was common years ago and to have it pulled together in a soup is genius. Hominy is an overlooked item at the grocery store. As evidence, the last time I purchased it at the supermarket the store clerk asked me what it was.  

Hominy is made by soaking whole kernel corn in a lime solution in order to remove the hull and germ. After soaking, it is rinsed and then either canned or dried and sold in that form. Dried hominy has to be reconstituted (like dried beans) before using in recipes. If it is ground, it is sold as grits.

Although uniquely colored corn can be used to make hominy, the corn most often used is either white or yellow. And that color is how it is sold canned and found in on the shelves near the canned corn. I like to buy one of each to mix them together for a beautiful side enhanced with just butter and black pepper.

One of the things I’ve been doing for years is using hominy in the place of whole kernel corn in recipes. It changes the look, texture and taste of the recipe in an interesting and tasty way.  

Chris Bridges of Paducah has some rye flour and isn’t sure how to use it. “I’m sure it is healthy but I wonder if it can be used as all-purpose flour,” she writes.

Rye flour doesn’t have as much gluten as all-purpose flour, so it will give you a dark, heavy result. Since it doesn’t rise as well when making bread, it is usually combined with flours that are higher in protein. I love it when used as a binder in meatloaf or meatballs.       

Tammy Algood is the author of five cookbooks and can be seen on “Volunteer Gardener” on PBS stations in Tennessee. Follow her at www.hauteflavor.com