2 lbs. beef feet and bones
2 handfuls Mexican Oregano
1 tspn. red pepper flakes
2 bermuda onions
1 bunch green onions
1 bunch cilantro
1 head garlic
3 29oz. cans Mexican style hominy
baking soda
salt to taste

1. It seems in every family there is one or two or a multitude of recipes that seem to immediately makes one think of Mom/Dad or favorite Aunt or uncle. This recipe for menudo is one of the ones my father is known for. But, you say, your father is Chinese. From China! True, but my father was one of those culinary geniuses who could taste a dish and recreate it. Besides, the very first place he live in America was South Phoenix which was primarily Hispanic. His first language other than Chinese that he spoke here was Spanish, and when he was a youth he used to eat jalapenos straight, no chaser! (Aagh! My taste buds! My taste buds!) This recipe is simple and it will produce enough for a small army. What you need is a 20, yes a twenty quart stock pot and a little bit of time. The recipe can be reduced or you can freeze it for those cold, overcast and damp days that we never seem to have here in San Francisco. You never know when you'll have friends or family just happen to drop in and want a bowl of menudo.

2. Place the pot on the stove half filled with water and the beef feet and beef bones. The beef feet are important since the gelatin in the cartilidge cooks into the water and adds something to the consistency of the later finished product. Cook the whole kit-and-kaboodle (don't ya love that word) (very technical and precise) over medium heat covered for approximately an hour.

3. In the meantime, take the tripe out of the packages and trim them of all fat. The best place to get the tripe is a Mexican or Hispanic meat market. What you want is tripe with a nice honeycomb pattern. After trimming the tripe, wash it with a combination of baking soda and salt. To do that, place it in the sink and sprinkle the baking soda and then wash as if you were hand washing a shirt. Rinse and then sprinkle it with salt and repeat. Do this two to three times to make sure the tripe is very clean. Then take a sharp knife and cut the tripe into bite size pieces and reserve.

4. Okay, we're almost there, except for more cooking, of course. After the beef has been cooking for about an hour, add the tripe, drained hominy, green onions, cilantro, garlic, and oregano and red pepper flakes. When adding the oregano, make sure to crush it between your hands in order to release the maximum flavor from it. Top with a little more water at this point, although the pot should be almost filled and then cover and cook over medium heat for another hour and half.

5. At this point, for all intents and purposes, we are done. Except for the eating, which is what this was all about in the first place, right? You just have to add salt and msg to taste. And for those of you out there in eating land who don't like msg, it is not absolutely essential to the recipe and you can leave it out. So, Mangia! Bueno Gusto! And most importantly, Good eating, y'all!

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