Tortilla Soup

NEW YORK -- Hector Elizondo is starring in two movies in one month. By itself, that should come as no surprise. For more than 40 years, Elizondo has regularly bounced among theater, film and television while forging a reputation as a hardworking character actor. What is surprising, however, is Elizondo playing a Hispanic character in one of his two films opening in August. In Tortilla Soup, a remake of Ang Lee's romantic comedy Eat Drink Man Woman, Elizondo is Martin Naranjo, a widowed Mexican-American chef dealing with the impending departures of his three grown daughters.

Bette Stewart of Merced, Calif., requested a recipe for a chicken tortilla soup she had enjoyed in a local restaurant. Her waitress was kind enough to ask the chef for his recipe but unfortunately he said he "just made it up out of his head" and could not give her an exact recipe. Denise Blevins of Knoxville, Tenn., sent us a recipe for a chicken tortilla soup she makes that comes from the Pampered Chef Main Dishes Cookbook. This simple soup proves that low-fat, low-cal food can taste great.

Love enhances the lives of a previously unhappy man and his three previously unhappy daughters. Thus goes the plot of Tortilla Soup, essentially a remake of Ang Lee's 1994 Eat Drink Man Woman that seems to exist for no reason other than to change the location from China to the United States and the characters' ethnicity from Chinese to Hispanic. Other elements - the rich food, the master-chef father who no longer can taste what he prepares, the mandatory Sunday dinners, the daughters chafing under his control - remain pretty much the same.

WASHINGTON - While not admitting that I am the kind of museum-goer who rates a cultural institution by its food, I do admit that whenever I find myself in a museum I migrate to the cafeteria. Take what happened a few weeks ago, for instance, when I was among the media horde that descended on the Smithsonian's latest hallowed institution, the National Museum of the American Indian on the National Mall in Washington. Critics, such as The Sun's Glenn McNatt and Ed Gunts, critiqued the museum's displays and its architecture.

Bette Stewart of Merced, Calif., requested a recipe for a chicken tortilla soup she had enjoyed in a local restaurant. Her waitress was kind enough to ask the chef for his recipe but unfortunately he said he "just made it up out of his head" and could not give her an exact recipe. Denise Blevins of Knoxville, Tenn., sent us a recipe for a chicken tortilla soup she makes that comes from the Pampered Chef Main Dishes Cookbook. This simple soup proves that low-fat, low-cal food can taste great.

Lucy M. Garcia of Corrales, N.M., writes that she is anxious for a recipe for Tortilla Soup. "I've had it in Mexico, Texas and California, and no one would part with the recipe. I prefer the Mexican recipe because it had a better flavor and was not so watery." Rose Salerna of Cary, Ill., responded with tester Laura Reiley's choice. A Lemon Delight recipe was the request of Helen A. Myers, no given address, who wrote: "The one I'm interested in had marshmallow fluff, gelatin, lemon, eggs, sugar and more."

Here are some reasons I've come up with as to why I could not find a parking space at Don Pablo's in Owings Mills at 6 p.m. on a Friday.People love inexpensive Mexican food: The proof is the line forming inside the restaurant, which opened Feb. 1. This Don Pablo's is the newest to open in Maryland, the 141st for the Mexican chain that started in Texas. We who wait are an anxious group, grasping CD-sized pagers that will light up in a swirl of red when our table is ready. When we leave two hours later, we comment on how little our meal cost.

WASHINGTON - While not admitting that I am the kind of museum-goer who rates a cultural institution by its food, I do admit that whenever I find myself in a museum I migrate to the cafeteria. Take what happened a few weeks ago, for instance, when I was among the media horde that descended on the Smithsonian's latest hallowed institution, the National Museum of the American Indian on the National Mall in Washington. Critics, such as The Sun's Glenn McNatt and Ed Gunts, critiqued the museum's displays and its architecture.

Ten years ago it was hanging plants and collections of vintage advertising art. Now it's tortilla-making machines and stacked cases of Corona beer. Then, a crowd-pleasing name was invariably Irish, or sported a couple of initials coupled with a semi-goofy surname. Nowadays, the name must refer to the Great American Southwest and its denizens, and hint at the presence of Fajitas on the menu.From E. Z. Pumpkins to Jose's Iguana Cafe may seem like a huge cultural leap. Hardly. While the Tex-Mex megatrend reflects a more multicultural attitude than the fern bar, the target audience -- suburban yups, with or without kids -- is identical, and even some of the food is the same.

This week's menusEach day of the week offers a menu aimed at a different aspect of meal planning. There's a family meal, a kids' menu aimed at younger tastes, a heat-and-eat meal that recycles leftovers, a budget meal that employs a cost- cutting strategy, a meatless or "less meat" dish for people who may not be strict vegetarians but are trying to cut down on meat, an express meal that requires little or no preparation, and an entertaining menu that's quick.Sunday/ExpressTake...

Love enhances the lives of a previously unhappy man and his three previously unhappy daughters. Thus goes the plot of Tortilla Soup, essentially a remake of Ang Lee's 1994 Eat Drink Man Woman that seems to exist for no reason other than to change the location from China to the United States and the characters' ethnicity from Chinese to Hispanic. Other elements - the rich food, the master-chef father who no longer can taste what he prepares, the mandatory Sunday dinners, the daughters chafing under his control - remain pretty much the same.

NEW YORK -- Hector Elizondo is starring in two movies in one month. By itself, that should come as no surprise. For more than 40 years, Elizondo has regularly bounced among theater, film and television while forging a reputation as a hardworking character actor. What is surprising, however, is Elizondo playing a Hispanic character in one of his two films opening in August. In Tortilla Soup, a remake of Ang Lee's romantic comedy Eat Drink Man Woman, Elizondo is Martin Naranjo, a widowed Mexican-American chef dealing with the impending departures of his three grown daughters.

Lucy M. Garcia of Corrales, N.M., writes that she is anxious for a recipe for Tortilla Soup. "I've had it in Mexico, Texas and California, and no one would part with the recipe. I prefer the Mexican recipe because it had a better flavor and was not so watery." Rose Salerna of Cary, Ill., responded with tester Laura Reiley's choice. A Lemon Delight recipe was the request of Helen A. Myers, no given address, who wrote: "The one I'm interested in had marshmallow fluff, gelatin, lemon, eggs, sugar and more."

This week's menusEach day of the week offers a menu aimed at a different aspect of meal planning. There's a family meal, a kids' menu aimed at younger tastes, a heat-and-eat meal that recycles leftovers, a budget meal that employs a cost- cutting strategy, a meatless or "less meat" dish for people who may not be strict vegetarians but are trying to cut down on meat, an express meal that requires little or no preparation, and an entertaining menu that's quick.Sunday/ExpressTake...

Here are some reasons I've come up with as to why I could not find a parking space at Don Pablo's in Owings Mills at 6 p.m. on a Friday.People love inexpensive Mexican food: The proof is the line forming inside the restaurant, which opened Feb. 1. This Don Pablo's is the newest to open in Maryland, the 141st for the Mexican chain that started in Texas. We who wait are an anxious group, grasping CD-sized pagers that will light up in a swirl of red when our table is ready. When we leave two hours later, we comment on how little our meal cost.

Ten years ago it was hanging plants and collections of vintage advertising art. Now it's tortilla-making machines and stacked cases of Corona beer. Then, a crowd-pleasing name was invariably Irish, or sported a couple of initials coupled with a semi-goofy surname. Nowadays, the name must refer to the Great American Southwest and its denizens, and hint at the presence of Fajitas on the menu.From E. Z. Pumpkins to Jose's Iguana Cafe may seem like a huge cultural leap. Hardly. While the Tex-Mex megatrend reflects a more multicultural attitude than the fern bar, the target audience -- suburban yups, with or without kids -- is identical, and even some of the food is the same.

Check it Out Grab your sneaks and head toward the harbor Sunday for the Hadassah Check it Out Challenge 5K/10K run. Proceeds from the footraces will benefit local health education initiatives, including body-image seminars and cancer detection programs. Race-day registration ($30) begins at 6 a.m. on Rash Field. The 5K race begins at 7:30 a.m., and the 10K begins at 8 a.m. Rash Field is at 201 Key Highway. Call 410-484-9590 or visit www.charmcityrun.com Movie and wine Start the summer weekend tomorrow evening with an al fresco movie at Basignani Winery's T.G.I.

Nutritionists and doctors advise us to include more vegetables in our diet. Vegetables are not only rich in vitamins and minerals and a good source of fiber, they are also low in calories and contain no cholesterol, almost no fat and very little sodium. Some vegetables provide protein and some contain complex carbohydrates, which give us energy. In addition, some vegetables, like those in the crucifer, or cabbage, family, contain compounds that are believed to help prevent certain types of cancer.