When I’m not tearing out drywall and learning to cut roof rafters in construction school, I’m often writing about food. Lately, I’ve been writing a fun series on slow-cooking at MasonDixonKnitting.com, the world’s largest biregional knitting blog, which is basically just a front for the brilliant humor of founders Ann Shayne and Kay Gardiner. And you can buy rare exquisite yarn there. And find patterns for divine sweaters. And learn to use a Crock Pot.

This month I write about posole, traditional Mexican pork and hominy soup, which is threatening to replace chicken noodle as my family’s favorite soup.

My version of posole is simple and unabashedly inauthentic, cooked in the belly of a Hamilton Beach slow cooker and topped with Fritos.

When I mentioned posole to my construction school classmates Pablo and Jose, their eyes lit up, and they started comparing tasting notes about their favorite versions. Jose was quick to tell me that green posole is the signature dish of his hometown in Mexico. He loves it topped with fresh radish, onion, shredded cabbage and avocado. Pablo said he was used to a red posole, made with poblanos and other red spices.

I was embarrassed to tell them that my family substitutes out the hominy and replaces it with quinoa. To say nothing of the Fritos. But Jose told me –with such eloquent wisdom for such a young guy– “That’s OK. We all take recipes and make them our own in some way.”