Well, it's the end of the month and I couldn't afford
to buy any additional groceries so I tried to figure out
what to make with what I had on hand. Mainly I had some
boneless country-style ribs in the freezer. I also had
cans of corn, black beans, potatoes, diced tomatoes, and
coconut milk.

I had just finished 2 weeks of my green chili (pork, green
chiles, corn, potatoes, black beans, tomatoes, onion, garlic,
chile powder, oregano, basil, etc. I had all the ingredients
to make it again but decided I wanted something different for
a change.

So, since I had coconut milk in abundance I decided to try to
whip up something Thai-like. I got out my Thai cookbook and
found a recipe for chicken that would be great with pork. I
went through it and saw that I had the ingredients or something
I could substitute. I also planned to add a few different
ingredients not typically Thai.

So, I browned the "ribs" in the oven and then chopped them
into small cubes. Dumped them in the slow cooker. Added all
the pan juices. Added 2 cans of corn, 2 cans of coconut milk,
and 2 cans of diced tomatoes (one of them with jalapenos).

The recipe called for galangal. I didn't have any fresh but
I had the powder so I threw some of that in. I added lots of
crushed red pepper flakes and a large glob of chili paste (not
Thai but close enough). I also added some of my "processed" onions
which I had in the freezer. (I hate the texture of large pieces of
cooked onion in foods so I always finely chop my onions in the food
processor. I do a lot at one time and put them up in small containers
in the freezer. Very handy.)

I also added a whole small head of garlic cloves, peeled and crushed.
And some lime juice I had in the freezer. I didn't have any Thai basil
(but it didn't call for that anyway) but I threw in some regular basil.
And some freshly ground black pepper. I didn't add any salt. I
figured there would be enough from the canned veggies and I don't like a
lot of salt anyway. The recipe also called for kaffir lime leaves. I
had some sort of leaves in a jar in the cupboard that I had had a long
time. They were not labelled but I knew they were either kaffir lime or
curry leaves, but couldn't remember which. So I threw a couple of those
in. What the hell! Also added extra water to fill the pot.

I cooked it several hours on high. I actually started it Sat. evening
too late for dinner on Sat. I let it sit overnight and ate it last
night.

I had no idea how this would taste. I was half afraid to taste it.
(In case you wonder why, well, I never taste things while I'm cooking
with the exception of gravy because I never seem to get enough salt in
my gravy!) But it was delicious. I know the corn sounds weird but it's
quite good. I was tempted to also put some potatoes or even some of the
black beans in it but I finally decided to go with just the corn.

I had some really good Tuscan bread from a local bakery which I
buttered and toasted and ate with the soup. Boy, I can't wait to
get home tonight for more of that stuff!

Kate
--
Kate Connally
“If I were as old as I feel, I’d be dead already.”
Goldfish: “The wholesome snack that smiles back,
Until you bite their heads off.”
What if the hokey pokey really *is* what it's all about?