CALLALOO STEW

I went with many of you to Jamaica last year- there we tried many new foods. Brittany says that Jerry made us callaloo but unfortunately I have no recollection of that. I rediscovered this dish in my Jamaican cooking class- I am not stealing their recipe since there are copyright laws against reposting their recipes... I have tweaked it to make it easier/more accessible. Callaloo refers to a leaf veggie- amaranth or taro Xanthosoma. Here in the NW you can use any green leafy veggie such as kale, spinach, chard or collard greens. Traditionally it's used as a side dish or as a gravy for other foods but I am LAZY- I eat it as a stew with a side of cornbread. Also, I don't measure things for this- do what's right for you.

Pork chunks: I use a large handful of bacon

Onion, one, chopped

Garlic cloves, five to infinity, minced

Habenero pepper, one, minced

Fresh thyme, handful

Fresh chives, handful, chopped

Green leafies, 2-3 cups, chopped

Sea meats, handful, I use one can of crab meat but you can use lobster or conch (haha where you gonna find conch here?)

Squash, one half of a cooked butternut squash, cubed, freeze other half for later

Okra, one bag of frozen chopped

Coconut milk, one can

Chicken broth, two cups

Salt & pepper to taste

Lime to taste

Hot sauce to taste

brb I'm eating a bowl of this for breakfast...

Ok, I'm back. Get a big soup pot, put it over medium heat, put a pat of butter in there and cook your pork meats. Drain fat from pork meats. Add aromatics (onion, garlic, herbs, pepper) and saute/sweat them. (Pardon my cooking grammar) Add greens and squash, cook for a few minutes. Add sea meats, coconut milk and chicken broth, simmer and stir. ADD THE OKRA LAST. People hate okra because it's mushy and slimy- and it only gets mushy and slimy if you let it. You are in control of your okra! Put it in last so that it heats up enough but stays crunchy. This whole mess should look like a stew. Taste it. Maybe it needs more salt and pepper. Serve in bowl with lime wedge, more hot sauce (I use habanero hot sauce) and with whatever starch suits your fancy. Oops I forgot to take a photo... that's probably for the best since it's ugly... but D'LICIOUS