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Harissa Coconut Slow Cooker Pork Ribs

Harissa Coconut Pork Ribs

Harissa Coconut Slow Cooker Pork Ribs
2.5# boneless pork shoulder ribs (sometimes labeled country style)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1.5 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 medium onion, large dice
4 cloves garlic, minced
1.5 Tbl harissa paste (You can find this at large Kroger stores. If you use powder, use 1 Tbl with 1tsp oil.)
2 small jalapenos or serranos, finely diced
1 small can coconut milk (unsweetened, or half a regular sized can)
1 Tbl soy sauce
S/P
1 tsp coriander
Juice of one lime
fresh cilantro for serving

Clean ribs of all surface fat. Combine next 5 ingredients in a large bowl and coat ribs thoroughly. Heat up a large pan with a couple Tbl of oil and sear the pork ribs. Don’t burn the sugar, but get them nicely browned; season lightly with salt and black pepper. Put ribs back in the spice rub bowl and set aside. Put 3/4 of the onion, garlic, harissa and chiles in the drippings from the ribs and cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes. Add in coconut milk and soy sauce and bring up to boil, kill heat.

In a crock pot, spray the crock with food release such as Pam and put reserved onions in the bottom. Layer in ribs with any leftover rub and drippings. Then sprinkle second tsp of coriander and 1/4 tsp salt over ribs. Pour the veg and coconut milk mixture over ribs. Cook on low for 4-5 hrs or high for about 3-3.5 hours. Feel free to add a little water or stock if you feel they are too dry.

After the ribs are cooked and soft, remove from the crock pot and set aside. Put a screen sieve over a small pan and strain the liquids into the pot (OR if you like a chunkier sauce as I do, just leave all the veg in there and give it a quick whizz with the immersion blender to make the sauce). Let the sauce sit for 15 minutes or so, to let the fat rise to the top. Ladle off as much fat as you can, then put the sauce over medium heat and simmer until it thickens. If it doesn’t get as thick as you’d like, add a tsp of cornstarch dissolved in 1 Tbl water and boil for 2 minutes to tighten it up. After the sauce is done and off heat, add the lime juice. (Adding lime juice before a boil will make it bitter.)

Serve over polenta or grits with the sauce spooned over and fresh cilantro leaves on top. Or serve with broccoli or other veg for low carb.

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Life in the ‘Burbs 4 Year Update!

Can’t believe it’s been four years already! Wow! So many changes!

We’ve acclimated to life surrounded by old white T***p supporters and hillbillies. They keep to themselves for the most part. After much bitching and passive aggressive note leaving, the assholes behind us have ceased having their goddam lawn service come at 7am on Sundays and the next door neighbors don’t let their yappy dogs out at the crack of dawn. Victory!

The drive to Decatur and other civilised parts of Dekalb has become normal. We actually do a lot of our main shopping and entertainment in Duluth. Costco, Jusgo Chinese market, Big Lots, Studio Movie Grill and Ollie’s are all clustered on Venture Drive, so we go there for gas, movies and shopping. Even though it’s more of a drive, everything is together so it’s convenient to make one trip rather than several to Decatur.

I had the VSG surgery in 2016. Life changer, that. SO GLAD I did it!

We lost Rhonda Honda last year at Heroes (2017) and got Romeo one year ago almost to the day. I still miss Rhonda occasionally, but Romeo is very fun to drive and I love him.

Nick’s job ended December 2017. While traumatic, we’ve done OK. My brief stint at Krobar helped with expenses and paired with the $4300 unemployment, got us through six months without touching savings. The fact that $4300 is the TOTAL of unemployment you get after paying in for 20+ years is disgusting. Truly disgusting.

Player One Arcade Services is over three years old and we are pursuing Player One Arcade Pub. It’s a frustrating battle to find a location, but all our money is in place, we just gotta FIND A LOCATION. Between flakey landlords and flakier real estate people, it’s slow going. But now, in July, we are running up the credit cards and starting to get into our savings. We really need to get started! We can’t pull any money from the account until the business is going and we can’t even pay ourselves until it is OPEN. Clock is ticking. We are stressed out.

I guess that covers the highlights of the last four years here in Tucker. 2018 has been the year of the pub and it has been our consuming goal. There was a girl at the Krobar that said she felt the pub wouldn’t get started until fall…Looks like she was right after all. Sigh. 2018 is an 11 year, so I’m hoping my lucky number will pull through for us. If we don’t get started soon, we’ll have to find jobs again. Which will suck. Kroger sucked balls. UGH. Pray to your gods for us. We really need to get the pub going, y’all. And: thanks for all your support! WE SEE YOU. <3

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Stand or Fall

This song has been in my head for days. While it’s written about WWII, it is still VERY relevant. My favourite verse is in bold. It gives me chills.

Stand or Fall
The Fixx
from Shuttered Room, 1983

Crying parents tell their children
If you survive don’t do as we did
A son exclaims there’ll be nothing to do to
Her daughter says she’ll be dead with you

While foreign affairs are screwing rotten,
Line morale has hit rock bottom
Dying embers stand forgotten
Talks of peace were being trodden

Stand or fall, state your peace tonight
Stand or fall, state your peace tonight
Is this the value of our existence
Should we proclaim with such persistence

Our destiny relies on conscience
Red or blue, what’s the difference
Stand or fall, state your peace tonight
Stand or fall, state your peace tonight
It’s the Euro theatre
It’s the Euro theatre
It’s the Euro theatre

An empty face reflects extinction
Ugly scars divide the nation
Desecrate the population
There will be no exaltation

Stand or fall, state your peace tonight
Stand or fall, state your peace tonight
It’s the Euro theatre
It’s the Euro theatre
It’s the Euro theatre

Stand or fall
Stand or fall
Stand or fall
Stand or fall

Songwriters: Adam Woods / Charles H Barrett / Cyril Curnin / James West-Oram / Peter Greenall
Stand or Fall lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Here is the original video from 1983, the record is Shuttered Room.

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Angela’s Salsa Verde

I was looking for a recipe somewhere in between a salsa cruda and a cooked salsa verde that you usually see. Roasting the tomatillos and jalapeños hits that balance perfectly. Enjoy!

Angelas Salsa Verde


Angela’s Salsa Verde
about 1.25# tomatillos**, dehusked and rinsed, halved
2 jalapenos, halved and deseeded
1 small white onion, large dice
2-3 cloves garlic, diced
1/4 cup cilantro leaves
1 tsp cumin
zest of one lime
1 tsp of lime juice (about half a lime)
salt to taste

Roast the tomatillos and jalapeños under the broiler until skin is bubbly and there are some blackened spots. You are not going for totally blackened like you would for a roasted red pepper, just some charred spots. Toss all ingredients into a blender with just a couple of Tbl of water to get it going. Whizz until fairly smooth. Check for salt. Chill and serve.

**My tomatillos were so sweet and delicious they did not need sugar, but if yours are still too tart, feel free to add just a little sugar or agave to get the taste you want.

NB: Tomatillos have a LOT of pectin! When I pulled this out of the fridge, it looked like jello! If it doesn’t loosen up enough for you after you stir it, you can add a tish of water to thin it down. Just a heads up!

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Anthony Bourdain RIP (6.25.56 – 6.8.18)

I am heartbroken at the loss of Bourdain. He was one of the most honest, no bullshit chefs out there. He was also a really good memoir writer.

I really hate that the depression (or whatever it was) got to him and he decided to end it. I uphold his right to do so, but I don’t like losing his unique voice in the food industry. He’s one chef I’d have LOVED to share a meal and a drink with.

Between this and losing sleep with stress and insomnia, it’s been a rough week.

I’m just going to keep cooking, keep planning for the pub and keep MOVING. As Tony once said:

“If I’m an advocate for anything, it’s to move. As far as you can, as much as you can. Across the ocean, or simply across the river. The extent to which you can walk in someone else’s shoes or at least eat their food, it’s a plus for everybody.

Open your mind, get up off the couch, move.”

– Anthony Bourdain