A Writing Prompt

When we started this blog, one of the things I wanted to do is offer writing prompts and exercises. There is even a tab for it on the home page. That is a feature that really didn’t take off. But let me try again.

There is a story behind this prompt. A few days ago I made chili verde, a dish I’ve been making pretty regularly for years now. The recipe is unlike 99% of the chili verde you will find at Mexican restaurants, which is usually tomatillo based. I’m not a fan of the tomatillo tang. Fortunately, I found a recipe that is entirely peppers. (I’ll share it below.)

When I make it, I use a 4 pound chunk of pork shoulder, which means I need to cut it up into bite size chunks and trim off some of the fat. Invariably, I’ll cut a finger while doing so. For years, my younger son was in charge of getting the bandaids for me when I cut myself while cooking. Unfortunately, he was not home. Nobody else was home.

I posted a picture of the uncut slab of pork with pictures of the filet knife and butcher knife next to it. The caption: Get the bandaids ready.

And there is your prompt … Get the bandaids ready.

Use it as a first sentence, a last sentence, or anywhere between. And if you feel like sharing your story here, feel free to do in the comments.

Here is my Chili Verde recipe:

4 lbs of pork shoulder/butt, cut into bite size chunks

One yellow or white onion, roughly chopped

3 jalapenos, roughly chopped (the biggest problem with making a consistent chili verde is the variability of the spice in store-bought jalapenos. Occasionally I’ll add a serrano or two or more than 3 jalapenos)

3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

12 Anaheim Chiles (or 3 8 oz cans of whole Chiles), roughly chopped.

Chicken broth (how much? I’ll get to that in the instructions)

Cumin

Oregano

Handful of cilantro, chopped

Salt

Pepper

If you buy fresh Anaheim Chiles, char them in the oven, over an open flame, or on the BBQ. they need to be charred sufficiently enough to be able to peel the skin off. Once charred, put in a bowl, cover and let steam for a bit. Then, under cold water, peel the skin off and get rid of the seeds. If you’re unwilling to do this, buy the canned Chiles.

In a Dutch oven or large pot, pour a little olive oil and brown the pork in batches. Remove the pork and pour out the liquid that has accumulated, add some more olive oil and saute the onions, jalapenos and garlic until they’re soft. Add the Anaheim Chiles and pork. Season with cumin and oregano and salt and pepper. I’d say I probably use a couple of tsps of cumin and oregano. Add chicken broth to cover everything. The last time I made this, I used 4 cups of broth and then added a Mexican beer.

Let simmer for 2 to 2 1/2 hours. The key is that there will eventually be more liquid than you need. About half way through, I start to remove some of that liquid a half cup at a time.

Eventually, all of the veggies will break down and form a sauce or gravy. Lately, at the end (once the veggies have all broken down, I’ve started adding some flour and water (or cornstarch and water) to thicken the sauce. I want it to coat the pork when I serve it.

And at the very end, add a handful of cilantro to the whole thing.

And that’s it.