Glad you’re here, all–and just in time for Story Time! Okay, so I went walking with Roberta, my Most Excellent Neighbor, on Saturday. Given a choice of walking in the neighborhood or walking at a couple of parks in Garner, I chose parks. I was then presented with two choices: Lake Benson Park or White Deer Park. Without knowing anything about either park, being relatively new to the area, I chose White Deer Park. And, let me tell you, I am Glad I Did.
Roberta’s husband, Thomas, said something along the lines of “Be sure to say hi to the albino deer.” I laughed, assuming that he was just Being Funny. I mean, just because Central Park is in the middle of a city and Lake Benson Park is on Lake Benson and Grand Canyon National Park contains said canyon does not mean that there really is a white deer at White Deer Park. Right?
Wrong.
So, we got to the park, and Roberta was all, “Hey, let’s go see the white deer first.” And I was, “Seriously? There is a white deer here For Real?!I thought you guys were just messing with me.” I expected some sort of micro petting zoo, with Deer Kibble for sale in wee brown paper bags and a Morbidly Obese white deer in a pen. And then, she dropped the bomb, “Well, it’s dead….”

- This isn’t the Actual white deer(yes it is)–after all, this one is alive, but as soon as I go back (which I have obviously done), I’ll update this picture. And I have.
Now, I will switch to reporter mode so I don’t have to keep typing quotation marks.
Here’s what happened: Several years ago, the good residents of the Lake Benson area were all atwitter over occasional sightings of a white deer. Obviously, these residents had been Blessed by Diana, Goddess of the Hunt, and she had sent unto them a Mystical White Deer (MWD) as proof of her affection. The residents put their heads together and decided that Diana would want them to build a park to honor the MWD. Plans were Set in Motion. But, the gods can be fickle and cruel, and some Unnamed god–let’s call him Chad, shall we?–decided that Diana had Taken Liberties when she bestowed her favor upon the good folk of Lake Benson. Chad thought that maybe the residents would get too Snooty because they had a white deer. He could picture Rude Interactions wherein they would taunt other folks with, “Naa naa na na naa. We have a white deer because Diana Loves Us. We are Awesome.”
Rather than bestow to some other Worthy Community a Unicorn as a Checks and Balances measure, Chad caused a Motorist to hit Diana’s gift just a mere days after the plans for the park were Put In Place. Cruel, perhaps, but direct. Undeterred, Diana’s Chosen had the deer stuffed and mounted, and it sat in a wee hut that they Caused to Be Erected for the purpose for the next few years. And then, Hooligans (sent by Chad, who realized that the sacrifice of the deer just made it more powerful an Icon), in the dark of night, set the stuffed and mounted deer On Fire. Seriously. Oh, deer! Again, the Chosen People of the Deer rallied their forces and paid to have the deer repaired. I don’t know how they managed to repair the fur and What Not, but they did. At that point, it was More Than Clear to the Chosen that the deer needed, nay deserved, its own shrine, complete with walking trails and playgrounds. And a Dead Dear Diorama Behind Glass. They bravely soldiered on until they Realized Their Dream.
The park opened just a couple of weeks ago, and I must say, shrine aside, it is a pretty cool park. Be that as it may, I’m pretty sure that Chad is trying to come up with other ways to put Diana in her place. Just between you and me, my money is on Diana’s Chosen. Unless I start hearing reports of Unicorn sightings. Then, all bets are off.
I have a playground story, too, but that will have to wait for another day. After all, the chili awaits. I was just so amused by the deer story that I had to share with you guys. Oh, let me leave you with a quote from my mother, Jane. She emailed it to me after I had told her the Saga of the MWD. Here’s what she said in her email. And I quote: “Listen up people of Garner…for a true experience one does not have to go to Burning Man like Adam Lambert. Just go to Burning Deer Park in Garner and get spun out into space….Woo woo!” Now, I’m going to have to see if we can start a yearly counter-culture festival in the park. Great idea, Mom. And maybe our boy, Adam, will come and perform in all his glittery glory. Just sayin’; it’s something to think about.
You’ve been very patient. On to the pork chili.

Okay, so maybe the buttery crackers aren't traditional, but it's what we had, and it was tasty. A little dollop of sour cream never hurt chili, either.
Originally, this chili was supposed to be a green chili. Then, since I wasn’t using any sort of recipe, I decided that I’d add some chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. If you don’t know what that is, I will tell you. Chipotles in adobo are smoked jalapeno peppers in a spicy red sauce. Red plus lots of green equals sort of a brownish-gray color. Not overly attractive, but like my friend DS over at The Daily Spud, I don’t hide from my ugly foodie forays. I celebrate them. As long as they’re tasty, anyway. And this chili was Absolutely Fabulous. If you want yours to be a true green chili, do leave out any red ingredients. If you don’t care, just go for it.
Ugly Piglet Chili
Like I said, there is no real recipe for this. There are also no real measurements. I did it all to taste, but I’ll try and give you a ballpark idea.
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 pound fairly marbled pork. I bought something called “pork steak.” I’m not even sure that’s a real term, but it was for sale and looked good.
- 1 cup black beans–canned is fine. I used dried, because that’s what I had. I boiled the heck out of them in some chicken stock while I was doing the rest of the mise en place.
- 2 medium onions, diced
- kosher salt, to taste
- hot chili powder (another red ingredient that you can leave out if you want), about 2 tablespoons or so
- red pepper flake–some
- ground cumin–a very lot because I love it
- ground coriander–about half as much as the cumin
- vegetable oil–enough to thinly coat the bottom of a large pan
- 12 tomatillos (I counted them as I scooped them into the bag at the grocery store)
- 3 poblano peppers
- 5 Anaheim peppers
- 1 jalapeno pepper
- 3 small hot peppers of Dubious Origin that Neighbor Chuck gave us
- 1 serrano pepper
- 5 Cubanelle peppers
- 2 bell peppers
- chicken stock, to barely cover everything
- about 1 tablespoon bittersweet chocolate chunks–I had to use them in something, and chocolate in chili is Excellent
- fistful of cilantro
- fine corn meal, for thickening. I probably used about 1/3 cup or so
Okay, so it’s a long list of ingredients. About all those peppers–just use whatever green ones you have/can find. It’s more about technique than recipe, anyway.
Here’s how I did it:
- Dice the pork steak (or whatever) into about 1/2″ dice.
- Brown the porks in a little vegetable oil in a large skillet. Add salt and pepper.
- In a Dutch oven, heat oil until hot. Over medim-low heat, cook onions, salt, pepper, and whatever spices you’re using. Stir and stir so the spices don’t burn. You might need to add a touch more oil. Cook until onions are soft and the whole thing is ridiculously fragrant and lovely.
- Now, it gets easy. Drain off any excess fat from the meat, and add it to the onions. Add the beans and cooking liquid, if using dry. If using canned, hold off for a bit.
- Cut up all the green stuff and toss it all into the pot along with a bit more kosher salt.
- Barely cover with chicken stock, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and simmer gently, mostly covered, for about an hour. Taste, and adjust the seasonings a bit, but don’t go overboard since it’ll prolly reduce some more.
- If using canned beans, add them now. Stir in the chocolate and simmer, uncovered, for about 15-20 minutes, just to reduce a bit.
- Taste again for seasoning.
- Stir in fine cornmeal until the chili is as thick as you want it.
- Either go ahead and eat, or chil and reheat the next day. Or both.
We ate this over rice, with pita chips, over half of a baked potato (each–for a total of one potato. I didn’t just bake half a potato, thankyouverymuch). We had it with pepper jack cheese melted on top. It was All Good.
Now, for your enjoyment, a Photo Essay:




It's a chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, but am I the only one who thinks it looks like a wee dead pig? It's prolly because of the deer...

Hello, little green tomatillo inside your papery husk. If you're wondering, they taste very green and tangy, not unlike a green tomato.



Like this:
Like Loading...
Tags: Goddess Diana, green chili, green pork chili recipe, pork chili, White Deer Park
Recent Comments