Coconut Corn Chowder.
I was flipping through magazines for recipes while I was working at Haddon House, and I came across a recipe for corn chowder with shredded coconut. It sounded good to me, so I tried it. And it was okay. Just okay. While tasting it, it was one of those things I could see very quickly how to improve. Ditch the shredded coconut, and use coconut milk instead of regular milk. I had a couple of soups in Thai and Indian restaurants using coconut milk, and I knew that's what would make this soup come together.

This is another one of those recipes I kind of make up as I go along, but here's the basic preparation:

1. Open up three cans of coconut milk. One thing I've learned, not only from making this soup, but also from working for a food company, buy Thai coconut milk. It just is better. Some of the Thai coconut milks are better than others, but if you opt for Thai, you're headed in the right direction. Dump 'em in a pot, with a bouillion cube (vegetable or chicken)
2. Add a package of frozen white corn. Go with a tender corn, if you can
3. Add a good sized pile of chopped cilantro
4. Add a healthy dash of chili powder
5. Add a teaspoon of sugar
6. Add some ginger
7. I like to cut a lemon or a lime in half (gotta wash it first), squeeze the juice out of it, and place the fruit in the soup, until you're ready to serve
8. I also like to take a small handful of dried chili peppers, crumble them up, and throw them in, too. They're usually pretty damn hot, but as long as you don't eat them (if you're sensitive to the heat), you should be okay
9. Taste it, and see what you think. Adjust spices accordingly
10. Optional: you might want to pour half of the soup into your blender, and puree until it's really smooth. Pour the puree back into the soup.
I like it smooth, but I also like the sensation of biting into little bits of corn, too, so I hate to annihilate them.
11. Serve. Garnish with more cilantro, chili powder, crumbled chili peppers, finely shredded carrot, etc.

Spicy Thai Noodles
Pepperoni Bread (and other, non-meat variations)
The I Hate Mayonnaise Potato Salad
Mexican Soup