Slow Cooker Thai Stew

Due to the insane humidity and heat here I decided to use a slow cooker for tonight's dinner. The kichen was smelling so damn fine this morning that I felt like I was going to go insane. Now, I'm not one for recipes - don't use em,' but like to refer to them as a point of departure. But since this Thai Stew is so awesome, so crazy, I want to share it with y'all. I've been hard core into Thai food for a while, and this is a total bastardization of many other dishes I've made. I don't do any measuring so these are all approximations. If you're a fan of savory, sweet and spicey you'll love this!

Slow Cooker Thai Stew:

**Be sure to wait to add the shrimp til about a half hour before the stew is to be served, adding it any earlier will result in overcooking!

1 large yam or sweet potatoe (the size of two man fists)-peeled & cubed
1 large sweet onion - I prefer Vidalia - chopped
1 red pepper-chopped
4 carrots-thickly sliced
1 pound medium shrimp - deveined, tails & shells removed
1 cup unsalted whole cashews
2 Tablespoons canola oil
3 cloves garlic-sliced
2 Bay Leaves-crumpled to release flava'
1 cup thick coconut cream (I use an instant coconut cream powder mixed
with one cup of water, but if you have access
to thick coconut cream either fresh or canned,
go for it!)
1 cup water
1 Tablespoon yellow or green curry paste (adjust to taste)
1 & 1/2 Tablespoons honey
dash of salt
wedges of lime

Add carrots, onion, red pepper, garlic and Yam to slow cooker & mix 'em together. Pour oil, coconut cream and water over the veggies, add bay leaves, salt, & top with cashews and honey - don't stir in the cashews and honey yet, leaving the cashews on top apart from the liquid allows them to release a nice roasted flavor and gives the honey time to melt in. Turn slow cooker on, set to low heat. Stir after about 4 hours. At this point it's up to you how long you leave these ingredients to stew for, another 4-6 hours minimum, but it works well to prep this the night before and have it cooking on low all day 'til about a half hour before you're ready to eat, stirring occasionally. When it's about half an hour before you want to eat stir in the shrimp. At this point, observe the stew - if you want a liquid-y stew that you can serve over rice, you can leave it as is. Personally I prefer a thicker stew, so if you're not some rice loving baby now's the time to thicken the stew up. (To thicken the stew you can place a slice of bread over the other ingredients and let is sit there soaking up the juices, then mix it in right before serving, or you can slowly add a bit of corn starch or corn flower. I like adding just a bit of corn starch, but I'm not your mommy, figure it out for yourself.) Turn the cooker up to high and cook for 25-30 min - the shrimp should turn bright pink, the yams and carrots soft but not totally mush. If you can find and remove the bay leaves before serving I suggest you do so - a whole bay leaf in your mouth is never good. Serve with a wedge of lime squeezed over each serving. Enjoy.