Tonight I was hankering for something from my youth. And really, how perfect, given that it’s a Sunday and I’ve started this tradition of “Sunday Dinner” right? I know. When I was a kid, my Dad would make pork and apples. Sometimes he made a pork roast and baked apples (they were like apple sauce, but still in slices sorta like you’d get in a pie) and sometimes he would simmer pork chops in apple cider. We always preferred the baked apple sauce thingy… what can I say? It was tasty!

Tonight, I had some pork chops thawing and so here’s what I did to try and re-create the dinners of my youth:

Ingredients
1 tbsp unsalted butter
2 apples (tart ones would be best, but I used Royal Gala, and they too were lovely) chopped into chunks
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp maple syrup
4 pork chops

Method

1. Put the butter into a large frying pan and melt over med-low heat.
2. Add the apples and stir to coat with melted butter.  Add in the nutmeg, lemon juice and maple syrup and stir again.
3. Lay the pork chops over the apple mixture, cover the pan and let cook for 10 minutes
4. After the 10 minutes are up, turn the pork chops over and place them onto the pan itself, scooping the apple mixture on top of the pork.  This will infuse the pork with the apple flavour, making it oh-so yummy.
5. Cook for another 5 minutes or so, until the pork is cooked through.  Serve with roasted potatoes and vegetables.

YUM!!!  I will do this again for sure.  And, while I do not pretend to be any kind of a wine expert, I can tell you that we paired this meal with a delicious Inniskillin bottle, called “Brae Blanc” and it was perfect.  It’s a blend of Gewurztraminer, Chardonnay and Riesling.  It was great with the pork.

Ingredients

1. Pork Ribs (1000g)
2. Chardonnay (1 cup)
3. Onion (1)
4. Carrot (1 large)
5. Celery (1 cup chopped)
6. Garlic (8 cloves)
7. Chicken cube (1)
8. Flour
9. Butter
10. Basil
11. Bay leaves

Preparation

1. Start by cutting your carrots into discs, your onion into 8 pieces and your celery into fingernail-sized pieces. Peel the garlic and put it through a garlic press.
2. Lightly sprinkle salt and pepper over your ribs. After a few mintues, dredge them through some flour. The flour makes its easier to seal the meat when you are browning it and it also adds some body to your final sauce.
3. Using a frying pan with a few T of oil, sear your ribs until they are brown on all sides. Set aside the seared ribs in a tall pyrex or casserole dish (see picture).
4.  In the same pan, without washing it, fry your mashed garlic and assorted vegetables with a knob of butter. When the garlic starts to brown, turn up the heat and degalze with a cup of wine. Make some chicken stock using half a cup of hot water and a chicken cube and add that to the pan as well.
5. Continue to simmer until the volume of your braising sauce is reduced by a third. Turn off the heat and finish off the sauce by mixing in 1t of sugar, 1T of chopped basil and 6 bay leaves (see picture).
6. Pour your sauce over the ribs making sure the ribs are fully covered. It’s ok if some of the vegetables stick out. Seal the top of your baking vessel with aluminium foil, securing it around the handles.
7. At 160^oC (320^oF), bake for 2 hours. When it is done, taste the reduced sauce and add pepper and salt as required. If you are into or expecting a herby taste, you can sprinkle on some Fines Herbes at this stage.
8. The ribs should be served with a healthy dose of soft staple food. Rice, rosti (pictured) or mashed potatoes and polenta are the ones I usually serve with these ribs.

Notes

• Using foil instead of a Dutch oven lets the liquid thicken slowly and there should be no need to reduce your braising sauce after baking. You can check out my braised beef rib recipe for my opinon on Dutch ovens.
• Can you use any other wine other than Chardonnay? Yep, but avoid dry (i.e. sour) ones like savigon blanc.
• Why not use a Pork cube? Because Pork cubes are very ‘porky’ and I only use them for heavy dishes like curries.

So last night I set out my running gear, just to make things easier in the morning.

I woke up at 4:45am and was already SUPER excited to run the half!  I started my breakfast with a piece of toast, Smooth Operator PB, banana and maple syrup, plus a little bit of coffee to get me going.

Then, I prepped a bagel with PB to eat on the drive to my sister’s place.

Here I am all ready to go!

Here the three of us are at my sister’s place, ready to leave!!

The half went PERFECT!  Although I still haven’t gotten my official time (They may not have it at all, grr…), I am going off my sister’s time of 1:55 and adding a minute (since I finished a minute after her), so my time is 1:56!!  Totally SMASHED my previous PR of 2:20.  This is just my second half, but that’s a pretty darn huge improvement, don’t you think?

Right after the run, we heading straight to the recovery area for some food!  I immediately downed a chocolate milk (got to get those glycogen levels back up!) and a banana.  I also took another banana for later, a water, 2 snicker’s marathon bars, 2 Erin Baker’s cookies, and a Vitamin D drink.

Here we are post-run, with all our yummy food from the recovery area and our finisher’s medal!!

After I was all showered up I unloaded the food I had from the race….

then I made myself some egg whites with green onion, and a couple sausage patties and the rest of my coffee from this morning.

After my meal, I got into the baking mood, so I looked to some fellow blogger’s to help!  I stumbled on Meghann’s recipe for Pumpkin Scones!  Check out the website for the complete recipe: Vegan Pumpkin Raisin Scones

I got started and combined the dry ingredients.

After that was combined I realized that I didn’t have any pumpkin puree!  So I made a quick run to the store and picked up a few other things while I was there: Amy’s Split Pea Soup, Sugar, and Goat cheese.

Here’s the mix with pumpkin and raisins added!

I dumped it onto my cutting board, which was pre-coated with flour, then kneaded it about 6 times, before hand rolling into a circle!

Then I cut it into 8 HUGE pieces, and placed it on my baking sheet and put it in the oven!

Tah-dah!!  I split one with my mom, and spread some apple butter over it, mmm…

I also snacked on some dried apricots.

Later this afternoon I met with a clarinetist to rehearse for her “recital” on Thursday.  Have I mentioned how much I like to accompany people?  It’s just so gratifying!

On my way home, I picked up a few things for dinner, including a Kombucha!

Dinner was a mix of yummy things.  First, kale and bacon!

Roasted vegetables!  Cauliflower, Broccoli, Sweet Potato, and onion drizzled with 2 TBS olive oil and 1/4 C maple syrup!

I had a wonderful loaf of walnut bread from Essential Bakery, but I forgot to serve it for dinner!

Anyway, I also served some pork loin with spices!

Here’s the whole spread.

My plate: roasted veggies, kale + bacon, pork loin, and leftover salad with goat cheese!

And now i’m sitting here digesting dinner, and getting ready for bed.  Tomorrow i’m get a massage.  A friend from NPTI class offered to give me a free massage if I come to her place, so I said DEAL!

So g’night to you all and let’s hope i’m not HELLA sore tomorrow morning!!

As you may know, I generally don’t make Asian food since it tends to be common restaurant food for my husband and I. But lately, I have realized that you can make some pretty great Asian food at home – not the same ambiance as our favorite little Thai restaurant, but great for a unique weeknight meal.

This recipe is from my favorite, Bon Appetit. There is something about the citrus and spicy chili sauce that gives it the perfect spicy-sweet combination. Make sure to get the red sweet chili sauce (often in your International food aisle) not the chili-garlic sauce that is a brown color. I almost made the mistake of thinking “it is about the same thing, right?” since I had chili-garlic on hand. But, when I ended up buying the sweet chili sauce and tasted it – wow, totally different sauce! Not saying it wouldn’t be potentially good with the chili-garlic, but it is out of this world with the sweet garlic!

PORK TENDERLOIN STIR-FRY WITH TANGERINES AND CHILI SAUCE
4 Servings

1 1 1/4-pound pork tenderloin, trimmed, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick rounds, then cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons Asian sesame oil, divided
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
4 small unpeeled tangerines or clementines, cut (with peel) into 3/4-inch pieces
1/4 cup Asian sweet chili sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
6 baby bok choy, cut crosswise into 1-inch-thick ribbons, tough bases discarded
5 green onions, thinly sliced on diagonal, divided

Place pork tenderloin strips in medium bowl; sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper and toss with cornstarch to coat. Heat 1 tablespoon sesame oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add minced ginger; stir 30 seconds. Add pork tenderloin strips; stir-fry until pork is beginning to brown and is almost cooked through, about 3 minutes. Add tangerine pieces; toss 30 seconds. Add sweet chili sauce, soy sauce, and Chinese five-spice powder; boil until sauce in skillet thickens slightly, tossing to blend, about 1 minute. Stir in remaining 1 tablespoon sesame oil, bok choy, and half of sliced green onions. Stir-fry just until bok choy is wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Transfer to bowl; sprinkle with remaining sliced green onions and serve.

I’ve only had a very few outstanding sandwiches in my life–the Vietnamese grilled pork on baguette at Pho Que Huong on Green Springs, and the Cuban steak sandwich from Little Miami in Lake City, Florida–and this is one of them. The combination of fresh bread, salad, yogurt, feta, and meat is sublime. As an added bonus, the leftover spread can be thinned with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and some lemon juice to make a great salad dressing for the remaining romaine and feta.

For the spread:

• ¾ cup crumbled feta cheese (4 ounces)
• 3 heaping Tbs Greek-style yogurt
• Juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• zest of 1 lemon
• ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

For the sandwich:

• 4 pita breads
• 4 large leaves romaine lettuce, torn in half
• 1 cucumber, sliced into half moons
• ¼ cup fresh mint leaves, coarse chiffonade
• Sliced meat (we used steak, but grilled pork would also be good)

Combine all spread ingredients in a small mixing bowl, and mix with a fork. In each pita, put a schmear of spread, then add a couple of slices of meat, some cucumber, mint, and a lettuce leaf. Yum! (I’ve read that a couple of slices of tomato and red onion make a fine vegetarian version, but haven’t confirmed.)

The Word: You ever order these delicious little guys at a restaurant and wonder why you only seem to get 5 or 6 of them after you just paid 4 or 5 dollars for them? Yeah, me too. When I was in university I got into the habit of making bunches of little snacks and such that I loved and freezing them as convenience foods. I would just settle down in front of a marathon of movies or tv episodes and go to work. Then tada! I was all set.

The Yin and the Yang: These little gyoza are loaded with cabbage and bean sprouts. Wonderfully cooling or neutral veggies that contain so many healthful benefits. These yin properties help work against the yang of the beef. The pork also has some yin properties. It really gets down to how you decide to serve these. I tend to go with steamed which helps to preserve the neutrality of the dish, deep fried tends to skew it more towards the yang.

The Recipe:

• package of wonton wrappers
• 1/2 lb ground pork (lean)
• 1/2 lb ground beef (lean or extra lean)
• 1/2 cup finely chopped cabbage
• 1/4 cup green onion, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup bean sprouts
• 1 tin sliced water chestnuts, minced
• 2 tbl oyster sauce
• splash of soy sauce
• 1 tbl. hoisin sauce

1. Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl except for the wonton wrappers. Mix well, I tend to end up using my hands to get it really well mixed.
2. To assemble: Place the wonton on a flat surface so that it makes a diamond, Wet the sides with a bit of water on your fingers. Place a tsp. of the mix in the center of the wonton. Fold the diamond in half so that it forms a triangle and pinch the sides closed. You can vary your sealing method, I just use this as it is fastest for when I am making a ton of these.
3. Freeze them on sheets before putting them altogether in a tub.
4. To cook: steam in either a bamboo steamer or other steamer for 14 minutes from frozen, less if they are fresh. You can also pan fry them for about 5 minutes in a bit of canola oil. Just remember this will change the neutrality of the dish.

The Result: Serving these with a bit of ponzu sauce is always a tasty snack or a part of an asian styled dinner. My husband used to be a strong supporter of serving these friend but after tasting them fresh out of a bamboo steamer he has changed his mind. If you are going to steam these I really do recommend getting a bamboo steamer. They are usually very inexpensive and so easy to use. You just put a bit of water at the bottom of your wok or pan, place the bamboo steamer on top, wipe it with a bit of oil (just enough so things don’t stick), put your tasty nibbles inside and turn on the heat! They add a certain flavour to your dish and they make for a neat presentation.

Dolma, dolmadakia, dolmasi, in whatever language, add something different and delicious to the table. We know them as stuffed grape leaves, but dolma–”stuffed thing” from the Turkish–is basically a stuffed vegetable dish that can be found in the countries that belonged to the Ottoman Empire and surrounding regions, including many Arab countries, Iran and the Caucasus, as well as Central and South Asia. It is common to stuff eggplant, zucchini, tomato and pepper in these countries, but it is the grape leaf that most English-speaking people recognize as the dolma.

The filling consists of rice and sometimes meat, depending on the region, and is flavored with onion and a variety of herbs and spices. Which herbs and spices? Again, that depends on the region.

Serbian-style dolma are called sarmice, which always confused me because the word sounds like a diminutive of sarma, the cabbage roll that is ubiquitous in Eastern Eauropean cuisines. However, both dishes involve minced meat and rice encased in an edible wrapper. Cabbage rolls are cooked in a sauce spiced with sweet paprika, and in Serbia stuffed grape leaves can be too, although bechamel is also a common adornment. I like them plain, with a dollop of strained yogurt doctored with a bit of lemon.

The filling is cooked beforehand, and it takes a bit of time to fill the leaves, but these sarmice are easy to make and are a great as an appetizer or a complete meal. I usually make a big pot and then freeze any leftovers in individual containers for a quick lunch.

Serbian-style Stuffed Grape Leaves

Ingredients:

Makes 20 stuffed grape leaves

40 grape leaves (from a jar)

1 pounds of lean ground pork

1 cup white rice

1 medium onion, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

2 teaspoons Vegeta seasoning *

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Directions:

1) Soak the grape leaves in water for at least half an hour to get rid of the salt from the brine. In the meantime, cook the onion in the olive oil over medium heat until soft.

2) Cook the rice. In a separate pan, brown the pork until it is cooked through and no longer pink. Put the meat and rice in a large mixing bowl. Add the onions, parsley, an seasonings. Mix thoroughly.

3) As you work, pat each grape leaf on a kitchen towel to get rid of the excess water. Take two grape leaves and trim off any tough stems. Overlap the bottom of one leaf halfway over the bottom of the other. Add a tablespoon or two of the filling, depending on the size of your leaves. Fold in each side of the grape leaves, lengthwise. Then roll up from bottom to top. Place in the bottom of a 9-inch round cooking pot with the folded side down. Repeat with the rest of the grape leaves.

4) Pour water over grape leaves to cover completely. Place a plate on top of the stuffed grape leaves to keep them from floating or unraveling. Cook, covered, for about an hour, or until the water evaporates.

5) Serve with yogurt, sour cream, or bechamel sauce.

* Vegeta is a seasoning from Croatia that can be purchased in most European delis and supermarkets. It can be replaced with salt, to taste.

Breakfast started off just like any other day.  However-I would like to make something known.  The coffee in Spain is absolutely fantastic.  It is like the strongest espresso you’ve had mixed with milk and sugar then served to you in a little demi-tasse cup.  I really love that the coffee is very, very strong and that the sugar they bring you is really, really large.  Have a look:

Here is the size of the coffee next to my giant man-sized hand.  I needed something for scale, so those of you who know me know that this is a very small cup.  Next notice the size of the sugar packet:

The sugar packets in Spain have to be at least twice the size of American sugar packets.  Notice again my hand in the picture for scale.  Even though I drink it black in the states, here I like to indulge in the strong sugary coffee they are accustomed to.  Even my mom drinks it, and she does not drink coffee.  I told her that she’s going to be going through withdrawal when we leave.

For lunch, we all sat in a nice restaurant:

To begin with, we all had these little fritters whose name escapes me.  They were made with cornmeal and some type of fish, then deep fried.  They were very similar to a hush puppy.  On top was freshly grated orange zest which really lightened them up.

It goes without saying that they were amazing.  Next, albondigas which are meatballs.  These were in a tangy tomato sauce:

The meatballs were better than I expected.  I really love having two starters before the main dish.  I could eat like this every day.   I actually think that we had a salad too which I forgot to photograph.  For our main course, you guessed it, meat and potatoes!  This pork was delicious for sure, and topped with some roasted peppers:

We washed the whole meal down with this Spanish Shiraz:

The wine was okay; not good not bad.  For dessert, we had a cream-puff like pastry filled with something resembling cheesecake and served cold.  It was topped with chocolate:

I think that all meals should be served with dessert.  I also enjoy how small the desserts are; this particular one was served on a small plate to give you a sense of scale.  Just a little taste of something sweet after the meal to have with your cafe.

Later on that night we were at the same hotel as the previous night hence the dinner buffet was very similar.  Once again I ate sparingly as this meal I’ve shown you wasn’t finished until 4:30.  But don’t worry; check back soon and I’ll have more to come

We got back from walking George this morning to find a Royal Mail slip had been pushed through the letterbox.  Its hand-written message read: “package left behind blue bin.”  I went outside to collect the brown padded envelope, already knowing that its content would be the sausage casings we’d order online.  The dustbin might not have been the best location to leave them, but at least they’d arrived.

I went back inside, eager to check the contents.  They were perfect – just like the natural sheep casings from our previous supplier, except these were half the price and only took two days to arrive. “So next week we’ll start getting ready for Christmas,” we decided.  “Next week it’ll be sausage making time.”

There’s no particular reason why we associate sausages with Christmas.  It just that we’ve always done this ever since we got married, gradually adapting the pork and beef recipe that my wife learnt from her mum to the pork, leek and sage variety we’ll be making this year.

I’ll publish the recipe and process in a future post.  But for now I’ll leave you with a picture of the ones we made last year – hung up to dry and ready for Christmas.

Outside Salon Corona

Salon Corona is a must-eat place. It should be a UNESCO World Heritage site. People should get married here. Locally popular, downright packed and standing-room only sometimes, I went here twice it was so good. A colleague from the conference had been here before, and we wandered around until we could find it. What a find.

We sat down at this busy place in the afternoon, and as soon as we were seated, I noticed something a little disturbing—this placemat:

I can't make this kind of thing up....

But then, I heard someone call my name. What the hell? Who would be calling my name in Mexico City?!? Turned out that one of the conference organizers was at a table nearby with his friends. Isn’t that good sign? Jaime came over, and it was like we belonged there. He told us what was good on the menu: the quesadillas, the piernas….

Piernas

Oh my god, the piernas! Apparently it’s a pulled/stewed pork made from the leg of the pig. It is indescribably delicious.

And then, as if I couldn’t love this place more. For no apparent reason, and with no tourists really besides us in the dining room, suddenly, two mariachis show up and start playing. A random guy from the next table sang along.

Mariachis, just because

It’s that time!  We present another spectacular dish from this month’s guest blogger, our friend and co-worker Maureen.  And as Mo demonstrates, there’s nothing quite like a roasted vegetable.  Pick a vegetable, any vegetable.  Add some salt, pepper, oil, throw in a hot oven and…Boom.  Bam.  Bomb.  So good!  We’re so elated she picked this particular one to feature.

We were just reminiscing about the delicious roasted brussels sprouts served at the Foodbuzz Blogger Festival evening dinner. Brussels sprouts get a bad rap.  When you hear about this green, miniature, cabbage-shaped, bulb-thingy, images of your 12-year-old self come to mind, screaming in agony at the pain your parents inflicted on you by forcing you to eat said green thingy.  Now that your taste buds have matured—and your mind is open—try revisiting the spout.  You’ll be glad you did.   Tell us why Maureen…

I love the fall. It’s finally cool enough to use the oven, and my local farmer’s market is abundant with the offerings of Indian summer and autumn. I took my cue from the season and brought home some fingerling potatoes, brussels sprouts, rosemary, red onion and garlic. Modest earthy staples. I also made a quick detour to the store and bought some bacon, but that is totally optional.

This basic casserole is so simple and versatile that it can be varied upon endlessly for vegans or the everything-goes crowd. I use the term “casserole” in the broadest sense by virtue of all the ingredients being oven-roasted together in a Pyrex dish. It can be minimized to just brussels sprouts, sea salt and a drizzle of olive oil, or gussied up with meats and cheeses to make more of a “main.” There were a few things I would do better next time, and I’m happy to share the learning curve with the forgiving readers of Duo Dishes.

Prep work consisted of slicing the brussels sprouts in half and the fingerlings into 1-1 1/2″pieces (the tiniest ones I left whole – so cute!). I sliced the red onion length-wise (with the grain) 1″ long and 1/2″ wide and the garlic cloves into long thin slices. Next time I will leave the onion and garlic pieces larger – the extended roasting time rendered them down to almost nothing. I love food that is browned, even blackened on the edges, so more on the roasting technique later because I did learn a thing or two! I chopped several sprigs of fresh rosemary while heating my large cast iron skillet on the stove top. I browned the fingerlings in olive oil for about 8 or 9 minutes, making sure to brown all sides. As small as those little taters are, I found them to be quite fire. Perhaps they have a low water content. While the skillet was still hot, I did a quick-cook with the bacon though I don’t know if it was necessary. I just wanted it to have some crisp and not end up soft-cooked. I cut it up into small pieces.

Next I tossed everything in a big bowl and drizzled in a couple tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt. I gave it a few good stirs and put it all down in a 7″ x 9″ Pyrex. My old O’Keefe & Merritt stove doesn’t measure the temperature so exactly, so I’ve learned to use it more intuitively. I’ll estimate the oven was about 475 degrees. I will also estimate that I cooked the dish for 50-60 minutes. Perhaps the photo tells you how I like it – nice and browned. I should have been stirring it all up a few times throughout cooking. The top layer took on a slightly dry appearance, so I drizzled in a little more olive oil. However, when I removed the dish later, I discovered everything beneath the surface needed more roasting time and that the added oil was just kind of sitting on the bottom of the dish. So I gave it all a good stir and put it back in for another 15 minutes (or so).

In the end everything was roasty-toasty to (near) perfection. I did remove a few pieces of charred onion and garlic from the surface – more frequent stirring probably would’ve prevented that. The flavor profile was lovely and amazing, earthy and heavenly all at once! I’m thinking for my encore (that’s a fancy term for leftovers) I will re-heat in the oven with freshly shredded Parmigiano Reggiano. Or perhaps I will crack an egg over the top and finish it under the broiler. Can’t wait.

Here is a list of the ingredients with a few measurements:

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts
1 pound fingerling potatoes
1 pound brussels sprouts
5 strips bacon, flash-fried then cut into bite sized pieces
1 medium red onion, sliced
Several garlic cloves
Several springs of fresh rosemary, stems removed and finely chopped
Sprinkle of sea salt
Drizzle of olive oil

Thanks Duo Dishes for asking me to be a guest on your blog. I enjoy your food so much. Happy cooking and happy eating.

I cannot tell you how often I’ve been asked if I get sad and sentimental when pigs go off to become pork and bacon!  I can honestly answer ‘no’…..

If you have to go out and trudge through mud no matter what the weather I am afraid you do become quite immune to it all! I took some photographs this morning, which was bitterly cold – we’d had a hard frost last night, and the fog has not lifted all day.

All the advice is that you shouldn’t name the pigs, and we have not tended to do so.  We certainly haven’t given names to the gilts and boars born this year.  Although, having said that the sows do all have names and quite distinct personalities.

And then, of course, there’s the boar – Clarence – Farmer Alfie’s pet!

Clarence, although he is the biggest of all, he is also the real softie in the herd.  I have seen the goats climb all over him while he sleeps and he just ignored them…. the other smaller boars just clamber all over him too.  He likes nothing better than a scratch and rub…. you should seem him lie down and roll over for that!  If he ever goes for pork or bacon it will probably be more like that Japanese massaged beef (kobe!)…. and be so totally expensive!! He’s also rather partial to grapes!  Farmer Alfie was hand feeding him grapes this morning!

Then there’s the sows…. Lucy, the biggest, the slowest but boy is she the boss!  She’s also rather partial to bananas… see the photographs below.

Lucy and Perky are best friends. Perky…. well she’s called that because her ears are perkier than the others… and she hears things that the others completely miss.  Perky’s favourite foods cabbage and potatoes!

Floppy – she’s the noisiest of all… she seems to like the sound of her own voice, or she’s always giving out.

Pinky – she loves oranges and tomatoes.

It is fascinating watching them all route through the feed to grab their favourites, then run off somewhere quite to eat it and then come back for more.

This week we’ve had orders coming in for our next batch of pork which will be ready in two weeks time.  Feedback from last deliveries has been great with comments like ‘best pork I’ve had in decades’!  And from all accounts we had the sausages are a great success.  To those customers we would say please keep spreading the word, we do appreciate it!

And by the way if you do read this blog, please feel free to pass on the link to others!

I wanted to post this before Thanksgiving, but I still needed to perfect the recipe. Well perfect it is, and we had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Really, this stuffing easily could win in a contest with gluten filled competitors. Serve it with pride (maybe for Christmas), no apologies necessary. And, of course, if you like gluten, you can substitute the sorghum, tapioca and cornstarch for 1 C all purpose flour and omit the xanthan gum. Bake the cornbread the day before you plan to make the stuffing and let it dry out a bit overnight so that it will soak up the chicken stock the next day. This recipe serves 6 to 8 people – if you are serving a crowd, double the recipe, and consider cooking the stuffing in a large crock pot, 1 hour on high and 4 to 8 hours on low, to free up some oven space.

Cornbread

• 1 C cornmeal
• ½ C sorghum flour
• ¼ C cornstarch
• ¼ C tapioca flour
• 1 tsp xanthan gum
• 1/3 C sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1 C milk
• 1 beaten egg
• 1/4 C melted, salted butter

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Mix all the ingredients together thoroughly in a mixing bowl. Pour the batter into a greased square pan and bake for 20 to 23 minutes. Allow the cornbread to cool, then cut it into cubes. Spread the cubes out on a large baking sheet and allow them to dry out overnight.

Stuffing

• Cubed cornbread
• 6 strips of bacon
• 1 large onion
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 1 large carrot, diced
• 1 green apples, diced or 1/2 C sweetened dried cranberries
• 1 T sage
• 1 tsp thyme (or 1 1/2 T of poultry seasoning for sage and thyme)
• salt and pepper
• 1 beaten egg
• ½ C heavy cream
• 1 C gluten-free chicken broth

In a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until it is crispy. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel lined plate to cool. Saute the diced onion, celery, and carrot in the bacon drippings until everything is very soft. Add the sage and thyme, as well as a little salt and ground black pepper to taste. Add the green apple and cook for another couple of minutes. Toss the cubed corn bread, the sauteed vegetables and the reserved bacon, crumbled, in a 9 x 13 baking dish. Whisk together the egg, heavy cream and chicken broth. Pour the liquid over the cornbread mixture to soften. Cook the stuffing in a 375 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until it is brown on top. Alternatively, you can cook the stuffing in a small crockpot on high for 1 hour and then on low for another 4 to 8 hours.

Well, if that’s the case then let me throw a few things together!  We celebrated Christmas Eve with the family today so I pulled out a few more tricks out of the bag.   Puerto Rican style pork loin, stuffed bell peppers, and yellow rice! That’s how I do Christmas with my parents so it was easy to make it for Mindy’s family.

Stuffed Bell Peppers with Mom’s stuffing

Yellow Rice with Garbanzo Beans

I loved reading other blogs about how exhausted people were from cooking on Thanksgiving and how they deserved a break.  This is my answer….keep going! A little Friday pork extravaganza!

Eric

Good pulled pork has to be one of the most satisfying meat dishes in the world. I often find myself dreaming of those beautiful strands of juicy, smokey pork mixed with bits of spicy “bark.” Beautiful moutainscapes of steaming pulled pork topped with coleslaw snow-caps. A place where North-Carolina style red sauce flows like a river…. mmmmm. After living in North Carolina for a while I really fell in love with pulled pork. Some of my fondest food memories were had in small BBQ shacks around Gastonia and Charlotte. I recommend that every teenager should move to NC for high-school because pulled-pork sandwiches go perfect with reckless-abandon. Ah, those were the days!

I may really love this delicacy but I don’t get to enjoy it very often. Those BBQ-shacks seem to be hiding from me on this side of the ocean. So left with no other choice I set out to make my own. First problem, what the heck do I ask for at the butcher? Cuts of meat are different in pretty much every land. I wanted a Butt (no, it doesn’t come from that end of the pig) but the butcher had no idea what that was. Thankfully Picnic was something that they know here. To my surprise they are typically about 6 kg. Pigs must be bigger here. I thought that was a bit big for my first try, especially since I don’t have a freezer to hold any leftovers. I ended up ordering a nicely trimmed and de-boned half picnic, weighing in at 2.2kg (4.85 lbs.)

For the first cook I decided to pretty much stick to some standard recipes out of Smoke and Spice. It was time to say hello to “the Renowned Mr. Brown.” I slightly altered the Southern Succor rub in the recipe by adding some onion powder and garlic powder.

• 1/4 cup black pepper (fresh ground)
• 1/4 cup mild paprika
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsp salt
• 2 tsp mustard powder
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder

The pork was well rubbed with this mixture and placed in a ziplock bag. He hung out in the fridge overnight with the hops and yeast. The next day I started the fire (Minion method fire with a 3/4 full ring of briquettes) around 8am and took the meat out of the fridge. After another roll around in the rub I let the pig rest until the smoker was up to temp.

The swine went on the smoker at 9:10 am and in typical fashion it started to rain. Not wanting to get too wet, I decided to quickly take the burning smoker apart and move it under the awning at the back door. From there on out it was a pretty simple cook. One of the big questions with this kind of barbecue is, to mop or not? Seeing as I was using the water pan in the smoker with water (as opposed to dry, or with sand or terra-cotta pot coasters as some recommend) I did not need to use a mop to add moisture, but I did want to use it to help add flavor. So I only mopped the meat a few times starting a couple hours into the cook.

• 1 cup cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp black pepper (fresh ground)
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tbsp paprika
• 1/2 tbsp cayenne
• 2 tbsp remaining rub

Since this was a somewhat small hunk of meat by pulled pork standards, I took a rough guess that it would be on the smoker for about 7-8 hours until it reached the magic “pullable” tenderness. Seeing that dinner was planned for 7:30 pm this seemed like ample time. Unfortunately I suck at these types of estimations. As we approached dinner time I ramped up the smoker temperature from the 110-120C range (230-250F) up to the 140-150C range (280-300F) to try to finish the pork faster. After 10.5 hours of cooking I had to take the meat off the smoker.  Now I was aiming for an internal temp of around 87-93C (190-200F), but I had to pull the meat off at 84C (183F). The real test isn’t the internal temp but taking your temp probe or a skewer and seeing that it slides into the meat easily, like butter. Mine was almost right there, but I couldn’t wait another 45 minutes or so. Fortunately the pork did pull apart very nicely and easily.

To accompany the meat I whipped up some coleslaw, some cornbread, and a salad. The coleslaw was also a first for me. I was so used to buying it back in the US that I never bothered trying to make it before. I have to say that is was quite tasty! The cornbread was again baked on the OTP. This time I was able to improve the cooking technique and get a very nice browned top on the cornbread, however the new recipe I tried out was not so great. It was just too darn dense. Next time I will use the recipe I used the first time and just cut back on the sugar… and perhaps use a touch more cornmeal.

Of course I also had to make up some Carolina red sauce. I used the recipe straight from the Smoke & Spice cookbook. I have to say though that I remember most sauces in North Carolina being just a touch thicker and spicier, but that was a long time ago.

The final accent to the meal was a bottle of Hop Nest IPA. The hops were able to cut through the spice, vinegar and smoke and really worked out nicely.

Of course I didn’t take any good photos of the final product, so you’ll have to put up with a slightly blurry photo of some of the leftovers.

All in all I was highly impressed with my new found pork pulling skills (please don’t take that out of context). I think everyone really enjoyed it but the black pepper spice may have been too much for them. The cornbread wasn’t so much of a success. The meat was absolutely fantastic! Super moist, full of smokey flavor, wonderful rich spice notes and melt in your mouth tenderness. I will definitely be cooking up more of this. Once we get a freezer it will be stocked with pulled pork for those times when I have THE craving.

For more photos of the cook click on the photos or here

Actually it’s his mom’s meatloaf. I saw this fabulous sounding comfort food recipe over at mister anchovy’s the other day and knew I would have to try it, especially now that the days are getting chilly. It’s been many many years since I made a meatloaf. There are a couple of differences here from the original recipe, the main one being that I couldn’t find any Heinz chili sauce (the “secret” ingredient!) and substituted Heinz barbeque sauce with added chili flakes. I also added a dollop of dijon and a splash of worchestershire to the meat. Oh, and also a whack of garlic. Natch.

Recipe and instructions below the links.

• one onion and one green pepper, chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 400 grams each of ground beef and ground pork
• a generous handful of breadcrumbs
• one egg
• dollop of grainy dijon
• splash of worchestershire
• dried basil, thyme, salt and freshly ground black pepper
• bacon strips
• Heinz chili sauce

Mix onion, pepper, ground meat, breadcrumbs, spices and egg together in a large bowl. Squish it around with your hands until everything is well-mixed.

Form into one big or two smaller loaves. Place in a rectangular baking pan, making sure to leave space between the loaf and the side of the pan. Totally cover the top with bacon strips. Brush with the “secret ingredient” – Heinz chili sauce – and bake in a 175ºC (350ºF) oven for about an hour. Smaller loaves may only take about 45 minutes.

Serve hot for dinner… but be sure to save some for sandwiches next day, on crusty kaiser buns.

These tacos kick the butt of ground meat tacos. The simplicity of the cilantro, salsa, sour cream and lime is divine. And it’s so damn easy. Resist the urge to open the slowcooker; heat escapes and can increase cook time by 30min every time it’s opened. Recipe from RealSimple:

Photo from RealSimple

serves 6 | 5 hrs total prep | 15 minutes hands on

Ingredients

2 cups store-bought salsa, plus more for serving
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
kosher salt
1 2 1/2-pound boneless pork butt or shoulder, trimmed of excess fat
18 corn tortillas
1/2 cup fresh cilantro sprigs
3/4 cup sour cream
1 lime, cut into wedges

Prep
In a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker, combine the salsa, chili powder, oregano, cocoa, and 1 teaspoon salt. Add the pork and turn to coat.

Cook, covered, until the meat is tender and pulls apart easily, on high for 4 to 5 hours or on low for 7 to 8 hours. Twenty minutes before serving, heat oven to 350° F.

Stack the tortillas, wrap them in foil, and bake until warm, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, using 2 forks, shred the pork and stir into the cooking liquid. Serve with the tortillas, cilantro, sour cream, lime, and extra salsa.

The Word: This is a favourite around here but it is so hard to find a restaurant that will make these without serving some kind of nasty excuse for a pancake on the side. The solution? Do it ourselves and use rice papers on the side to roll it up.

The Yin and the Yang: This dish is full of yin, yang, and neutral elements making it a wonderful balance in a one dish meal. Our recipe uses bamboo shoots. Bamboo shoots may be little bamboo but they are full of benefits! They are high in fiber, can help reduce bad cholesterol, help prevent high blood pressure, have been used as a remedy for tozemia and stomach worms. What a busy little baby!

The Recipe:

• 1/2 lb pork, trimmed of all fat and cut into thin strips.
• 6 tbl. dry red wine
• 2 tbl. soy sauce
• 2 tsp. soy sauce (yes, there is a need for tbl and tsp measurement seperate, this is not a typo)
• 1 tbl flour
• 3 tbl hoisin sauce
• 3 tbl oyster sauce
• 1 tbl canola oil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 lb cabbage, thinly sliced
• 1 tin bamboo shoots
• 2 medium carrots cut into thin sticks
• 1 celery stalk, sliced thinly
• Rice paper rounds(you can usually find these in the asian section, my favourite brand is rose brand)

1. Combine the pork with 2tbl of red wine and 2 tsp soy sauce in a medium bowl. Toss well to coat and set aside. In another bowl combine the remaining red wine, 2 tbl of soy sauce, 1 tbl. flour, hoisin sauce, and oyster sauce. Set aside.
2. Heat a wok, swirl the oil in and add the pork mixture. Stirfry until just cooked through, 4-5 minutes, transfer to a bowl. Add the garlic and onion to the wok. Stirfry until softened, 3-4 minutes. Add the cabbage, carrots, celery, and bamboo shoots and 2 tbl of water. Stirfry until the cabbage wilts, about 2-3 minutes. Add the pork and wine mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture boils and thickens, about 1 minute.
3. Rince the rice papers under warm water one at a time, do not stack them.
4. Place them on a plate, dress the paper as desired (I use a bit of hoisin sauce, my husband uses garlic chili sauce), spoon some of the pork mixture onto each, roll up, and serve.

The Result: While this is a chopping intensive recipe it is always worth it. I love those nights when I find the time to get mu shu on the table.