The Pig and I

I buy my polenta from Anson Mills , who just makes some of the loveliest corn products ever. Because their products tend to be heartier than the stuff I can get at the store, I follow their directions for how to make the polenta, grits, etc. So the first part (the basic " make the polenta " part of this recipe is basically theirs - if you buy a different brand, make it the way you're used to). Enjoy! 1 cup polenta 4 cups water 1 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 tablespoon unsalted butter 3 tablespoons finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano 1 tablespoon olive oil 8 teaspoons finely grated colby-jack cheese "Brush or spray an 8-inch square baking dish with oil and set aside. Place the polenta and water in a heavy-bottomed 2 1/2-quart saucepan (preferably one with fluted sides), and stir to combine. Set the pan over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the first starch takes hol...

I remembered there was some beef sausage in the freezer, and I thought it'd be nice to cook it with red bell pepper and onion. Originally I'd planned to serve it over rice, but ultimately I ended up deciding on pasta as the better match. My intention was to make something simple, hearty and rustic. I'd gotten the sausage at the farmer's market a while back and remembered how amazing its flavour was, so ideally, the sausage would be the star of this dish, the other ingredients simply complementing it. This ragout turned out so much better than I expected it to; it's something I'll definitely seek out amazing sausages for to make over and over. When Francis is done with his obedience school (which is at the same time as the farmer's market is open), we'll be back to get more sausage (and other things, of course). Hope you enjoy! 6 ounces beef sausage 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided 1/2 cup each, chopped: red onion, celery 1 tablespoon lemon juice pi...

We've been knee deep in leftovers and comfort foods (matzo brei, corned beef hash, pasta with meat sauce, etc) recently, so I haven't been doing much cooking outside the norm. Okay, in fairness, I did make some granola bars , and I also made some marshmallows , both with small modifications. But nothing really original to write home about. I looked in the fridge today and realised I had a pile of vegetables that truly were ready to be used up, as well as some beef broth remaining from the beef barley soup (which I will be putting into my regular comfort food rotation). P has been expressing more interest in meatless sauces recently (even going so far as to make a delicious, spicy marinara of his own while I was at work!), so I thought this would be a good way for me to use up the produce. It's easily modified to fit whatever produce you're looking to use up, so please have fun with it! Additionally, I wanted to make a lot of it so I could can some for lazy days. Here it...

My friend Dave makes awesome beef barley soup. Like, really awesome. He gave me the recipe, so I made some yesterday and have been really enjoying it. Dave also says I can share the recipe with y'all, so I hope you enjoy it too! Aside from the carrots and celery, my own quantities are put in here - I make a lot less of it than Dave does, so I kept track of how much I used of each thing. Feel free to adjust quantities to your own liking, or to increase or decrease the size of the recipe. 1 - 1 1/4 pound beef shank bones 1 quart beef broth or stock 1 quart water (you can use stock here too, if you like) 1 onion, sliced or chopped to your preferred size 1 bay leaf (optional; I added this) 2 large carrots, chopped 2 large stalks of celery, chopped 1 potato, diced (optional; I was out of potatoes so I didn't add this) 2 teaspoons salt 1 tablespoon pepper 1 1/4 cup barley water as needed 1 cup sliced mushrooms (optional - I forgot to put these in even though they were ...

I've kind of been in a funk lately, mostly due to my summer break being shockingly more stressful than I expected. P decided that what we really needed to feel rejuvenated was a treat - something excessive and luxurious. So we went to the butcher and had them cut us a 2" thick porterhouse steak. It weighed 2.9 pounds and was utterly delicious. We also learned that Francis is allergic to something I used in the marinade. We ate it with a simple potato salad. Marinade: 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1/8 cup red wine vinegar 2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon each: coriander seed, thyme Let the steak marinate for two hours (mine was in a bowl, so I flipped it after one hour). Grill. Serves ... well, this steak served 4 plus dog. Before grill: After grill (kind of a dark picture):

P is really into smoothies. Often, he gets cravings and it's a mad dash to a Jamba Juice or Smoothie King. Today, he said he wanted a smoothie and I figured I'd just go make one really quickly, as I don't want him to fill up on smoothies before we have steak for dinner. I rummaged around the freezer to see what kind of frozen fruit was lurking in there, and found peaches. The people at Simply Orange decided to make full sized bottles of their amazing raspberry lemonade, so we picked up a couple bottles earlier today. Seemed like a good combination. It was beyond simple to make, and P now wears a perfectly contented look on his face. Hope you enjoy! 1/2 - 3/4 cup frozen peaches 1/2 - 3/4 cup ice cubes approximately 1 cup raspberry lemonade Put the ice and peaches in a blender. Adding a little bit of juice at a time, blend until it's the right consistency. Serves 1-2.

I have an unending fascination with plums. I'm not sure if it's because they turn into delicious, endlessly sweet prunes or because with plums, you get a pretty good mix of shockingly sweet and slightly sour fruits. Either way, I love them and it warms my heart when I see them working their way into all the markets. We've been munching on plums for the last couple weeks, but really, I just wanted to make a tart out of them. I think I like the lines of tarts more than I like how pies look. Or maybe I'm just prejudiced against pies. Not sure. Intellectually I realise they're the same thing but I just like tarts better. For this one, I wanted to sweeten the fruit just slightly, and I wanted to incorporate a bit of citrus and vanilla into them. This is the conglomeration of all those varied desires. Hope you enjoy! 1 4"x1" strip orange rind (peel only, no pith) seeds from 1 vanilla bean (you can add the pod too, but I tossed it in w/ the vanilla extract I...

I'd been snacking on leblebi all day, when I discovered some veggies in the fridge that needed to be used. Normally I'd put these with pasta, but I've been trying to remember that I have a pile of forbidden rice that we never eat. So here it is. Hope you enjoy! Veggies: 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed then cut in half 3/4 cup radish slices 6 brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut in half 1 leek, trimmed and cut into 1" half moons 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 tablespoons rice wine vinegar 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon ground galangal or ginger Rice: 1 cup forbidden rice 1 1/4 cups water pinch salt Preheat oven to 400F. Combine all the ingredients in the veggies section and stir well to combine. Turn onto a sheet pan (I cover mine with foil to make clean up faster) and roast for 30 minutes to an hour; until done. Combine rice, water and salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil then cover, reduce heat to low and cook 10 minutes. Do not uncover and let sit another ...