The Pig and I

I found some nice-looking short ribs the other day on sale, and originally I'd planned to make them Korean style. But then I was looking around in my fridge and pantry and saw there was a fair amount of the massive amount of produce I'd purchased recently that was looking a little peaky and in need of cooking. So instead, I opted to do it in beer* in the slow cooker (alternately, Dutch oven in a slow oven will be good as well) so I could use up some produce and still have a tender, delicious and healthful meal. Hope you enjoy! 1 pound boneless beef short ribs 1 cup each: yellow bell pepper (cut into chunks), mixed greens (mostly kale and radish greens is what I used) 4 carrots, roughly chopped 3 stalks celery, roughly chopped 2 ears corn, cut into 1-inch rounds 2 tomatoes, roughly chopped (with juices) 1 onion, roughly chopped 1 bay leaf 1 bulb of garlic, cloves peeled and left whole salt and pepper to taste 1/2-3/4 cups dark ale Put all of the above into a 4-quar...

I discovered I still had a turkey in the freezer a while ago and had spent some time making my plan of action. You kind of have to do that with turkeys, because there's just so much meat to them. I roasted the turkey on Monday, and so on Tuesday it was time to start working through the leftovers. This soup was perfect. Turkey, but not too turkey (mostly because there wasn't room in the pot for some flesh). Hope you enjoy! 1 turkey carcass 1 onion, quartered 1 lemon, cut in half water to cover 1/2 pound kale 2 ears of corn, cut into rounds 3 tomatoes, chopped 2 carrots, sliced 5 stalks of celery, sliced 1 pound mushrooms, sliced 1 onion, cut into half moons 1/3 cup wheat berries water if needed salt and pepper to taste Bring the first group of ingredients to a boil then simmer for one hour. Strain, reserving stock. Put stock and second group of ingredients in a soup pot and bring to a boil. Let boil 5-10 minutes then simmer for one hour. Serves 4-6.

I realized today that I still had some of those wonderful candied peels Lisa sent me earlier this year, and I got really excited. See, I had decided to use some cantaloupe that I'd frozen in cupcakes today, to go with our leftovers meal of red beans and rice, and that fricassee. But when I discovered those hiding (from Ross, I'm guessing, since I can't imagine why else I'd have hidden it. Though it's possible I hid it from myself so I wouldn't plow through them all before I got to use them in recipes either) in the fridge, I realized that the perfect compliment to my cupcakes was not going to be lemon butter cream, but instead would be vanilla butter cream with PEELS IN THEM! I was supposed to make more butter cream anyway, since Ross likes to put it in his coffee (I know how weird that sounds, but it's oddly delicious) so all of this works out to be full of win for all the tummies in this house. Anyway, I can't see any reason why you couldn't do t...

I'm still in the process of using up things in the fridge, freezer and pantry that I don't want in the house anymore, or which are simply getting old. Today is another of those meals. It's a meat meal this time, because I had a larger amount of chicken breast in the freezer than I realized. Also, I am planning a huge shopping trip soon, so I'd like to eat up as much of the older meats and such and get a new batch of meat in there that's more reflective of the amounts of each we generally consume. Hope you enjoy! 1 large onion, cut into half moons 2-3 tablespoons olive oil 1 teaspoon each: kosher salt, pepper 1 tablespoon herbes de Provence zest of one small lemon juice of half of the lemon 2 cloves of garlic, sliced lengthwise very thinly 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-2" pieces pinch each: kosher salt, pepper, herbes de Provence 2 ladles of vegetable or chicken broth (around 2/3 cup) 3/4 - 1 cup whole picholine or nicoise ...

I have some lemons and yogurt I need to use, and I also am growing some Thai basil. I have a tendency to sometimes neglect the proper pruning needs of my plants, so I've been trying to be better about that lately. This cake came of my desire to use these two ingredients, but also of my desire to have a dessert that would pair well with minestrone and brown bread for dinner. Hope you enjoy! Cake: 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon baking powder 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1 cup plain yogurt 1 cup sugar 3 large eggs zest of a lemon 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1/2 cup vegetable oil 1/3 cup lemon juice 3 sprigs Thai basil Glaze: 1-2 cups confectioners’ sugar juice of a small lemon Combine the lemon juice, sugar and basil in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer for a minute or so and remove from the heat. Let cool. Preheat oven to 350F. Whisk together eggs, zest, yogurt, strained basil syrup, vanilla and salt. Then whisk in baking powder, then flour. F...

I really like steel cut oatmeal. I do not like rolled oatmeal. It's a textual thing, I guess? Either way, despite the increasing heat here in Houston I've been on an oatmeal kick. This one is particularly fun because it has blueberries in it, and who doesn't like blueberries? Also, it takes only a few minutes to make, and then you just heat it in the morning with your sugars. Hope you enjoy! 1 cup steel cut oats 2 tablespoons butter 1-2 teaspoons kosher salt 1/4 cup dried blueberries (if you're wanting to use fresh or frozen, use more) 4 cups water 2 tablespoons agave 1/4 cup brown sugar (not packed) 1 teaspoon vanilla Melt butter in a 2-quart saucepan over high heat. Add oats and salt, and stir around, frying for about a minute. Add water and blueberries (but don't add these yet if you're using fresh or frozen) and bring to a boil. Let boil one minute, turn off the heat and put the lid on. Leave it on the stove until you come back in the morning (I ...

I've been trying to work through a lot of beans lately. Not only as an efficient way to up my protein consumption, but also because I still have some left from the Cave. So, y'know. One of my goals has been to use up the legumes we don't really eat a lot of, and one of those is black eyed peas (turtle beans). We actually do like to eat those, but mostly fresh or frozen instead of dried and cooked. This seemed like a fun way to use some up, and also to use up a bunch of stuff in the fridge that I didn't want to go to waste. I expected this dish to be fun and good, but it was quite a bit more delicious than I'd anticipated. This will definitely be making it into our normal rotation. Hope you enjoy! 1 can black eyed peas, drained and rinsed (unless you cooked them from dry, but still drain them) 1/2 pound fusili, cooked to package directions zest and juice of 1/2 lemon 1/2 cup diced salt pork salt to taste 3 tablespoons olive oil 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes ...

This is basically like cottage cheese (except strained), and not like ricotta. I like to use it for pizzas, for lasagna, and also for eating (if I remember to salt it. If I don't, I like to cook with it). Hope you enjoy! 1 quart of milk (you can use more and not change the amount of lemon juice, up to around a gallon of milk) 1/4 cup lemon juice (or less for a batch this small - up to you) Heat milk to 185F. Remove from heat and stir in about 1/4 cup of lemon juice. Let sit for a few minutes to separate well into curds (it will look like curdled milk, because that's basically what it is). Line a strainer with cheesecloth then put the strainer over a bowl. Pour the curds and whey into the strainer, then tie the ends of the cheesecloth tightly around the curds. Tie the cheese to the knob of a kitchen cabinet or something similar, with the bowl (you can wash and put away the strainer now) under the cheese to catch the drippings. Come back in the morning and untie the c...

The pizza? Spectacular. Here's how we made it; hope you enjoy! dough for 1 crust  sauce for one pizza 4 ounces (1 cup) mozzarella 1 cup fresh farmer's cheese (you could use strained ricotta or cottage instead) large handful pepperoni 1/2 15-ounce can artichoke hearts (not marinated, but yes drain them well) 1/4 cup each: shredded carrots, chopped onions, chopped celery 1 cup-ish spinach Preheat oven (preferably with stone in it) to 500F. Spread out the dough into a square or whatever (I like rectangles). Top with sauce (about a half cup or so should do it), then top with pepperoni. Add cheeses, then veggies and bake for 10 minutes. Cool 5 minutes. Cut, eat, move on with your day. Serves 2 (okay, this should serve 4. But today it served two).

We've been using a lot of cereal lately, mostly in cereal bars and for snacks. But for breakfasts, I prefer if we're going to eat cereal (instead of the baked potatoes I've been obsessed with the last few days) for it to be something that's not full of preservatives and such. Otherwise it doesn't actually seem like breakfast so much as dessert. Here's the granola I made as an alternative. Hope you enjoy! 4 cups rolled oats 1/4 cup each: wheat germ, bran 2 teaspoons kosher salt 1 cup chopped walnuts 1/2 cup each: vegetable oil, honey 1 cup chopped dried apricots Heat oven to 250F. Mix together the oats, germ, bran, walnuts and salt. Whisk together the honey and vegetable oil, then pour it into the oat mixture and stir until well incorporated. Put on a sheet pan and put in the oven. Give it an hour and a half in the oven, but stir it every 15 or so minutes so it doesn't burn. Once you take it out of the oven, let it cool a bit then add the apricot...