Fried Chicken and Cheesesteaks

IAQ instead of FAQ Ever wondered if you could slow roast a pork loin, say while you were gone to church Sunday Morning?    I did and couldn't find a good answer, so I tried it on a day I was home to watch the oven thermometer.   Result:  at 225 it works well.   It turned out very well for my newest offspring's baptism lunch. I browned the top (fatty side) of the ten pound loin ( cut in two pieces to fit in my pan) over high heat on the stove.   Turn off the heat, flip the pork (so fat side is now up, which will make it all juicy!), season*, then place in a cold oven and turn oven to 225.   From this point anywhere from 3-4 hours would have been on that sweet spot of a medium pork roast (144 at 3 hours, 150 at 4). * seasoning:  mix and match -  garlic, onion soup mix, generous salt, pepper, thyme, finely chopped onion, lemon or lime juice, Apple cider vinegar, rosemary ...

2 cups pecans 2 T butter, melted 2 T maple syrup 2 t brown sugar 2 dashes chipotle, cayenne or paprika powder 2 drops hot sauce Mix, spread on pan, sprinkle with kosher or sea salt.   Bake at 375 for 15-20 min. Now what should you do with your cooled nuts?   Store them in an airtight container.   Wrap them in a pretty jar for a gift.   Sprinkle on a salad with blue cheese and figs.   Sprinkle on vanilla ice cream.   Or my favorite - just eat them :)

I've been playing around trying to develop a non chocolate go-to cookie, and I think these are a winner.   1 stick butter, softened 1 C brown sugar 1 egg 2 tsp vanilla 1.75 c flour 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 1 c chopped pecans Cream butter and sugar, mix in egg and vanilla.   Mix in dry ingredients, then pecans.  Roll into one thick (about 4 inch) roll in wax or parchment paper and refrigerate a few hours or a few days. Slice in 1 inch slices, then cut the round in quarters.  Bake on ungreased cookie pan at 375 for about 15 minutes.  

1 c self rising flour 1 c kefir (or whole milk yogurt with a little milk or buttermilk or 1/2 ricotta, 1/2 milk ...) 1 egg Seasoning (vanilla or almond extract and / or cinnamon or nutmeg it pumpkin pie seasoning) Optional:  Choc chips or chopped nuts or blueberries That's it!  Measurements don't have to be precise.  You know how to make pancakes, right?  .. hot buttered griddle,  flip when bubbles get dry around edges ... I layer mine with Greek yogurt and top with fruit and real maple syrup.

We took an interesting documentary DVD out from the library this week - "Food Stamped" - it was written / directed / edited by a couple named Shira and Yoav Potash.    Shira Potash is a nutritionist, employed directly or indirectly by the food stamp program to teach kids in the public schools about healthy nutrition.     In the documentary this young couple sets out to live for a week, in terms of groceries, on the $50 which is a higher-than-average allotment for a two adult household.    She did this following the example of a few congressmen and congresswomen who also followed the same challenge for a week. Points on which I agree with Mrs. Potash's theories: 1)  We have an obesity problem AND a malnutrition problem in this country, especially among the poor. 2) Access to healthy food is difficult for the poorest citizens of our country, especially those without cars in urban environments wi...

This is unpretentious weeknight cooking to be sure, but also very tasty! 1) wash potatoes  (mine were organic from the CSA) 2) cut them up in bite size pieces (don't peel) 3) place in microwave safe large bowl, cover with water 4) cook until tender (took about 16 minutes in my microwave with about 8 cups of chopped potatoes) 5) pour off water (doesn't need to be too thoroughly) 6) mix in some butter, thyme, paprika, salt  (if you forgot to take butter out of the freezer until now, microwave for one more minute) 7) stir and serve in the same bowl! So easy, so good ... and don't worry about adding some butter - its still MUCH better for you than most processed foods!

I don't know why, but it wasn't until AFTER my daughter was born that I started really enjoying pickled foods.   With the weekly bounty of vegetables arriving from the CSA each week, plus my fondness for visiting farmers market in high summer, I've had plenty of fresh produce recently ... sometimes a bit too much.   So I started looking into pickling.   But as a full time working mom, spending 8 precious hours with my hot water canner was a no-go.    But then I started coming across the phrase "refrigerator pickle" and "quickle".    As I read more recipes, many seemed to have a basic theme:  2 cups vinegar, 2 cups water, 1/4 cup kosher or pickling salt, brought to boil and poured over a jar of prepared veggies and spices (peppercorns, whole allspice, garlic cloves, cloves, hot peppers, etc).     We later discovered that any that don't have a distinct garlic bite needed more sugar, so I added a su...