Fried Chicken and Cheesesteaks

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!

Why brine, you ask? It infuses the meat with flavor, and is something of a guarantee against tasteless shoe leather meat. Works great with turkey as well! The leading actors: Salt (1/3 Cup), Sugar (1/2 Cup), Loose Decaf tea (scant 1/4 cup) - mix these into 4 cups boiling water. The supporting actors: ginger, whole cloves, whole allspice, whole peppercorns, onion (fresh or dried). Add to the boiling mixture: This smells wonderful. Too bad for you this isn't a scratch and sniff blog! Add a cup or two of apple cider: When the mixture is cool enough, put the pork chops in plastic bags: Pour the brine over the pork chops, and refrigerate overnight:

Do you eat Edamame ? Perhaps you've tried it as a precursor to sushi, but never thought you could make it at home. These nutritious little soybeans are pretty tasty. But if you can boil water, you can literally make edamame. Whether you have fresh Edamame from your CSA share, or frozen, it is pretty easy. 1. Choose a pot about twice the size as your bag of edamame. 2. Fill said pot halfway with water. 3. Boil the water. Turn burner to low. 4. Rinse edamame in colander, if fresh. Leave the colander in the sink. 5. Add edamame to boiling water. Go check your email. Put on your slippers. Sort out the junk mail. (any activity you like for about twenty minutes. 6. Drain the edamame, and shake off excess liquid. Serve in a bowl liberally sprinkled with salt (preferably large salt crystals, like kosher salt flakes). Eat the edamame by squeezing the little beans out of the pods into your mouth. They are very addictive, but yet healthy. High in protein, fiber and Omega 3. Check out other ...

1 picnic pork roast (sometimes called a fresh ham) - mine was about nine pounds. applesauce - 1 quart 3 granny smith apples, chopped apple cider vinegar salt pepper sage thyme garlic powder onion powder The radar map looked a bit like this ALL DAY today as Tropical Storm Hanna passed over the Philadelphia region: When better than during pouring rain to make a classic comfort food like a roast? Preheat oven to 350. First, use a knife or kitchen scissors (the type that can go in the dishwasher for sanitizing) to remove the skin: Heat a large pot on high, and then quickly sear top and bottom of the roast (this is to start the maillard effect, by which browning makes everything taste better: Remove the pot from the heat. Add around the roast a jar of applesauce (if you don't have homemade just make sure to use one that is just apples -not sweetened or spiced). I happened to have three granny smith apples I had peeled this morning for something else, so I added them as well. I normall...