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| Crystalized landscape |
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| Monday night's snow |
YEA!!! Snow has finally come to our drier part of Washington state and the school kids and I couldn't be happier. The kids are thinking of school closures, sledding, snowmen and snowball fights right now.
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| My son and some of his sledding posse' |
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| Our neighborhood sledding spot; Rock Hollow Farm |
I'm thinking food of course-shocking news! Somehow, food made when it's cold and snowy tastes better to me. Not quite like grilling outdoors in the summer, my personal fav, but slower cooked foods which allow flavors to meld or steamy, crispy foods that envelope your house in a fragrance of flavors.
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| Sledding on Tuesday |
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| Not a long run but it's close to our house |
The weather forecast is for
more snow this week so I went to the stores to stock up on items to cook and bake with during this winter wonderland! I'm going to start with "Spicy Pop Pulled Pork" recipe I saw Saturday morning on "Pioneer Woman" on the Food Network. Ree Dupree is the hostess, blogger, Mom, wife, photographer, cook and comedian. Her blog
http://pioneerwoman.com is FANTASTIC! Lot's of great photos of her life on her family's ranch, recipes and she's HILARIOUS both in her blog and on her show!
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| Pork Butt or Shoulder Roast from Sunny Farms' Meat Dept. |
The Pioneer Woman used this recipe to feed a bunch of hungry cowboys and girls lunch after working cattle all morning, so I thought this would work for OUR dinner after a day of sledding, ploughing driveways and shoveling sidewalks! Ree did hers in a Dutch oven but I don't have one right now and substituted my crockpot. She also got up at 6am to start this roast, I started mine at noon and we ate at 7:30 after basketball practice finished.
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| Turn your crockpot on High and time for 7-8 hours |
For the "bed" of my roast, we both roughly chopped 1 onion and turned the crockpot on High. My crockpot was a wedding gift, we use it often and it came with 3 settings and no timer. It works just fine for our family. In Ree's recipe, she pours a can of pop or soda on top of the pork roast along with a can of chipotle peppers, salt, pepper, sugar and I think a teaspoon of ground cumin. The pop is supposed to help break down the meat to tenderize it and the the sugars caramelize to help the flavor of the sauce. I couldn't leave well enough alone and had to add a 1/2 cup of fresh cider from Lazy J Farm, a 1/4 c. of lime juice and only 1/2 can of chipotle in Adobo sauce. I wanted to less spice and more complexity by adding the tart lime juice. That's just me...I'm a "tweaker" of recipes.
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| The liquid ingredients |
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| The dried cast of characters |
I also added about 4 Tablespoons of Garlic seasoning to enrich the braising liquid. 3 Tablespoons of dried Cumin powder were sprinkled over the roast, the chipotles and adobo sauce and generous amounts of sea salt and ground pepper, probably about 1 Tablespoon of each or slightly more.
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| Dried ingredients go first |
The wet ingredients follow the dried and the lid was placed on. Set the kitchen timer for about 4 hours and then gently turn the roast over if your schedule allows. It helps moisten the entire roast but isn't pivotal if you can't get to it. After 7-8 hours total, check your roast. It should be "fork tender" which literally means it's
so tender, you can pull it apart with a fork!
Who wouldn't want that?!
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| 7 hours later...the lid is lifted |
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| Voila, it's so tender it didn't even stay in one piece to the cutting board! |
As this now succulent roast is "fork tender", it's somewhat difficult to handle on the cutting board after cutting the binding strings off. The remedy is to put in a large bowl and start in on it where it can't escape!
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| Start breaking down roast with your tongs |
I started breaking down with the tongs, then moved to the fork when the chunks were smaller. The degree you shred the pork is up to you. I prefer not to break up all the juicy morsels too finely, I want you to be able to identify what you're eating.
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| Some of the braising liquid is added back to the pulled pork |
Ree added some of the braising liquid back into her pulled pork. What a stroke of genius! I added back about a 1/2 cup but again, it's up to you and what you're using the pulled pork for. I wanted moist and yet not "wet" for my Pulled Pork Tacos dinner.
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| Pulled Pork Tacos |
I loaded my Taco up with pulled pork, pepper jack, shaved sweet onion, fresh cilantro and avocado and a generous dollop of sour cream! Dinner is served to my hungry family!!!
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| More Snow that night! |
The next morning, we awoke to
more snow and no school again! No problem, I thought...we'll enjoy our leftover taco makings and made Huevos Rancheros for breakfast. I spiced mine up with several squirts of Buffalo Style Tabasco Sauce on top. This breakfast took me about 15 minutes to make including poaching eggs, toasting fresh tortillas and heating up the pulled pork. That's a great start to my day... easy and yummy!
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| Pulled pork Huevos Rancheros |
So I say "let it snow"! It's a rare treat here in Sequim, WA and I'm embracing it! More cooking, sledding and ploughing as the forecast is for yet another front coming in tonight...more recipes to come soon!
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| My long haired Dachshund "snowballed" after a romp in the snow |
Embrace what your day brings you my friends!
"The days slip by quicker the older you get" my Grandma Effie used to tell me as a kid. I didn't understand what she meant until I was a Mom and saw my son changing almost before my eyes. Now I now what she meant...so I try my best to go with things I can't change and be deliberate in things I can have influence over. For instance, what I am going to feed my cold, hungry crowd for dinner tonight?! I chose to
relish those decisions! Creating a meal and baking are simple pleasures of mine, something I have control over, that brings joy and shares my love of food, family and friends.
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| Hot chocolate with a scoop of ice cream after sledding |
Another lesson my Grandma Effie taught me...cook with love in your heart and your food tastes better!
Chow for now my friends! Love
you Grandma Effie!
