Orange Pork Stir-fry

Cooking for my family is tricky.

• B (8) would subsist on dessert, if he could.  He eats like a bird, and always, ALWAYS leaves at least one bite on the plate.  The trick is to give him small portions so there isn't so much wasted.  He's underweight and pretty small, and only somewhat physically active.  He does like spicy food, though.
• Kiddo (8) would subsist on carbs and cheese if he could.  And ketchup.  He cannot stand even the hint of spiciness.  He's a little overweight but very physically active and never seems to stop growing.
• E (12) toys with vegetarianism, is growing like a weed, and worries overmuch about food safety.  She's prefers simple spices.
• Meli is tall and thin and could stand to gain some muscle weight.  He seems to be able to eat anything and not gain weight -- 7 donuts in a sitting?  Check.  Double cheeseburger and fries?  How about two?  An entire large pizza?  Why not?  His cholesterol could be better, though.  He's currently cutting out most carbs.  I'm not entirely sure why.  He's a great cook, but it tends to be heavily fatty and saucy comfort food.
• I've gained 15 pounds since I met Meli, yikes!  I love to cook and get bored with the kid's preferred foods.  I work out about 4 days out of 7, if not more, and count calories, but hey, I'm over 40 and it's hard to get that weight off and keep it off.  My cholesterol could also be better.  Meli and I both love spicy foods from all sorts of ethnic backgrounds.

So I was thrilled when what I made last night pleased EVERYBODY.  I kept the veggies and the meat separate and didn't put any sauce on them, and served the sauce separately.  I didn't measure or write it down while cooking, sadly, but here's the gist.

• 1-2 cups rice
• 2 thick boneless pork chops
• 1 navel orange
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 small knob of fresh ginger, peeled
• 2 Tbs soy sauce
• 3 Tbs mirin
• salt
• 1 bell pepper, red or orange or yellow
• 1 small head broccoli
• 2 cups snow peas
• 1 Tbs sesame seeds
• 1 container shitake mushrooms
• Sesame oil and peanut oil

1. Start the rice cooking
2. Put the chops in a glass dish
3. Zest and juice the orange into the dish
4. Mince the garlic and ginger, add to the dish
5. Add the soy sauce and mirin and a pinch of salt per pork chop
6. Set the pork aside to marinate while you're preparing the rest
7. Heat a wok
8. Slice up the bell pepper into thin rounds
9. Break up the broccoli into flowers
10. Chop the mushrooms
11. When all the ingredients are prepped, add a splash of sesame oil and enough peanut oil to the wok for stir-frying...about 2-3 Tbs?
12. Add the bell pepper to the wok, stir-fry for about a minute
13. Add the broccoli, stir-fry for about 2 minutes
14. Add the snow peas and the sesame seeds, continue stir-frying until all the vegetables are crisp-tender
15. Transfer the vegetables to a serving dish and keep warm.
16. Add the mushrooms to the wok but keep them to the sides of the pan
17. While they sweat, remove the pork from the marinade and slice it somewhat thinly...about 1/2 inch slices.  Save the marinade in the dish.
18. Add the pork to the wok and stir-fry with the mushrooms until it's done, it should spring back when pressed.  About 5 minutes?
19. When it's done, put it into a serving dish
20. Pour the marinade into the wok and boil it for a minute, then transfer to a sauceboat.

Serve everything separate -- the carb-lovers get lots of rice, the kids who can't stand spice get fairly plain veggies that taste great because of the sesame oil and seeds, the sauce is amazingly good for those who can stand a little spice, everyone loves the pork which is juicy and tender and only very slightly flavored by the orange sauce, and since it's all cut up small not much went to waste.

Election day in North Carolina supper

I'm so nervous right now.

So, got up really early to walk over to our polling site with Ms. D.  We arrived at 6:25 AM and stood in the drizzle with our fellow voters.  It only took about 30 minutes -- we were voters 42 and 43.  So exciting to see a line.  I vote in every dang election, even the off-time issue elections, and am used to being the only one there.

After my walk home, I took a pork shoulder roast out of the fridge and rubbed it with a dry rub, put it in the Crock Pot and poured 1/2 cup of our friend R's secret BBQ sauce.  Turned it on low, went to work.

I called home at 5:30 and asked my Mom to put Farmer Fred's sweet potatoes into the oven.

Then, when I got home, I took some turnip greens and tatsoi from F.F., sauteed them in olive oil and garlic and stewed them for about 15 minutes.

The pork turned out just like traditional pulled pork!  I need to get some liquid smoke for next time.  We heard about this "cheater BBQ" on the Splendid Table this weekend, and it really works.

Ahhhhh.  An easy, balanced, very NC-centric meal.  Hub liked it so much he overate.

Back to watching the polls and worrying.

Pork Chops and Applesauce

Yes, that is a deliberate Brady Bunch reference. Served this tonight with Jaime Oliver's spicy squash, and both Hub and I drank the sauce from the plate. Seriously yum!

4 thick pork chops, bone in
1 tsp olive oil
6 med. Gala apples, peeled, cored and chopped coarsely
1 Tbs fresh thyme, chopped
1 lemon, zested and juiced
8 oz creme fraiche

• Heat a large frying pan that has a lid.


• Add the olive oil to the hot pan, swirl, then add the pork chops


• Sear the chops on each side, about 2 minutes a side


• Meanwhile, combine the rest of the ingredients except the creme fraiche in a bowl (or you could do that before even starting the chops, up to you)


• Lower the heat on the chops, and smother them with the apple mixture.


• Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the chops bounce back when pressed.


• Remove the chops to plates, add the creme fraiche to the apples in the pan and raise the heat


• Briefly (about 1 minute) boil the sauce to thicken it a bit...it will not be a thick sauce


• Pour the sauce on the chops, and serve

Mustard-Mushroom Pork Chops

I realize it has been awhile. Hopefully this represents a return to normalcy.

1 cup light sour cream
1 can cream of mushroom soup with roasted garlic
2 tsp oregano
1 Tbsp grainy dijon mustard
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
3 Tbsp flour
8 oz sliced mushrooms
1 lb thinly sliced pork loin chops (5)

• Preheat oven to 350


• Combine all ingredients except mushrooms and pork chops in a bowl


• Spread mushrooms evenly on bottom of 13x9 glass baking dish


• Layer pork chops on top of mushrooms, and cover with sauce


• Bake for 30 minutes

Serve with whole wheat rotini and steamed green beans. I think this time, I finally got this right...the sauce, when stirred up after baking, is exactly the right consistency. It was very easy and relatively quick. Hub loves any kind of sauce or gravy, and gave it a big thumbs up.

Ham and potato gratin

I did cook this week, Tuesday and Wednesday, but each time we didn't end up eating until after 8:00 pm, and then I pretty much went straight to bed...no time for blogging! I think we'll be able to work out a normal schedule, though.

More because this is the season of change and I'm re-discovering my Fall/Winter cooking bona fides, both of the dishes I did this week weren't quite right. But in the spirit of blogging, I'm going to go ahead and post them...and that way, when I try again, I can remember my mistakes and correct them.

2 cups Emmenthaler cheese, grated
1/2 onion, chopped
1/3 cup chopped parsley
1/3 cup breadcrumbs
2 Tbsp butter, melted
Fresh-ground black pepper
4 medium potatoes, sliced thinly (I use the slicing blade of a food processor)
1 1/4 cups chicken broth
4-5 slices ham (not very sugary, Virginia ham is nice), chopped
Dark green leaf lettuce

• Preheat oven to 385 or so? We did 350, and it wasn't hot enough.
• Butter a 13x7x2 glass baking dish
• Mix the breadcrumbs, parsley, black pepper and butter together
  
• Layer the ingredients, starting with potato, then onion, then cheese, then ham, then lettuce, then potato, then cheese, and finally the breadcrumb mixture.
• Pop in the oven and bake for something like 35 minutes?
  

Fig-Stuffed Pork Loin Roast

Today was a good day. I slept last night (having given in to the realization that Benadryl is simply necessary right now). I resigned my current job yesterday, and signed a contract for a very exciting new project. I had no contact with any of the excessively dramatis personae of my life today. I walked with Hub, played with Kiddo, started transferring my work.

And I cooked something really, really satisfying. In November, I won't be able to start a roast at 5:30, because I'll be in an office again. That will certainly be a change, one I'm more than ready for, as working from home has become lonely. Roasts will be weekend food again. Still, this one didn't take much time at all...

1 ¼ lb boneless pork loin roast
4 figs, sliced
1 bunch parsley, chopped
1 t kosher salt (Is it common knowledge that a small t is a teaspoon, and a large T is a Tablespoon? I learned that a long time ago when getting my cooking badge for Girl Scouts, but does everyone know it?)
½ t fresh ground pepper
1 T olive oil
1 cup water

1. Preheat the oven to 450°
2. In a small bowl, combine the sliced figs, 3 Tablespoons of the chopped parsley, the olive oil, the salt and pepper
3. Using a long, thin knife (like a slicing knife), pierce the roast lengthwise, running the knife down close to the hilt but making sure you don't get too near the outside circumference.
4. Do it again, making an X lengthwise down the roast.
5. Stuff the cavity with the fig/parsley mixture.
6. Roll the roast in the rest of the parsley, then put in a roasting pan. Top with any remaining parsley.
7. Add 1 cup water to the pan
8. Roast for 15 minutes
9. Reduce heat to 350°, roast for 40 minutes more or until a meat thermometer reads 150°.
10. Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

I served this with fried polenta (purchased, sliced, then fried in olive oil) and turnips and greens (frozen), so it was very easy. Kiddo opted for chicken nuggets, but that's not unusual. Really, they are just a ketchup delivery system. He did try a little polenta. Maybe if I let him put ketchup on everything, he'd eat more of my food?

"Asian" noodle soup

After making Carolina BBQ Ribs, you'll have a big pot of lovely broth left. Let it cool, then skim the fat off the top. Then have fun creating your own "Asian" soup - this is what we did on Sunday, but it all comes down to what we happen to have in the fridge and pantry.

3 Quarts broth
4 pork chops
2 inches fresh ginger, skinned and chopped
4 cloves fresh garlic, chopped
4 green onions (we happened to have the whole bulbs, not the green parts)
1 box rice noodles
2 hearts of Romaine, chopped
2 T hoisin sauce
2 T chile and garlic sauce

1. Simmer the broth
2. Add the ginger, garlic and green onions
3. Add the pork chops, cook gently for about 30 minutes
4. Remove the pork chops
5. Add the rice noodles and lettuce, cook for 5 minutes
6. Add the sauces
   
7. In the meantime, cut the pork chops from the bones, remove the fat and cube the meat.

Serve in big noodle bowls with chopsticks. If you have cilantro and lime, garnish away.

This is soooooo good. You can substitute about a million ways - using tofu or chicken for the protein, using actual bok choy or spinach for the greens, adding mushrooms, heck, you can even use angel hair instead of the rice noodles. The real key is the fresh ginger, I think.

Oh, and by the way...we threw this together as a quick meal before going to see Fiona Apple in concert last night. Kiddo really enjoyed the cubed pork and noodles, sans broth. And he enjoyed his first non-classical concert, too. The boy is destined to play in a band, I'm sure of it. After all, his mom did!

Carolina BBQ Ribs

Ms. C. called at about 10:00 am on Saturday, with the news that they were filling up the wading pool and doing a casual cookout at 5:00. This is not atypical, and really one of the best things about this neighborhood -- spontaneity.

We had picked up a couple of racks of ribs when at BJ's earlier in the week, so we decided that would be our contribution to the potluck. This is an all-day process, but not at all difficult. I can't be specific on some aspects of it...but here goes.

2 racks pork baby back ribs
1 onion
vinegar-based BBQ sauce, mixed up with some ketchup

1. Fill a very large stockpot (I use this one) half full of water. Add about 1 T salt.
   
2. Cut the ribs at every 2 ribs
3. Chop the onion coarsely
   
4. Simmer the ribs and onion in the water gently for 1 hour, basically until the house smells strongly of pork&onions.
5. Using tongs or a slotted spoon, remove the ribs from the water and put in a large container,
6. If you are so inclined, keep the broth for the next recipe.
   
7. Pour the sauce over - this is where I have to be vague. We have a good friend, Mr. R., who makes batches of the best vinegar-based Eastern North Carolina BBQ sauce that we've ever encountered. He has instructed us on how to combine it with ketchup, but beyond that, it's a secret recipe. We get batches by feeding him regularly. I would have to guess that it contains apple cider vinegar, red pepper flakes, whole peppercorns, lots of other spices...oh, heck, who knows? Find a BBQ sauce you like.
8. Fire up the grill, get it hot, then put the ribs over indirect heat.
9. Cook them over low, indirect heat for 2-4 hours, turning every 30-60 minutes or so.
   

The party was great fun. Everyone brought something, cooked or bought - including a cole slaw, potato salad, green salad, lots of chips/crackers and dips. Mr. M. grilled turkey dogs for the kids and set out bowls of popcorn and chips for them. For the adults (fed after the kids) they grilled a turkey breast and a pork loin that had both been marinated in teriyaki sauce. There were 2 coolers on the back porch - one for juice boxes and bottles of water, one for beer.

Out front there was the "wading" pool - a bit larger and deeper than your traditional plastic one - and lots of camp chairs for the adults to sit around and holler at kids from. Kiddo actually got completely wet (he tends to resist his head going under) and learned lots of bad splashing habits from the older boys -- at one point, they decided the best game was to soak me (the sole watching adult) and did a fine job of it.

We ended up closing out the night, as our Kiddo likes to stay up late, as do Ms. C and Mr. M's kids. The only downside of the evening was that Mr. J. cut his finger pretty badly on a bottle that didn't open properly, and Ms. H had to take him to the emergency room. He's OK, though.