Pork Verde

I come from a somewhat large family, 4 kids, I have 2 sisters and one brother.  Now those of you who come from a similar family understand that over time there become roles that everyone dutifully plays in the household.  When it came time to cook one of my sisters was always right there helping out, when it came time to do the dishes I was always bellied up to the sink.  My brother was generally off working with my dad during these times so he somehow always got out of it.  My other sister conveniently had to "go to the bathroom" during cooking or cleaning and would then disappear.  Over the years these roles solidified and were rarely altered.  So it came as a surprise to my family when I started cooking, it was even more surprising when the food actually tasted good.  Now imagine how surprised they were when I told them about this blog.  So today's recipe, for my family's pleasure and yours is pork verde, slow cooked in a 2 quart crock pot.

You will need:
a small boneless pork roast (I bought a larger one and cut it into several smaller pieces to use later)
a carrot
a celery stalk
frozen corn (as much or as little as you want)
1 (10 oz.) can green enchilada sauce
1/2 (15 oz.) can black beans
fresh minced cilantro
brown rice (as much or as little as you like)

Cut up the celery and carrot and put in 2 quart crock pot with everything else except the rice and stir.  I put my crock pot on high heat and cooked for a 2.5- 3 hours.  You could also put it on low and let it cook all day.  The longer your roast cooks the more tender and juicy it will be.  I like when it's falling apart!  When you are about 45 minutes away from eating cook your brown rice according to packaged directions.  When the rice is done put some of your roast on top and pour some of the sauce w/ beans and veggies on top and ENJOY!  Sorry I didn't take a picture of this dish, after smelling it cooking for a few hours I couldn't wait to just eat it.  I am however putting a pic of me as a 2 year old, "washing the dishes" at my play kitchen... just more proof that my role in the family was played at the kitchen sink.

Megan S.

Garbage disposal

Sorry sorry sorry.  And sorry a few more times.  We didn't forget about you all.  We're just in a transition phase and are a bit disorganized.   But we're back!  And ready to post lots for you to cook.  Don't worry Heather, Megan will throw up a good one next!  :)

So, back in the day (high school), I had a bit of a nickname.  Wait wait wait.  Don't be thinking that kind of stuff.  I was a good kid.  My friends called me the garbage disposal cause I ate anything.  Inevitably, someone didn't finish all of their lunch.  So I swooped in to take care of business.  I miss the days before my metabolism slowed.  Anyhow, Smith allllways got Pizza Hut breadsticks, which happen to be one of my weaknesses.  I distinctly remember that there were always three and for some reason completely unknown to me she could only ever eat 1.5 or 2 of them and that was enough to fill her up.  So then it was my turn to take care of bidness.

So, anyways, this really does correlate to my recipe in a rather roundabout way.  Ok, see, I was called the garbage disposal and this recipe is called garbage disposal quinoa.  Or trainwreck, whichever you prefer.  Both could probably relate to me but I suppose that's a story for another day.

You will need the following:

1/2 cup quinoa
1 cup water
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 of an onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons italian seasoning
1 veggie bouillon cube
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup toasted sunflower seeds

So, here's the beauty of this recipe.  It's designed to clean out your refrigerator!  So, if you have any other veggies that you think would be lovely in this toss 'em in!  Broccoli or cauliflower would be awesome.  If you're a squash person, toss it in!  Go nuts.

 Soak your quinoa.  Trust me on this.  I've forgotten before and it's gross.  See my recipe for quinoa enchiladas if you've forgotten how that process works.  Bring water to a boil.  Add quinoa, bouillon cube, italian seasoning, and cayenne pepper.  In the meantime, saute onion and garlic in heated olive oil.   Once the onion becomes translucent add to the quinoa mixture.  Cover and boil until the water is absorbed.  Give it a good stir and toss in the sunflower seeds.   Mix in parmesan cheese and serve!

I like to eat this with a big fat salad.  It's a great go to when you think you've run out of food or you have stuff you need to use up before it goes bad. 

Enjoy with a nice cold beer!  I can't believe I even said that...

Megan J

A lesson in modification

Alright spinsters.  If you're like me you think cookbooks are freaking awesome.  I love to flip through them and check out pictures and pick and choose what I want to cook next.  So, recently, I found a delicious sounding creamy tomato soup recipe in my new favorite cook book, Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero.  I read through it and thoroughly drooled over the ingredients and thought to myself how amazing it sounded.  Then I looked at the portions.  6 cups of vegetable broth?  You trying to feed an army here or what?  Then I looked and realized it serves 8. No, huh uh.  Here's what the recipe called for:

2 tbps olive oil
1 med onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt
lots of freshly ground black pepper
1 lb yukon gold potatoes (cut into chunks)
1 c sun dried tomatoes (not the kind in oil!)
6 c veggie broth or water
1 28 oz can fire roasted tomatoes
juice of 1/2 a lemon

So, in addition to being one little person I'm also a bit cheap and lazy.  Normally I would go get fresh herbs and love 'em but I couldn't muster going to the store right after school got out.  Seriously, 3:30pm at Smiths is a nightmare.  Trust me.  So, I decided to fly by the seat of my pants and this is what I came up with:

2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp italian seasoning
a dash of salt
some fresh-y pepper (get the reference?)
2 small yukon gold potatoes, cut into small chunks
1/2 c sundried tomatoes
1 can veggie broth
1 regular sized can fire roasted tomatoes
 lemon juice (as much as I feel like!)

So start by taking a soup pot and put it on medium heat with the olive oil in the bottom.  Add onions and cook until they're translucent.  Add the garlic, herbs, salt, and pepper.  Saute for another minute.

 Add the potatoes and sundried tomatoes and veggie broth.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Simmer on medium heat until potatoes are tender.  Add the canned tomatoes and set aside so it can cool.  Once it's a reasonable temperature put it in your food processor, blender or whatever you have.  As my awesome cookbooks says - "Puree the living hell out of it until it is very smooth".  Then add as much lemon juice as tastes good.  I served mine with some bread cause honestly, who doesn't love bread and soup together?

Please bear in mind that any recipe can be modified for one, spinsters.  It's all about creativity.  I doubt my soup tasted exactly how it was supposed but I thought it was tasty and really, that's what matters.  Don't worry if you don't follow things exactly.  It's ok!  And if you fuck it up, oh well.  Lesson learned.


Good luck experimenting and cook on!  
Megan J


ps - look what I did today!  You know you're jealous :)