|
Post by nana on May 28, 2017 19:37:34 GMT -5
So we finally have a weekend with two non-rainy days in a row, and it's a holiday to boot. I've had so many things to do I can't think straight. I divided a lot of my poor perennials for the library plant sale that are still not back in the ground because it's been so wet I can't get a load of compost delivered. I technically could have planted frost tender things like tomatoes and cucumbers 2 weeks ago, because we didn't have a frost, but I figured with the cold damp weather we were having it would have slowed them down so, it wouldn't have been wise. But it's all in now. I finally got to weed out all that cilantro and dill. Thank you Chambers oven for drying it so nicely for me. The burn ban is over, so we finally had a fire in the outback to get rid of raspberry canes, and all the brushy twiggy junk that accumulates over the winter. And my daughter wanted to have a family picnic today (Sunday) for Memorial Day. I didn't have time to take a shower and I'm supposed to cook something fabulous? Here's what you do: Saturday night after working like a serf all day, take one pork shoulder, and add one Thermowell. Rub the shoulder with spices, and let it sit for a bit, then sear it in a thermowell kettle. Add a 1/2 cup of water, put it in the well and put the gas on for as long as it takes you to run to the bathroom and brush your teeth, then turn it off and go to bed. Wake up the next morning, run the gas for another minute or two, then turn it off and go slave in your garden some more. At around 4:00 in the afternoon, take the pork out, shred it with two forks, put it back in its liquid to stay nice and juicy, and bring it over at 5;00 with some rolls and barbecue sauce. Yeah, that's right. I made the best pulled pork you ever tasted on 7 minutes of gas. Boo-ya! Here it is. You'll have to imagine how good it smelled!
|
|
|
Post by vaporvac on May 29, 2017 10:16:46 GMT -5
Wow! They just keep on giving, don't they? Just when I think I've figured it all out, there's some new way to use it. I hope you dinner is a success.... maybe you'll win a few converts. : )
|
|
|
Post by nana on May 29, 2017 18:11:05 GMT -5
It was a success! Someone who said they normally didn't like pulled pork (weird, right?) tried it and had a nice heaping helping of it. Everyone else just chowed down. For me the best part was how easy it was and how little work and energy was expended to do it. As long as you can remember to plan ahead, a big "if" in my case, you can't go wrong with the thermowell.
|
|
|
Post by evangeline on May 29, 2017 18:29:42 GMT -5
Oh, Glory Nana! Wowza. Got to try that.
Made ham & cheese crepes for guests, did the same w/fingerling potatoes and beets. Chucked them in the well overnight. Perfect. But beets just ain't the same as pulled pork. ;-D
|
|
|
Post by nana on May 30, 2017 13:54:00 GMT -5
Truer words were never spoken, Evangeline. But beets and potatoes are nice too. Ham and cheese crepes ain't too shabby either!
|
|
|
Post by evangeline on May 30, 2017 22:00:03 GMT -5
Ha. Regarding beets. Stop me if I've told this story already. Had friends over for dinner, made a complicated roasted squash lasagna and trimmings. Cooked all day. Thought dessert should be light. Found some Berry and Rhubarb popsickles at Whole Foods. Bingo! The first guest who gave hers a lick said, um. Is this a vegetable? I looked on the box. True, it said in small print 'fruit and vegetable' mix. But the name was Berry and Rhubarb. Someone else tasted and said, uh oh. I taste beets. Sure enough, beets were the fifth or sixth ingredient.
No one finished their dessert.
|
|
|
Post by nana on May 31, 2017 20:31:17 GMT -5
Not what they were looking for in an after dinner sweet? Oh well, you can't win 'em all!
Funny thing about beets. They are actually quite tasty, and can be prepared a number of ways, but no one ever seems excited about them. No one ever says, "Oh boy, beets again!!" Unless they're being sarcastic. They're the Rodney Dangerfield of the vegetable garden.
|
|
|
Post by mach12 on May 31, 2017 21:04:00 GMT -5
I didn't care for beets until after I was married. The first time my wife made them I couldn't believe how good they were. She cooks them using the same spices and stuff as when you are canning pickled beets but just cooks them in a small covered pan. Man they're good.
|
|
|
Post by Chuckie on Jun 2, 2017 8:54:17 GMT -5
I didn't care for beets until after I was married. The first time my wife made them I couldn't believe how good they were. She cooks them using the same spices and stuff as when you are canning pickled beets but just cooks them in a small covered pan. Man they're good. I've loved them ever since I was a kid, and the Indian lady up the alley "Granny Rose" used to pickle them-- YUM!!! Here's a link to our favorite beet recipe--Harvard Beets. Decided to post under its own heading so it didn't get "lost"... chamberscommune.proboards.com/thread/2894/harvard-beetsCHEERS! Chuckie
|
|
|
Post by nana on Jun 2, 2017 12:59:11 GMT -5
Well, that recipe seems easy! I will try it as soon as my beets get big enough. We like them in a roasted root vegetable medley in winter, but this seems like it would be good for summer too.
|
|
|
Post by dwayner2 on Jun 2, 2017 18:47:44 GMT -5
I grew up on pickled beets too and love them. This popped up while I was searching for that Asparagus soup recipe and think I'll have to try it one day. stylishspoon.com/2016/12/29/recipe-beet-pancakes-creamy-yogurt-dill-sauce/#sthash.5XzYGtg7.EHNt8JRX.dpbsMy all-time hands-down favorite veggie is Fried Cauliflower Patties. Chop up the cauliflower but not too fine, add in 1-2 eggs, salt and pepper and enough flour to make a chunky batter. Fry over med heat....Mmmmm! You can do the same with your favorite squash or even kohlrabi.
|
|
|
Post by mach12 on Jun 2, 2017 21:00:19 GMT -5
My wife doesn't follow an exact recipe since she's a "little of this, little of that" type of cook but when I wanted to make some beets while I was working in Egypt she gave me the instructions below. I cheated on the sugar a bit and used more but that's how it's done over there. I just put them in a pan and simmered them while the chicken was cooking and didn't really pay a lot of time to how long they cooked. The gas ranges there generally have a rotisserie in the oven so on days we worked in the office (which was in my apartment) I'd do a chicken or two and some classic American sides of some sort. My team was all Egyptian, so they loved office days and the food that came with it. They liked the beets so much that one of the guys typed the recipe in Arabic and gave everyone copies to take home to their wives.
Here's the way she told me to do them (amounts are per can of beets): Using canned beets, pour off half of the beet juice from the can, put the beets in a pan, and then pour in cider vinegar until beets are covered. Then add about a teaspoon of sugar, ½ tsp cinnamon, a dash of cloves and a dash of allspice. Heat just to boiling and then simmer until done.
|
|
|
Post by mach12 on Jun 2, 2017 21:15:25 GMT -5
I grew up on pickled beets too and love them. This popped up while I was searching for that Asparagus soup recipe and think I'll have to try it one day. stylishspoon.com/2016/12/29/recipe-beet-pancakes-creamy-yogurt-dill-sauce/#sthash.5XzYGtg7.EHNt8JRX.dpbsMy all-time hands-down favorite veggie is Fried Cauliflower Patties. Chop up the cauliflower but not too fine, add in 1-2 eggs, salt and pepper and enough flour to make a chunky batter. Fry over med heat....Mmmmm! You can do the same with your favorite squash or even kohlrabi. Wow - That recipe looks good! I'll bet the yogurt sauce is good with a lot of other stuff too. Like on baked potatoes, or add some sweet relish and it'd make a good tartar sauce and so on. I'm going to have to play with that.
Zucchini squash grows like weeds here so we always grow a lot of it and what we don't eat fresh gets shredded and frozen and added to just about everything. I make patties real similar to your cauliflower patties with zucchini but never thought to try it with cauliflower. That'll be changing shortly!
|
|
|
Post by nana on Jun 3, 2017 7:28:12 GMT -5
FYI Mach12, zucchini grows like weeds EVERYWHERE! Alas 'tis true--no matter how much of a veggie lover you are, everything always tastes so good when fried....I will definitely try the beet pancakes, and the cauliflower/zucchini ones too, but call them fritters so as to avoid the inevitable snide remarks from dear hubby that "These aren't pancakes--where's the syrup?" To bring this back around, these would all be great side dishes with the pulled pork!
|
|
|
Post by nana on Jun 3, 2017 7:32:32 GMT -5
It just occurred to me that when I go to try out these recipes, I will never remember where to find them. Please help out the poor old lady and post them under the appropriate recipe headings? Pretty please??
|
|
|
Post by Chuckie on Jun 4, 2017 8:55:36 GMT -5
It just occurred to me that when I go to try out these recipes, I will never remember where to find them. Please help out the poor old lady and post them under the appropriate recipe headings? Pretty please?? ...that's why I posted the beet recipe under it's own heading, and THEN just posted the LINK back to it. I, too, have gotten frustrated more than once over postings like this that have "hidden" recipes in the middle of an unrelated post that are otherwise IMPOSSIBLE to find! CHEERS! Chuckie
|
|
|
Post by dwayner2 on Jun 8, 2017 23:37:09 GMT -5
OK. I did post the Butternut Squash Soup but will post Mom's Cauliflower Patties....uh, fritters.
|
|