Sweating to Death Part 2: Ribs!

So I meant to post this mid-August but time ran away from me and here we are staring September in the face.  This recipe is perfect for summer because it involves no standing over hot appliances and has a prep time of maybe 15 minutes.  My apologies for not getting to it sooner, but I hope it's worth the wait! 

A hard thing for a girl to say goodbye to when you go primal is sugar, but I have to admit, I feel that I've done a fairly good job regarding how to get around the sweet treats addiction lately.  In fact by now everyone probably thinks all I do is eat desserts, which honestly doesn't offend me, but sadly is not true.  As a rule I always save my sugars for the good stuff, you know, cookies, cakes, chewy Sprees, and I try to be smart about it because all that sugar adds up to, well, fat.  My thinking is that I would much rather gain a pound from brownies and ice cream than because I ate too much glazed ham... makes sense, right?

There is, however, a plethora of other recipes which I enjoy that require the same sweet, sticky substance and are not at all dessert-related.  As a result of my "rule" I have been forced to either discard these recipes (which is better than deleting desserts) or find alternate ways of making them.  Unfortunately it's easier said than done.  Sugar has certain qualities that make it not only delicious but obnoxious to replace in non-baking environments.  You want to make a killer chicken teriyaki?  Sugar.  Make pizza dough?  Sugar.  Glaze those delicious chicken wings with a gooey, sweet sauce?  You get the idea.

This brings me to my point.  My mom gave me a recipe for pulled pork.  Great Rachel, thanks for sharing.  No really, do you KNOW how much sugar is in pulled pork?  Why do you think you drool when you eat it?  Kind of a cruel trick don't you think, naming something after a meat when it's more dessert than dinner?  Anyways, I usually don't like non-sugar pulled pork recipes but I decided to give this one a whirl.  I was craving (in a sad sort of way) a good pulled pork meal, and if my mom says it's good, chances are it's good.  So I headed to the store to buy a pork butt, or as I called it in my head "whatever all pork is the same", ready to make my first slow cooked pulled pork.

Really I had no idea what I was looking for.  I DID think all meat hunks were the same, but soon discovered how wrong I was.  So finally I had to ask a random lady at Trader Joe's (by ask I mean stalk in the meat aisle until I caught her attetion) what type of pork to buy.  She told me what I needed (of course they didn't have it), so I drove to Stop and Shop, repeating the name of the meat over and over in my head until I got to the meat section, looked up and down for EVER, got annoyed (I was hungry), and settled for ribs instead.  Yes mom I should have called you and yes EVERYONE ELSE I could have written it down but really would the story have been as good?

That was the end of my journey.  I am happy to report that upon my arrival home with said pork ribs I quite easily combined the ingredients, rubbed them onto the ribs, and plunked them down for a nice hot bath in my handy dandy crock pot.  Have I ever mentioned how much I love it?  The result was a meal that involved minimal sweating and lots of happiness when eating.  Enjoy!

Slow Cooked Ribs/Pulled Pork

(crock pot or slow cooker needed)

• 2.5 lbs boneless pork butt shoulder OR ribs
• 1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp cayenne
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup water

Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl, then rub over pork thoroughly coating all sides.  Add 1/2 cup water to the crock pot, then add meat on top.  Cook on low 6-8 hours or high 4-5.  I cut up a bell pepper and added them to the pot about halfway through the cook time as well.  Be VERY CAREFUL taking out the meat, it will fall off the bone.  I recommend using tongs and cooking some fresh corn from Deerfield, MA to make the meal complete :)

**thanks to my mom for the recipe!

Sweating to Death Part One: Vegetarian Friendly Dinner and Easy Desserts!

First of all, hello!  Sorry I haven't written in a while but this is the first day off for me since school ended.  Eric and I have been doing lots of driving, visiting, sweating, and traveling since the middle of June, and we are not done yet.  But with the end almost in sight I thought it was time to take a moment to share some new recipes with you.  Since we have been go go go-ing, and because it has been what I deem unnecessarily hot out, these recipes are all designed to be quick with minimal time spent standing over a hot stove sweating into your food.  I know... gross but true.

Yes I am aware I am complaining yet again, but really would my blog be complete without a little griping?  I often joke that New Englanders are the only people who can endure ridiculous temperature fluctuations and really never be happy with any of them.  I also recognize that it is slightly ironic to hate almost every season (I like fall!) yet also never want to leave the area that inflicts such suffering.  I love it here, even if I whine quite often, and I know most of my friends are the same way.  I could never give up the four seasons for somewhere warmer or more constant.  In fact if I REALLY think about it the biggest issue I have with summer in New England is trying to COOK on the humid, muggy, oppressive, constantly sweating even if I just lay here on the hardwood floor and barely breathe days.  It's not fun, and it makes me grumpy.

Many of you are thinking "Why not just grill?  That's what normal New Englanders do when it gets too hot,"  or "Turn on the AC, what is wrong with you?" I will tell you why not and what is wrong with me, and I promise to do it nicely.

1) Our grill is currently in our guest room sitting all shiny and new and waiting for a place to call home.  In fact I had planned at this point in the summer to be happily seated in a chair reclining on a sunny roof deck while ERIC grilled us dinner.  However the city of Boston had other plans and so our grill sits, reminding us of better days that didn't involve trying to cook indoors when it is 100 degrees outside.

2) I grew up with ceiling fans and cool forest breezes.  Air conditioning was unheard of in my house and only became a necessity when I got an apartment.  Now I am too cheap and lazy to buy the big one we need to cool our whole place properly while fighting off the heat from our skylights AND overcoming an oven or stove.  This is why I complain, and I feel okay with it.  Hypocritical maybe but it's more fun this way, right?  

Right, guys?

Okay, I could go on but I will spare you.  Long story short I have no grill and my AC is not strong enough to keep me cool while cooking.  The great thing about this is that I now have four recipes to share with you that are primal, delicious, and involve minimal sweating to make and consume.  I will warn you, many of them have measurements for your sake but I tend to just wing it, adding or subtracting based on the consistency, taste, and smell.  Obscure, I know, but such is the sacrifice when cooking under hot conditions in a half-starved state.

#1 Shrimp Tacos with Lettuce Wraps

(dinner and leftovers for two)

• 2 lbs shrimp, peeled, cut into small pieces
• 1/2 packet taco seasoning
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1/4 yellow onion, chopped
• few handfuls of baby spinach
• 1 avocado, diced
• romaine lettuce leaves, rinsed
• cheese of choice
• taco condiments of choice

Add a bit of olive oil to pan with onion.  Cook over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, then add shrimp and pepper.  When shrimp is just starting to turn pink (another minute or two) add taco seasoning with a tbsp or two of water and mix well.  Cook until shrimp is pink, adding a little water as needed so it doesn't burn but also doesn't get runny.  For last 30 seconds add spinach and mix in so it wilts.  Remove from heat.

 

You can eat it hot or wait until it chills.  Add shrimp, avocado, cheese, and other condiments to one leaf of lettuce, wrap like a taco or burrito, and messily eat away!  You will want napkins, but it is delicious.

#2 Pineapple Shrimp with Arugula

 

This follows the same ingredients as my Shrimp Scampi, but with two additions.  Add chopped pineapple to the pan about 3 minutes before the shrimp is done and a handful of arugula 30 seconds before turning off pan.  You can serve this over more arugula or lettuce or spinach OR over some rice.  Again great chilled or hot and very easy to make!

#3 Strawberry Ice Cream

(thanks to my mom for the idea!)

• 1 package frozen Trader Joe's strawberries
• 1-2 cups heavy cream

I promise you DO NOT need sugar for this.  Start with one cup heavy cream plus 1/2 bag strawberries (or other berry) in blender.  Try to blend it.  The two ingredients should firm up to an ice cream consistency.  If too loose add more strawberries, if too hard (aka won't blend) add more cream.  You need to FREEZE it not eating right away, but please eat a little bit when you are done because it is just so freaking good! 

#4 PB/Almond Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp agave
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup almond butter Beat until well blended and cookie dough consistency
• chocolate chips

Beat eggs and agave (I use my food processor).  Add all other ingredients except chocolate chips and blend again until cookie dough consistency.  Transfer to bowl and mix in chocolate chips.

Portion out onto cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Press crosswise with a fork (or just smush down if you are lazy like me).  Bake at 350 for 6-8 minutes, they will be DONE by 8 minutes, no more.  Let cool and eat with a big, cold glass of milk OR crumble over your ice cream!

That's it for today... time to go sweat, I mean enjoy the sunshine.

*These have all been R & E originals