Carnitas New Year!

New Years Resolution #1: Post more recipes

It's New Years Eve and I thought I'd close out 2012 with one final recipe and some resolutions for 2013.

New Years Resolution #2: Go to kickboxing regularly

In addition to ditching dairy this year, I've also been flirting a lot with Paleo eating for about the last 6 months. For those not familiar with Paleo I recommend going here and here to learn what it's all about.

A lot of the Paleo-holics also do Cross Fit. I have not yet gotten into Cross Fit mostly due to the expense. It's the "it" thing right now and so gyms here in Seattle charge upwards of $125/month or more that I've seen. However, I have started kickboxing and Muy Thai fusion classes. These are a great workout to pair with my dino chow. Whatever works best for you, Paleo goes great with a regular workout routine.

The recipe below is almost Paleo, except I used white rice to get rid of some that was sitting around in my pantry. I fully intend to eat the left overs in butter lettuce cups as recommended in the awesome original recipe from one of my favorite Paleo blogs, PaleOMG.

New Years Resolution #3: Add more color to my diet

I was born in the year of the Rat, but that doesn't mean I have to eat the same boring brown pellets all the time. I noticed that a lot of the food I made this year had a few of the same colors, and a usually that added up to a lot of brown and green. This first recipe uses red cabbage so I am getting started right with a shock of purple!

Crockpot Carnitas

Without further ado, here is the recipe with a few of my own modifications:

 

Ingredients

• 2-2.5 lb pork shoulder roast (Pro tip: This cut was called the "picnic" at the Farmer's Market I went to.)
• 1 yellow onion, quartered
• 8 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 1 lime, juiced and zested
• 1 orange, juiced and zested
• ½ cup broth (I used chicken and it worked great)
• ½ teaspoon chili powder
• ½ teaspoon cumin
• cilantro (several sprigs if fresh, 1 teaspoon if dried)
• salt and pepper, to taste

For the top

• 1 head of purple cabbage, sliced to thickness preference
• Lime wedges
• Cilantro

Instructions

1. Add your pork ingredients to the crockpot. (Don't trim any of the fat off of the pork until after it's done cooking for a richer flavor. Rub the dry seasonings directly on the pork so they will best flavor the meat.)
2. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. (8 hours was perfect for a 2.5 lb shoulder)
3. Once pork is done cooking, shred it.
4. Top the pork with shredded purple cabbage, lime juice, and cilantro and dig in!

This is the gift that keeps on giving since you'll have plenty to eat for a few meals to come.  Happy New Year everyone!

Put salsa on EVERYTHING!

I made salsa for a little work shindig lately and it was overwhelmingly well received. The recipe is now highly sought after and I promised to share. Time to resurrect the ol' blog!

I have also started cleaning out my diet and a lot of sauces, dips, spreads, and condiments have been sent packing as I slowly move towards a mostly Paleo diet (still very dairy free). Salsa is a guilt free, dairy-less, flavor packed, and versatile "condiment" that can be used in pretty much every diet. I mean unless you have an allergy to one of the ingredients and even then it's not hopeless since there are so many ways to adapt salsa.

To celebrate my salsa love here is the quick and dirty recipe for traditional salsa.

• 4 medium to large tomatoes, cubed

• 1/2 of one small to medium onion, cubed (I like less onion, but if you are an onion fan I don't recommend going over a 1 onion to 3 tomato ratio for flavor balancing reasons)

• Juice from 1 whole lime (roll this with the palm of your hand a couple of times before you cut into it and it will be even juicier)

• 2 cloves garlic, quick minced

• 1 or 2 handfuls of fresh cilantro leaves, quick chopped or whole is fine

• 3 Tablespoons worth of pickled jalepeno slices, quick chopped

• Salt, garlic powder, pepper (to taste)

If you have a food processor, toss all these goodies in and pulse puree till you get the consistency you prefer. Or if you are sans this kitchen gadget and short on funds at the moment, just do a better chopping job while preparing all of these ingredients and mix up 'em up. 

I recommend putting the salsa in the fridge for at least 1 hour before eating, although overnight is best. I know it will be hard to resist, but if you let it rest everything blends together and tastes even better.

Enjoy!

New Years Day Okra

Here's a quickie post so I can save my first recipe of 2012. It was simple, but super delicious.  Warning, you have to like okra!

Ingredients

• 3 bacon slices 
• 1 (16 oz) package frozen sliced okra
• 1 (14.5 oz) can chopped tomatoes 
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 cup frozen corn 
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 teaspoon mixture of garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, salt & pepper

Preparation

1. Cook bacon until crisp; remove and drain on paper towel. Crumble bacon, and set aside.
2. Add bacon drippings to Dutch oven on medium-high heat. Add onion, sweat for 1 minute.
3. Add okra, tomatoes, corn, water, and seasonings. Cook on medium-high heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Top with crumbled bacon. Serve over rice, if desired.