Peanut Pork

It's a scorcher today in Bristol, so I am putting my slow cooker to good use. I have fallen so deeply in love with a new Peanut Chicken recipe (I've made it three times in the last month) that I decided to try it again today, but this time using pork as the meat.

I sliced up three boneless pork chops and added them to the slow cooker with about 2 cups of baby carrots and half of a large, white onion, cut in chunks. I did not use bell pepper this time. I made a sauce similar to the Peanut Chicken sauce -- soy sauce, curry paste, peanut butter (today I used chunky, not smooth). Instead of using lime juice and lime zest, I used orange juice and orange zest (that's what I had on hand!)

I also added a 4 ounce can of tomato sauce to the dish. The sauce seemed like it needed something and the tomato sauce seemed a good match. The house smells terrific. I am going to add peas and coconut milk about 30 minutes before the dish is finished, just like the Peanut Chicken recipe. I plan to serve this over rice and top each serving with roasted cashews (my husband prefers them to peanuts) and chopped cilantro from the herb garden outside.

Happy weekend, all. Enjoy the Memorial Day holiday tomorrow.

Best of the Best from Virginia

I recently pulled this old favorite off the shelf and started digging in. I received a copy of the Best of the Best from Virginia Cookbook from a lifelong friend and her mother back in 1993. I looked it up online this week and was surprised to see you could order a copy for five bucks.

Reading this book lets you take a mini-vacation across the commonwealth, since it features recipes from Norfolk and Virginia Beach, to Arlington and Abingdon. One of my favorite contributors is Tidewater on the Halfshell from the Junior League of Norfolk and Virginia Beach. For years this was my mother’s go-to gift. The recipes are triple tested and give a real flavor for that region of Virginia. I also enjoyed reading some offerings from St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Abingdon, Va.

The Best of the Best from Virginia Cookbook includes a terrific
Brunswick stew recipe. It is a bit of work, but if the weather stays as rainy and cool as it has recently, I plan to make it soon. Happy cooking, friends!

Grilled porkchops and au gratin potatoes

This is one of my favorite storebought marinades: KC Masterpiece Chipotle and Lime. After a couple of months of enjoying this marinade on beef, chicken and shrimp, I finished the bottle on Saturday. Its final gift was to season some boneless pork chops that then made their way onto the gas grill. My husband raved about the flavor; it was the best use yet for this versatile marinade.

I served the chops with some au gratin potatoes that I mixed up before heading outside to grill. This was an excellent pairing – cheesy, creamy potatoes with the spicy pork. And since the potatoes need about an hour to cook, I could focus on cooking outside for a bit.

Au gratin potatoes was one of my mother’s favorite and most common side dishes. They are easy, delicious and pair well with just about any meat or vegetable. As a kid, we jokingly called au gratin potatoes “old rotten potatoes.” OK, an old tired joke. But now, as back then, the recipe was devoured.

Au Gratin Potatoes

3-4 medium sized potatoes (I used three Russet and one Yukon gold), scrubbed and cut into thin slices
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1 cup grated Cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Put the sliced potatoes in a 2 quart casserole dish that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Arrange the potatoes evenly – sometimes I even fan them out in circles. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and blend in the flour. Using a whisk, blend in the milk. I usually add about half the milk, blend completely and wait for the sauce to thicken slightly, before adding the remaining milk. Add half the cheese and stir until melted completely. Season with salt and pepper.

Pour the cheese sauce over the potatoes, covering completely. Top with the remaining grated cheese. Cover the casserole dish with foil and bake in the 350 degree oven for 45 minutes to an hour. Remove the foil for the last 10-15 minutes so the top will brown.

After I grilled the pork chops and brought them inside, the potatoes still needed to tighten up and brown. I bumped the oven temp up to 400 for about 10 minutes and they were perfect. My husband is a huge fan. Making this dish is super simple and guaranteed to win raves. Add ham or leftover vegetables for a one-pot supper.

If you want to can, read this first

Many cookbooks include sections on food preservation -- home canning, freezing and drying. But if you aim to can food, you must start by reading this book: the Ball Blue Book, the complete book of home preserving. I cannot recommend this resource highly enough. It explains the steps for water bath canning (used for foods like tomatoes, fruits, pickles, jam, jelly and salsa) and for pressure canning (used for low acid foods, like green beans or meals you might want to can, like soups and stews).

I am likely to buy a new canner this year -- it has been 12 years, after all. But well maintained a cannner can last for a long time. And replacement seals for pressure canners are available.

For either method, you need canning jars, lids and rings; tongs and a jar lifter. I will describe the process for canning in future posts. Whether you are new to home canning, or a seasoned pro, take time to read up on canning basics in the Ball Blue Book, or with resources from your Cooperative Extension office. Proper technique will yield excellent results and guarantee safe eating of your creations.

Another Navy Bean Soup

The rain won't seem to quit in Bristol. So despite my excitement over farmers markets and fresh produce, I am making some cool weather comfort food to chase away the cold. I whipped this up this morning with ingredients I already had on hand.

Navy beans are one of my favorites for recipes in the slow cooker. They keep their shape over long, slow cooking and have a mild flavor that even the pickiest eaters (yes, I am talking about my youngest son) will enjoy.

Navy beans are commonly used to make baked beans or in cassoulet. This version of cassoulet calls for another white bean (Great Northern) but any white bean would do – navy, cannellini or others. Navy beans have long fed sailors -- they are inexpensive, easy to transport and can feed a crowd. Here is a Navy Bean Soup recipe from the Department of the Navy. And navy beans are the star of Senate Bean Soup, the dish offered daily at the Senate restaurant in Washington, D.C. The recipe is so simple and satisfying -- and only five ingredients -- that it’s no wonder that it is a perennial favorite.

Navy beans are a great source of protein and fiber and have been shown to help lower cholesterol. They have a high level of saponin, which are antibacterial and antifungal. In some tests, saponion has been shown to inhibit cancer cell growth.

I turn to navy beans for various soups and stews, including a creation I whipped up this morning in my slow cooker. It is an offshoot of a typical ham and navy bean soup, but I added Cajun sausage that I had in the freezer.

Another Navy Bean Soup

1 ½ cups navy beans; soak overnight and drain in morning
½ pound Cajun sausage, sliced into bite-sized pieces
1 cup diced ham
14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes with chipotle pepper
1 cup diced carrots
½ teaspoon dried oregano
6 cups water

Add the soaked and drained beans to a 6 quart slow cooker. Add the remaining ingredients and stir. You could add some diced onion, but I did not have any on hand this morning. Set cooker to low and cook for 8 hours.

Almost always, I serve hearty soups with rice. Cook one cup rice in two cups water. Yield is 3 cups (Remember 1+2=3)

State Street Farmers Market

I'm excited to visit the State Street Farmers Market tomorrow. It is located in Bristol (on the Tennessee side, near Kiln Time pottery) and offers an abundance of local produce, flowers, jams, honey, milk, meat and more.

Last year, I tried to visit at least once a week -- the market is open on Saturday mornings and Wednesday afternoons. Most towns have vibrant and interesting farmers markets; the one in Abingdon, Va. is especially good. And consider visiting smaller ones like the Norton Friends and Farmers Market (Tuesday afternoons) or the one in Glade Spring (Saturday morning at the town square).

For anyone who needs convincing, here are some benefits to buying produce at a local farmers market. Check it out -- and look for me at a local farmers market soon.

A hydrangea for Hannah

On a trip to a garden center over the weekend, my daughter spied a cluster of hydrangeas – most of them blooming. She was drawn to their bluish color and intrigued when I told her that they vary in color based on the composition of their soil. More acidic soil produces blooms that are blue (pH 5.5 and lower). A more alkaline soil produces blooms that are pink (pH 6.5 and higher). Soil with a pH between 5.5 and 6.5 will produce flowers that are purplish. (Yes, I had to look that up in my old Master Gardener book!)

Growing up in Norfolk, my parents planted hydrangeas in a row between the house and the driveway. They made a glorious bluish-purple display along the driveway, where we enjoyed them while roller skating. And once the blooms were spent and the plants died back, my dad would use lopers and cut them nearly to the ground. His actions taught me not to be afraid to perform serious pruning. Those hydrangeas always came back with robust foliage at least four feet tall.

On Mother’s Day, we bought one hydrangea plant, hydrangea macrophylla “bailmer,” and planted it at one corner of the house. Hannah was eager to dig the hole and slip the plant into the ground. It will get sun and shade from this spot -- a good location since many hydrangeas need partial shade to thrive.

There are many types of hydrangeas – they can produce large, rounded blooms; smaller, pom-pom sized blooms; elongated “spikes” (called panicles) and range in color from green, to white, to pink, blue and purple. One of my favorites is this white "oakleaf" variety.

Hydrangeas are generally reliable in zones 4-9, making them a gorgeous addition to most gardens. A great resource for hydrangeas, including blooms, climate, diseases and more, is the United States National Arboretum.