UTICA GREENS

http://www.familycookbookproject.com/recipe/2504212/utica-greens.html
http://www.upstateramblings.com/utica-greens-recipe

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/guy-fieri/turning-greens-recipe.html#!

vegan variety

http://reciperenovator.com/utica-greens-escarole-peppers-bacon/
http://ourfourforks.com/utica-greens/
https://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=205598


So, my challenge was to make the greens for both vegetarians and traditional tastes.
I cut the bitter stalks out of the Escarole and clipped up the rest with a scissors.  Then I blanched the greens for 3 minutes.
I chopped red pepper, onion, bits of a tofu based ham like bacon, a bit of crushed red pepper, and sautéed it in coconut oil and a bit of olive oil.  I added a bit of tarragon and a good amount of garlic, using this organic garlic grinder.  I'd have been liked fresh garlic, but found I was out.  I added a bit of turmeric and black pepper. 
I hand grated a fine piece of Romano that I found at Honest Weight.  I tasted a few.  This was absolutely the best.  For the parmesan I used flaked. 
All of it got mixed together and put in a large cast iron frying pan.  I added my homemade veggie juice.  This batch was a little sweet because I'd boiled some banana and apple with the usual veggie scraps.  I thought that would offset the bitterness of the escarole without my adding sugar.

On the side I snipped up a bunch of prociutto and fried it in olive oil.  This could be added to the dishes of those who eat meat.

The whole thing went over pretty well.  Key I think was the Romano and I don't have the brand name.  I'll have to get it.  I did not use tomato, but I might next time, a few halves of a grape tomato.  Elizabeth is not eating tomato just now. 

Cucumber salad

CUCUMBER SALAD IN A JAR
7 large dills, pickling cucumbers unpeeled sliced thin
1 1/2 cup sliced onions
1 1/2 cup sliced red peppers
1-tbsp salt
1-cup white vinegar
2-cups sugar (or stevia)
1-tsp celery seed
1-tsp mustard seed
Mix cucumbers, onions, peppers and salt in one bowl and set aside
Put vinegar, sugar, celery seed and mustard seed in a cooking pot and bring to a boil
Remove from heat and let cool for one hour before pouring over cucumber mixture
Pour mixture over vegetables
Put in jars and store in refrigerator
Will keep up to 2 months
Makes 2 quart jars
Enjoy!

sweet potatoe

Cut potato into pieces and put in glass bowl
Use sweet veggie juice made with some fruit scraps
Add ginger
Add sugar free maple syrup

Microwave until potato pieces are soft.

Mash everything so the potato absorbs the liquid.

Yum

Slow cooker pork

I can't find what I did with this cheap cut of pork from Miller's, but I found it again at 99 cents a pound and bought enough for four meals.

5/26/16

Browned the pork in a pan.  Put it in the bottom of the slow cooker on top of some olive oil.
Added bits of potato, mushroom, red pepper, garlic and vadalia onion all cut up.  Also a couple handfuls of organic power mix greens.

Spiced with Herbs de Provence
Black Pepper
turmeric

Poured over it all a jar full of homemade veggie juice and two boxes of organic mushroom gravy.

Slow cooked in slow cooker on high.  The vegetables were done before the meat started to fall apart so maybe I should just cook the pork for a couple hours and then add in the vegetables. 

3 hours and I opened and stirred it.  I took out the meat and it cut easily into pieces.  Popped it back in the stew and everything was ready and tasty.  E liked it as well.
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April 2017

Had a fairly large chuck of pork with some bone.  I browned it in a cast iron pan, turning it, and then put it solo in the slow cooker with this Greek seasoning mix, garlic, pepper, one box of mushroom gravy, a small jar of veggie juice and half an onion. 
I cooked it high for 30 minutes and then on low while I went into Albany, about four hours. 
I took it out, discarded a couple slices of fat, sliced off the pork, and put it back in the slow cooker with small red potato, more white onion and mushrooms.  I did not have carrots except for a few left from out trip.  I missed them.
I probably had not needed much veggie juice,  The pan was pretty full of tasty liquid. 
I cooked it on high for about two to three hours and we had a fine meal. 
I missed not putting it on some good crusty bread or eating more than one, small potato. 

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July 2017
This time I had a huge and thick piece of pork, perhaps 4 inches thick.  I thawed it for the most part in the microwave.  Then I browned it in a fry pan with olive oil. I turned it and poked in with the paring knife some wedges of fresh garlic.  Turned it again and repeated.
Then I put just the meat in the slow cooker
in at 11 AM

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June 2020
This time the shoulder was too large for the slow cooker, so I browned it and put it in the oven.  I started it at 350,  then went down to 200   in the large granite covered pan.  I had to take an oven rack out for it to fit.

Very frustrating!

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August 28, 2020

The piece of pork shoulder was small compared to other times.  99 cents a pound.  

I browned it in oil with some lamb fat left from cooking breakfast ground lamb.

I put veggie juice in the slow cooker and added the browned pork.  I spiced it with

Trader's Joe's Salute

Black Pepper

Turmeric

California garlic

About midway through I turned it over.

Cooked on high for about 10 hours.  It fell apart and was very tasty, the best I remember.  The juice made a find au jus.

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September 20 2020

Browned the piece on both sides and put it in the slow cooker with veggie juice.  Covered it with olive oil and added california garlic, saltute 21 and black pepper.

The cover did not fit on perfectly.  The piece was too thick.  However, it cooked up well.

It made a fine gravy.

The chunk of meat was itself more fatty than what I had in the past.  Still, it was tasty.

January 4 2020

Another large piece, but positioned with fat up.

browned the piece in the large cast iron kettle.  

Put it in the cooker and added onion flakes, garlic, pepper, and some trader joe's.

Also put in some oil and some veggie juice.

I sliced the pork so I could rub the dry spices into crevices and then lightly basted with the liquid.  Covered, and cooked.

The liquid took over.  I had to use a turkey baster to pull off some of it as it was threatening to overflow the crock.  Probably this was in large part due to the large cut of meat that did not leave much space.

I cooked it longer than others and it did assume the texture of pulled pork.  There is very little bone on this piece, but I'll use the juices tomorrow to make black eyed peas.

recipe for stain removal

http://www.metaspoon.com/grease-oil-stains-removal-trick/?fb=1017M1n1d5565tB&utm_source=1017M1n1d5565tB

Instapot lentil soup (also chana cal)

http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-ethiopian-style-spinach-amp-lentil-soup-228717#recipe

Making veggie broth from scraps

http://ohmyveggies.com/how-to-make-vegetable-broth-with-kitchen-scraps/