Sunday, November 22, 2015

Picnic roast



The good folks in north Idaho kindly raised us another pig.  The fire season was such that there was some concern these critters would wind up as bacon well before they made it to the butcher.  Luckily, this was not their fate.  

We're making pulled pork for the holiday out of this 6 pound picnic shoulder.  We rubbed it with cumin, coriander, black pepper, mustard powder, chile powder, salt and brown sugar and let it rest half a day before roasting it for 4 hours in a 300 degree oven.  It'll be decent with a bit of sauce and slaw.

Field greens


We went out to the farm today and gleaned some of the stunted, frosted-over greens from the field: tatsoi, arugula, dill, mizuna.  They made for a spicy, chewy salad that went perfect with a gooey grilled cheese.  

Saturday, November 21, 2015

In the stock pot


I love making stock- to have the pot bubbling away on a quiet weekend day.  It fills the house with fragrance and much needed moisture.  Some pork bones from the freezer, veggies, aromatics, whatever happens to be around.  The finished product usually goes in the freezer to be used weeks later.  Invariably I forget to thaw it out ahead of time and end up having to wait while it bobs in a hot water bath.  

Monday, November 16, 2015

Fratesi Bros.

Tired of gas stations that only serve corn dogs and jojos?  





Soft shelled crab sammy with remoulade?  That's my kind of filling station. Fratesi Brothers sits along hwy 82 in the Mississippi Delta about midway between Greenville and Indianola.  It's a busy place on a Saturday.






Saturday, November 14, 2015

Kegging Cream

We kegged 10 gallons of cream ale today.  The weather was excellent.  One more week and it should be ready to drink.  



Sunday, November 8, 2015

Log o' meat

Pork hock, shoulder, chicken livers and herbs put to good use in this country pate'.  We ground everything but the braised hock which provided a nice textural chew in the loaf.