Traditional Pork Chops

Traditional Pork Chops

Years ago, pig farmers started raising their pigs on leaner foods, creating leaner pork.  That changed the taste of many pork products to taste drier than they did in the 1950s and 1960s.  Because of that, your grandmother's pork recipe may not taste as good as when she made it.  On top of that, people who write the recipe books started revising their recipes to include less fat and suddenly pork chops have become almost inedible.  But there are a couple of things you can do to avoid those pitfalls.   First, use a brine to soak your pork chops before you cook them.  That helps with the leaner meat.  Second, use an age old recipe like this one, cooked in the traditional way using bacon fat and a cast iron pan.

5-6 pork chops - either bone in or boneless tenderloin or sirloin cuts.
1/2 C salt
1 1/2 C water
4-5 slices bacon
blackening seasoning - of if you don't have any blackened seasoning, here's a simple recipe for that:
1 T paprika
1 T garlic powder
1 T onion powder
1 T dried thyme
1 t ground black pepper
1 t cayenne pepper
1 t dried basil
1 t oregano
Combine these and keep in an airtight container with holes in the top for sprinkling, you'll use about 1 T of this.






Stir salt into cold water and pour over pork in a gallon sized zip top bag.  Set in a container (in case it leaks) in the refrigerator for 2-8 hours.  Don't leave this longer than that, the pork will absorb too much salt and end up salty (I've made this mistake before).
Drain, rinse and pat the pork chops dry.







Cook the bacon in the cast iron pan and remove leaving the bacon fat (have the bacon for breakfast tomorrow or use in quiche recipe posted earlier).  Leave the fat in the pan, sprinkle the pork, both sides with blackened seasonings and brown 3-4 minutes on each side.

Drain the excess fat (you may want to keep it, it's great for cooking in) and add 1/2 C water, cover and cook until the pork is completely done on the inside (either use a meat thermometer or just cut one open and check for pink).



Serve with the mock mashed potatoes (mashed cauliflower from the last post) and veggies. - See top picture.

Traditionally, you would make a "country gravy" by adding 2 T flour to the bottom of the pan after removing the pork chops, then 1 C of milk, stirring and scraping up the bottom bits.  But I haven't seen a good substitute for country gravy.  :(

Garlic Mashed Cauliflower (Mock Mashed Potatoes)

Garlic Mashed Cauliflower

 Years ago I tried mashed cauliflower (mock mashed potatoes) in a restaurant and they were AWFUL!  I decided then and there never to order them again.  But years later I was told a recipe that a friend swore was actually good, so I tried it myself.  And lo and behold - they really DO taste good, and very much like real mashed potatoes.  I think the difference may be the cream cheese.  Sorry - those of you who are both dairy AND gluten intolerant, but the dairy does seem to make a big difference in this dish.

1/2 large head cauliflower, cut into chunks
1 T cream cheese
1/2 t minced garlic
1 t chicken bouillon (I use the paste kind you keep in the refrigerator)

Steam the cauliflower either on the stove or in the microwave for around 10 minutes or until it's way past overdone - seriously, make it very mushy.  Drain well (cauliflower will tend to be more liquid than regular mashed potatoes, so drain it as much as possible), then put in a large food processor.  Add the other ingredients and process with the blade, pulsing until all the florets are incorporated and the mixture is smooth (see top picture).

I make this at the same time as regular mashed potatoes for the rest of my family since they finish cooking first.  My daughter, who's not on a diet, actually prefers them to potatoes.

Wheat Free Take Along Lunch #3!

Salmon Lettuce Wraps

1 6 oz can salmon (can use chicken or tuna instead)
1/2 8 oz can water chestnuts
1/2 8 oz can bamboo shoots (not pictured)
2 T mayo
1 t gluten free soy sauce
1 t sesame oil
6-8 romaine lettuce leaves
Optional:  diced green onion

Drain the cans, dice the water chestnuts and bamboo shoots and mix all ingredients and keep in an air tight container.  Wrap the lettuce leaves in plastic wrap and bring lots of napkins (this can get messy).  When ready to eat, spoon salmon mixture on to lettuce and eat!

Serve with ginger pecans (from yesterday), snow peas with dressing (for dip) and berries.

Ginger Pecans

Gingered Pecans

 1 T Powdered Ginger
1 t salt
2 t olive oil
1 t sesame oil
1 t Thai chili flakes
1 pound pecans
1 T gluten free soy sauce
1 T Worcester sauce

This recipe is adapted from Alton Brown's Gingered Almonds, but I started it and discovered that I was out of almonds - so - contingency play - I used pecans and discovered - hey!  I liked these better!

Mix the ginger and salt in a large bowl.  Meanwhile, heat the oils and chili flakes on medium high heat around 30-45 seconds until you can smell the flavors cooking.  Add the nuts and stir quickly, coating them in the oil.  Combine the soy sauce and worcester sauces and pour on top of the hot nuts in the pan, stirring continually until all are coated.  Cook another 5 minutes, stirring until most of the liquid is absorbed and coating the nuts.

Pour into the ginger and salt and shake around to coat them.  Heat oven to 200 degrees and place almonds on a parchment covered cookie sheet in the oven for 20 minutes.  Cool 30 minutes and keep in an air tight container.

A couple of notes - there is more wheat than soy in most soy sauces, so definitely look for the gluten free kind.  If you can't find it, Tamari sauce will also work or so will Bragg's liquid aminos.

These work when I'm craving something snack-like and salty, instead of chips or popcorn!

Wheat Free Take Along Lunch Idea #2!

CUCUMBER STACKS

Add caption

1 cucumber, sliced

1 large slice - spiral sliced ham (NOT the glazed kind, it's full of sugar - or buy the glazed kind with the glaze in a separate packet and throw away the packet)

10 small cheddar cheese slices - I buy the white (un-dyed), extra sharp kind and use a cheese slicer - with mixed results, you can see above it doesn't always like to be sliced.

10 pepperoni slices

onion slices

1 dill pickle

Toothpicks

Stack sliced cucumber with meat and cheese slices, top with large slice of dill pickle, attaching with a toothpick.  Wrap in plastic wrap or place in air tight square food container or lunch box.

Other ideas:  Turkey and Swiss cheese, roast beef and pepper jack, sprouts and cream cheese, top with stuffed green olives instead of dill pickle.

Options:  pair with slices of apple and peanut butter - spread peanut butter on apple slices and put the apple back together, wrap in plastic wrap.  Watch for sugar content in your peanut butter.  I buy the kind with just peanuts and salt.

Or pair with carrot and celery sticks with Ranch dip (watch the label on the ranch dressing, some have added sugar).

Wheat Free Take Along Lunch Idea!

TUNA STUFFED TOMATOES

Here's a great idea for lunch boxes:

2-4 medium tomatoes, or 8 cherry tomatoes

1 6 oz can tuna, drained

1 2.25 oz can sliced olives, drained

1 hard boiled egg, chopped

1 T dill pickle relish or 1 dill pickle, chopped

2 T mayo

Cut tomatoes in half and scoop out insides.  Add to the tomato insides, the remaining ingredients adding more mayo if needed to hold together.  Stuff the tomato halves.  

Wrap in plastic wrap.  You can also bring along mixed nuts, string cheese and berries.

Wheat Free Broccoli Bacon Quiche

Wheat Free Broccoli Bacon Quiche

The crust from this recipe was "borrowed" from Ayla at Gourmet Girl Cooks - I LOVE her blog.  I have yet to try anything she has posted that didn't turn out to be THE BEST!

I found the cutest little pie dishes.  They are just right for making a smaller pie when I'm making a large version with wheat and sugar for the rest of the family.  To use the smaller dishes like I did, cut all the ingredients in half.

Crust:
2 C Almond Flour
1 t salt
3 T cold butter
1 egg white

Filling:
1 C cheddar cheese
1 C broccoli florets, loosely chopped and briefly steamed or microwaved
4-5 strips of bacon, cooked and cut up
5 eggs
1/2 C cream, half and half or whole milk



Mix the almond flour and salt and "cut" in the butter.  This is easiest using a pastry "cutter" but you can do it with a couple of forks or just with your fingers.  The goal is to have the whole mixture resemble pebbles with tiny bits of butter still visible.  That will make the crust more flaky.  Add the egg white and press into the pie shells.  An easy way to do this is to cover with plastic wrap and press the dough down with another pie dish.  Unfortunately, that only works for the first pie shell, unless you have extra dishes   :)

Bake the shell at 325 degrees for 15 min.  Remove the shell and increase the temperature to 350 while you assemble the rest of the quiche.

Place the cheese, broccoli and bacon into the pie shell.  Beat the eggs with the milk or cream and pour over the top.  Bake another 20 min, lower the oven back to 325 and finish baking a final 10-15 min or until the center is fully set.

Pictured above are the pie dishes I used, with a regular pie server next to them for size comparison.  Aren't they cute?

Remember - cut this recipe in half if you are only filling one of these tiny pie shells.