Lucy L Jones PhD LLC

Fresh Pork Belly

Friends in a nearby community own a piggery. Check out my post on that before you continue reading this recipe.

During this past year, I had one of their pigs butchered and placed in my freezer. There is not much that compares with home-grown local pork. The meat cutter included quite a few packages of pork belly. In the South, it was called “sow belly.” Another term is “green bacon,” because it’s really bacon that hasn’t been cured yet.

Whatever you want to call it, I’ve used pieces of it in greens or dried beans, but when I happened to read of another way to cook pork belly, I knew I had to try it.

The picture above is not very clear because I find it difficult to get a picture of a hot dish without the steam clouding over my camera. But I think you can still see (and maybe even smell) how wonderful it turned out.

The recipe I found called for rubbing down the pork belly with ¼ cup kosher salt and ¼ cup sugar. I used half that amount of salt (sea salt), but when we ate it, it was still too salty for our tastes. Next time I want to try even less salt (it does need a little), and use brown sugar instead of white.

After rubbing the sugar-salt mixture all over the pork belly, put it in a big bowl, cover it tightly, and place in the refrigerator overnight – at least 6 hours but no more than 24.

When ready to bake, discard the liquid that has accumulated in the bowl. Heat the oven to 450 degrees F.

My suggestion is to line your pan with foil and coat it with a canola spray. I forgot to do that, but I won’t forget again!

Bake with fat side up for an hour, basting it periodically during the cooking time.

Turn the oven down to 250 degrees F. and cook for another hour or a little more. Lift the belly onto a platter and let it cool.

The recipe I read said to wrap it in foil and put it in the refrigerator until it was chilled and firm, but I didn’t do that. I cut it in half and dished it directly onto two plates with steamed fingerling potatoes and Brussels sprouts.

I discarded the juice, but people who aren’t watching their fat intake could make a gravy out of it. This is a meat dish I plan on making over and over, as long as my packages of pork belly last.

Now if I can just find a recipe for a pig’s head….!

A hui hou!

Chipotle Shrimp Chowder

I suspect I’m like most cooks. When I see a recipe that looks good, I copy it to try later with my own substitutions or additions. I subscribe to many (too many) cooking blogs where I drool and gather ideas.

One blog that I particularly enjoy includes recipes from everyone in the family. When I saw this on their blog recently, I knew I had to make it. Here is my rendition of their recipe.

Chipotle Shrimp Chowder

In a large heavy pan, I sautéed ½ rasher of thick-sliced bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces.

Once lightly browned, I added 1 cup of diced onion and 3 diced cloves of garlic.

After this had browned 1-2 minutes, I added 2 tablespoons flour.

Their recipe called for ¼ cup sherry to deglaze the pan, but I rarely cook with any kind of alcohol and don’t keep any on hand. I used ½ cup cranberry juice, which I always do have handy.

I added:
2 cans fat free chicken broth
2 cans of whole kernel corn, drained
2 cups diced potatoes – I used a mix of fingerlings and reds
2 cups milk – I used nonfat that I always have on hand
2 canned chipotle peppers, diced, plus a bit of the adobo sauce to taste

I let this simmer on low for about 20-30 minutes, then added 1 pound of shrimp and ½ cup half & half cream.

Note: The shrimp I used were Kirkland brand (Costco), 31-40 per pound, peeled and deveined. The tails were still on, so I thawed the shrimp just enough to slip off the tails before adding to the chowder. Also, be sure to chop the chipotle peppers into very small pieces, unless you don’t mind getting a big chunk of hot pepper in your mouth. I imagine this would be delicious using a variety of fish, clams, shrimp, and other seafoods.

Thanks to the folks at Food o’ del Mundo for this recipe. It’s one I’ll make often!

A hui hou!

An English Spring

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DAFFODILS IN ST. JAMES PARK, LONDON

Four years ago during my Spring Break, plus a few days, I traveled to England with a friend. Although it was very cold, especially to someone fresh from Hawai’i, there was no rain for the three weeks we spent there.

These photos will be in three sections. The first group was taken in London, in and near St. James Park. As you can see above, the daffodils in England are a brilliant herald of Spring. They are some of the first flowers to be seen.

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MORE SPRING DAFFODILS IN LONDON

They were in large clumps everywhere I looked.

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ANOTHER VIEW OF THE DAFFODILS

Of course, there were more flowers in bloom than just daffodils. Tucked here and there one could find these lavender beauties.

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MORE LONDON BEAUTY

Here is another view in St. James Park with its carpet of blooms.

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CARPET OF BLOOMS

If you rest on a park bench by the river to feed the squirrels or have a cup of hot coffee and warm up, you will see the “old man willow.”

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OLD MAN WILLOW

This second section shows our drive through the Cotswolds, visiting such places as Stratford-Upon-Avon (Shakespeare country). Again, there were early blooms poking through the cold ground in little hidden spots.

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EARLY SPRING IN THE COTSWOLDS

Of course, who among us doesn’t love the romantic sight of a thatched roof? It brings back memories of “Merrie Olde England,” doesn’t it? There are a few flowers blooming along the road in front of this home.

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THATCHED ROOF COTTAGE

Mostly we drove along narrow roads lined with bare hedges, and through the narrow winding streets of the villages.

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ENGLISH HEDGEROWS

The fences were made out of the yellow limestone so common in Cotswold country.

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LIMESTONE FENCES

For the third part of our journey, we drove toward the English Channel and the White Cliffs of Dover. One of the English women I’ve come to learn about is the novelist Vita Sackville-West. A visit to her home in Kent (Sissinghurst Castle) took us through her “white garden,” even though very little was blooming. If you are interested in seeing her gardens in full bloom, go here.

The English spring daffodils were in full bloom here, too.

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DAFFODILS AT SISSINGHURST CASTLE

And narcissus….

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NARCISSUS AT SISSINGHURST CASTLE

In every corner of her gardens you are invited to rest and meditate.

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A PLACE TO MEDITATE

I love to fantasize about what it would be like to live in an English home like this one. I can imagine the novelist working out in her gardens (when she wasn’t writing), then sitting on the bench against a warm wall to view her results, cup of tea in hand.

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HOME OF VITA SACKVILLE-WEST

There are pictures of Sissinghurst in bloom on this website, as well as a different view of her home. I spied these blooms climbing up the end of her home.

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CLIMBING VINES

Sometimes you are left with the feeling that she has just paused in her planting. These beds are ready for the new annuals to be put out. Because her gardens and castle are part of the National Trust, I’m sure there are gardeners who still carry on her “white” theme each year.

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BEDS READY FOR PLANTING

Here is another cluster of color along one of the winding paths.

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CLUSTER OF COLOR

There was a moat that surrounded one area with a boathouse under the bridge. The boat was still there! In the background you can see the roof of one of the oast houses, used for drying hops to make their brew.

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MOAT

I’d love to go back to visit Sissinghurst sometime when it comes back to life in the early summer. Someday I will get to do that.

A hui hou!

Shrimp Creole

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My accumulation of cookbooks started early, and I’m sure that is true of most cooks. One of my favorite cookbooks dates back to when I was a girl traveling in New Orleans with my parents. One that I didn’t mention in my post about my cookbook addiction is New Orleans Creole Recipes, by Mary Moore Bremer. It was first published in 1932. If you are interested in a copy, you can click on the picture above and order one.

I’ve used her recipe for Shrimp Creole with variations ever since I was a new young wife living in Mississippi. I like the way she gives her recipes in narrative form and I’ve always tended to do that, as well. What follows is my own version that I’ve developed over the years.

First, you make a good, rich roux, using one large tablespoon of lard and one of flour. Lard is actually less toxic than margarine or shortening.

Then you chop up two onions, two cloves of garlic, one large bell pepper, two teaspoons of parsley. Add all of that to the roux and stir until the onion browns slightly, then add a large can of tomatoes. I add a small can of tomato paste and an equal can of water.

Season with ½ teaspoon red pepper, salt, bay leaves, 1/3 teaspoon celery seeds and ¼ teaspoon powdered thyme.

You can either add two pounds of raw, shelled shrimp, or several cans of shrimp if fresh is not available to you.

Cover and let it cook slowly for an hour in an old-fashioned iron heavy Dutch oven. Any heavy pot will do. If you are using canned shrimp, you don’t have to cook it as long, and you would add the shrimp at the end, just long enough to get them hot.

Half an hour before serving, add two teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce. Serve over brown rice for a healthy meal.

I usually make a big loaf of sour dough bread to share. Add a salad and it makes a total meal, fit for any company.

A hui hou!

Spaghetti Squash

I’m trying to keep calories and carbs low, but I get starved for a good Italian marinara. One of the best solutions I know is to use spaghetti squash. You might have seen it in the store, but you weren’t quite sure what to do with it. If you’ve never tried it, you’re in for a treat.

I get two to four meals out of a squash, depending on the size. Cut it in half first, then if it’s a large squash, into quarters. Scoop out the seeds first, or you’ll be sorry! Trying to pick them out of the squash when it’s cooked is not something you would want to do twice! Yeah, I did it once by mistake!

Once the seeds are out, place the cut side down in a glass dish with a little water (about ½ inch) in the dish. Some might bake it in the oven, but I find the easiest way to prepare it is to cover it with plastic wrap (punch a couple holes in it) and nuke it for 8-10 minutes. You might want to check it because time depends on the size of the piece.

In the meantime, open a jar of the best marinara you can buy and heat it, or make your own if you have time and prefer your own. I’m usually in too much of a hurry!

When the squash is done, hold it carefully with a good potholder, because it’s HOT. With a fork, scrape out the insides. If you’ve never done this before, you’ll be amazed at the spaghetti-like strands coming out. Keep scraping until you get all you can out of it.

Cut up the rind and put in your compost or feed to your chickens!

Pour the hot marinara over it, mix slightly, and eat! Sometimes I skip the marinara and use a lot of freshly shredded Romano Pecarino. It’s absolutely delicious – and light on calories! Experiment with spaghetti squash and let me know what you create.

A hui hou!