apples

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork and Creamy Cabbage Slaw

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This dinner was so easy on a Sunday afternoon.  We put the pork in the crock pot, went for a bike ride, watched football and had a nice meal at the end of the day.  Pulled pork is an easy and tasty dish to make when you need some hands off cooking time.  The slaw is a perfect complement.  I do not eat mayonnaise (just never liked it) so I do not make traditional coleslaw.  This slaw is packed with fall produce and is really cost effective this time of year.  I use the greek yogurt instead of the mayonnaise here, and it has a creamy tart taste.  I found a greek yogurt that is made locally from Fiddle Creek Dairy in Quarryville, PA and it is SO GOOD!  I was reluctant to try it because of the price and didn’t think it would taste that much different, but boy was I wrong.  It is so much better than the greek yogurt in the grocery stores.  I plan to make my own greek yogurt and see if I can come close to this taste.

Pulled Pork

Ingredients:

4-5lb pork shoulder

2 shallots, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 cup of chicken stock

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cinnamon

Place all of the ingredients in the crock pot and mix together.  Place the pork shoulder in the crock pot and mix around until the pork is covered.  Place on low for 8 hours.  Stir occasionally.  With an hour or two left, take out the pork and shred it with two forks and place back in the crock pot for 1-2 hours.

Cabbage Slaw

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Ingredients:

4-6 cups green cabbage, shredded or chopped (you can mix red here too, but I only had green)

1/2 cup broccoli, finely chopped

2-3 carrots, shredded

1 apple, peeled, cored and shredded

1 shallot, finely minced

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup toasted almonds

1/2 cup greek yogurt

salt and pepper to taste

Mix all of the ingredients together and enjoy with your pulled pork!

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Roasted Pork Loin with Apples and Celeriac

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I was first introduced to celeriac, all known as celery root, in our CSA a few years ago.  I didn’t know what it was or how to use it.  It’s an odd looking root vegetable, but it has a wonderful mild celery flavor and can be used in a variety of ways- roasted, raw, mashed or in soups.  I decided to use it in this recipe instead of celery.  I also love the combination of apples with pork.  Sometimes I just roast pork with sliced apples or even put pork, apples and cinnamon in the crock pot.  In this case, the apples I used were too ripe and a very soft variety, so they did not hold up well during the cooking.  I used a local early season apple variety.  The taste was still there, but if you can, use a firmer apple that is suited for baking.  This recipe came from the Food Network website, and I added the celeriac. This a perfect late summer combination and everything is in season. I love the golden carrots and fresh garlic, not to mention the fresh sprigs of rosemary and thyme.  *Note- to prepare the celeriac, cut off the outer knobby skin and use the white inside to cube. roast pork ingredientsIngredients

1-1.5 lbs of pork loin

1/2 onion, chopped

2 carrots, thickly sliced

1-2 cups of Celeriac, cubed

2 cloves of garlic

sprigs of fresh thyme and rosemary

2 apples (suitable for baking), peeled, cored and cut in slices

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Season pork with salt and pepper and sear on all sides in a cast iron skillet, or an oven safe pan or dutch oven.  Remove the pork and set aside.  Add butter to the skillet and salute the onion, carrot, celeriac, garlic, herbs until tender and browned.  Stir in the apples slices and toss with the juices.  Push the mixture to the sides and add the pork back in the pan.  Roast in the oven for 30-40 minutes until the inside temp is 145 degrees on a meat thermometer or the juices run clear.  Slice the pork and top with the vegetables and enjoy!

roast pork final 2

Cabbage, Apple, Walnut and Carrot Salad

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I am absolutely in my glory with all of the wonderful, local produce in season. We don’t have the need to go to the grocery store as much this time of year, which I love.  We have found other sources or our produce, eggs, cheese, meat, etc.  Our CSA, garden and farmers markets provide most of what we need.   This is a very simple salad that is a go to for lunches and or a quick snack.  This is another adaptation from the book, The Family Cooks by Laurie David.  The cookbook has a wonderful apple, walnut and carrot salad and I added the cabbage. Sometimes I add kale or goat cheese.  We got some cabbage in our CSA and it is so plentiful and cheap this time of year.  I used Savoy cabbage, which is more tender and less “rubbery” than green cabbage.  It is has a milder, sweeter taste as well.

cabbage saladIngredients:

Walnuts, roughly chopped

Carrots, grated (if you buy organic, no need to peel)

Apples, peeled and chopped

Savoy Cabbage, chopped

Juice of 1 lemon

Salt to taste

To make things really easy, I just use equal parts of the walnuts, carrots, apples, cabbage and then add the lemon juice and salt.  If you have time, toast the walnuts the oven (350 degrees for 7-10 min) or in a skillet.  I just used raw walnuts here, and like the taste that way.  This salad will last for several days refrigerated.  Place in jars for a great lunch on the go! Enjoy!