Pork in a Red Wine Jus served with Crushed Minted Potatoes & Julienne Carrots

We make our own red wine from our grape vines every year & as we are not even little drinkers (social only) we have plenty which is nicely matured & plenty for me to cook with :-) This is a favourite mid day meal & cheap if you too make your own wine. If you live in Bulgaria & don't make wine then buy a bottle of red from the local magazin the cheapo 1-2 leva type.
This makes a beautiful meal & is a great dinner party dish & a wonderful comfort food. You can make it with chops, chunks, ribs etc its flexible.

Fry light or olive oil, just a little
4 x Pork chops no bone,
3 x Garlic cloves, large. Crushed & chopped
2 x Red or Green Peppers (Red if poss) Seeded & chopped
Mushrooms, can be left out. Sliced
Soy sauce or Balsamic vinegar
2 x Oxo cubes, beef
Red wine
Ground black pepper
Little salt to taste, if you wish. Personally I don't think its needed
Aprox 1/2 pint water, depending

Carrots
New Potatoes

Spray a large fry pan with fry light or add just a little olive or sunflower oil, its just to stop the meat from sticking, we don't need all that unnecessary fat! Add garlic & saute lightly. Add meat & seal. Pour over some soy sauce or balsamic & cook for a min. Add peppers cook for a min then add mushrooms if using. Sprinkle over the oxo cubes & stir into mix then pour on a good amount of red wine aprox quarter to half a pint, stir mix & add ground black pepper, to taste & little salt if you wish, I leave out the salt. Cook this on simmer till it has reduced by half or more add water 1.4 pint to start then continue to cook till reduced. You may need to add the rest of water but its personal taste, dependant on how you want your sauce. I cook this so it is enough to give enough jus to have with every mouthful :-)
While you are waiting for this to reduce;
Wash & rub some new potatoes, do not peel unless you hate them this way. Pick some fresh mint from the garden, if you have it, & cook when you have added the water to the jus. Peel & slice the carrots into julienne strips, again cook when you are on the second reduction.
When everything is cooked, crush the new potatoes slightly on the plate, not in the saucepan.
Enjoy x     

Roasted Thai Chicken

I rarely get the chance to roast meat since Kahuna usually wrestles it away from me for the backyard grill.  But this chicken?
Mine.  All mine.

The recipe for this tasty lime-coconut version came from a recent issue of Counry Living magazine.  It turned out moist and flavorful with a bright hint of lime.  Mmmmm.

You start by layering your roasting pan with lime slices.  Then you pop in the blender (or food processor) some lime juice, lime zest, cilantro, salt, and my new favorite ingredient, cream of coconut (see this post for more about that).

You're also supposed to add hot chiles  . . . but sorry, no stinkin' way. Any food that calls for wearing gloves while handling most definitely does not belong river-rafting its way down my throat. I know, I'm a wuss.  But that's my policy and I'm not wavering.

Take this oozy mixture from the blender and squirt it over your chicken, underneath the skin and into little knife-piercings you've made on the thighs.

Then bake away.
Recipe here.
Anything good cooking at your house?

Spaghetti MinceMash

Whenever I make mince there is always too much & we get so full we can't move. There is never enough for another meal or even a lunch for us both. So I put it in the fridge & within the next two days I pad it out, hence Mincemash :-)
An easy way to stretch the mince & change it's taste

Whatever left over mince dish you have
1 x Pepper chopped
4 cloves Garlic chopped
3 large Tomatoes, cored & chopped
1 Oxo cube
6 Mushrooms chopped
Oregano
Basil
Black Pepper
Runner beans part cooked
Prepare runner beans & put on to boil. In a pan put all chopped veg, crumble over oxo cube, add 1/4 pint water & stir. Add herbs & any spices you may like & bring to boil. Cook for 10 mins then add in your leftover mince dish.

Bring back to boiling point & turn down to a simmer, strain & add beans & a little more water if needed. Cook till the beans are till the beans are to your liking
Serve with Spaghetti or pasta.

Today's Quiz

So which of the following was this week's biggest hit at the castle, the recipe I'll definitely be making again?  Was it

these jam-filled muffins?

Was it this shortcake topped with

blueberries and home-grown peaches?

Was it these oven-barbecued spareribs?

Was it . . . wait a minute.

Was it this three-berry freezer jam, made with home-grown strawberries, blackberries, and store-bought raspberries?

I'll give you a minute.

(Idle whistling.  Whistle whistle whistle.)

Ready?

You sure?

If you guessed jam-filled muffins -- nah.  Too much muffin, not enough jam, even though the jam kind of oozed out the sides of the muffins.  Not bad, but not stellar.

Did you guess the fruit-topped shortcake?  This was definitely tasty, but I am still auditioning shortcake recipes.  I believe this is the fifth so far this summer.  No worries, friends, I will bravely soldier on.

The spareribs?  Ding ding ding ding, we have a winner.  I loved these.  They came from a children's cookbook but I am not ashamed.  They were simple, tasty, foolproof.  I love that in a recipe.

The cute little table runner is a demonstration of my current obsession, using up fabric scraps to match flowers from the garden.  Yesterday Kahuna spotted yet another little tabletop trivet and announced, "You are dangerous."  Yes indeedy that's me.  The dangerous little scrap hoarder.

The three-berry freezer jam, just finished, tastes promising but is still runny, even after the recommended 30-minute wait time.  It may debut as ice cream sauce rather than jam.  Nummy either way.

Here, then, is my favorite of the week.  I'd love to hear about yours.

OVEN BARBECUED SPARERIBS
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. hoisin sauce
1/4 c. chicken broth (I used powdered bouillon mixed with water)
1 t. ground ginger
1 rack pork spareribs (3 - 4 pounds)

In bowl, mix sugar, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, chicken broth, and ginger.  Cut rack of ribs into manageable pieces and place in large plastic zipper bag (gallon size).  (The ribs I bought were not quite 3 pounds so they all fit into one large bag; if you buy more ribs, you may need to use a second bag.)  Pour in the marinade and let soak four hours or overnight, turning occasionally if you think about it. 

When ready to cook, heat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet (or two, if you need to) with foil and place ribs on foil.  (Throw out marinade at this point.)  Bake for one hour.  Cut to the bone to make sure meat isn't pink on the inside.  If it is, bake 15 more minutes.  (Mine was done after one hour.)  Cut into individual ribs before serving.

Slivovitza Traditional Bulgarian Plum Liqueur

Slivovitza (Slee-vo-vee-tsah) is a traditional Bulgarian liqueur or brandy. As with most traditions here there are many variations & mostly today the plum Rakia is made & called Slivovitza. This is almost a double made &  matured version for those who like a more matured tipple. We make our own Rakia every year with great success. Praised by Bulgarians which is an honour indeed. I make this with pre matured Rakia. This is practically the same as Visinata the traditional Romanian brandy also in this blog.
Use whatever weights you have but keep the percentage's the same.

My version;
4lb Plums
2lb Sugar for schnapps
2.5lbs Sugar for liqueur
32oz Rakia, Brandy or Vodka (Rakia or Brandy is better for this particular drink)
Wash the plums & keep the stone in. Fill a pot then cover with the sugar. Make sure all the plums are coated in the sugar. Cover the jar with muslin, if there is a hole in the lid place the lid on top if not, fix the muslin cloth so no flies can get in. Stir every day for two weeks to dissolve the sugar &  keep the plums coated. After a few days this will turn to a liquid as the fruit ferments. After two weeks fill the jar with Rakia & seal tightly. Leave to macerate for 3 months.
After 3 months remove the plums, strain the liquid through muslin cloth into clean sterile bottles (I triple filtered) & store. The sediment will settle again in the bottle so you will need to filter again. Carefully pour the liqueur through a cloth but leave the sediment in the bottom of the bottle
I found the plums of no use whole but the compote that is strained from the liqueur (1 litre from one pot) is gorgeous & this I have potted & refrigerated for use in desserts on sponge puddings or with ice cream. Lovely flavour, yes alcoholic but not gaggingly so :-) nice & sweet.