I’m not Italian, but I can’t deny the appeal of a house that smells like slow-cooked tomato sauce — the herbs, the garlic, a hint of pork, maybe some soft Italian bread. Here in Oklahoma where I live, autumn is creeping in and the evenings are becoming perfectly chilly. Excellent weather for some spaghetti and meatballs, don’tcha think? I can’t tell you this is my Grandma Nonna’s recipe handed down for generations, but it’s dang easy, and super tasty. It’s also great for feeding a crowd, or very versatile for leftovers! Here’s my take on what a lot of Italian-Americans call, “Red Gravy,” which is a meat-based hearty tomato sauce.
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Organizing My Spices!
It’s the last days of Summer, and that makes it time for me to do some spring cleaning. Fall cleaning. Fall cleaning! You see, with autumn come cooler weather and holidays. With both of those come lots and lots of cooking. Yes, even more than we already do! Heating up the house with the oven or by boiling big pots of soup are no longer an issue, and we crave things that are warm and comforting. This also means that inevitably, I will find deals on all kinds of dry spices and BUY ALL THE THINGS and then realize I have 5 pumpkin pie spices and 3 poultry seasonings and multiple jars of rubbed sage, and a distinct lack of whatever I DO need for that fall-time butternut squash turkey thing with chestnuts and root veggies.
Unacceptable!
Enter handy kitchen gadgetry and nifty fun things to help me get my herbs and spices and seasonings together so there’s at least less of a chance I will buy 6 jars of cinnamon sticks on sale. ON SALE, I SAID. Ready? Let’s organize!
Visiting the Asian Market
I found myself in the Asian district the other day, which worked out great for me because it meant I got to pop into the really big Asian supermarket. I wish I could say I were an expert on Asian cuisines and that I venture into the market to find specific amazing international ingredients for gourmet dishes, but the fact is, I’m a looky-loo. I know the Asian markets are a great source for inexpensive meats and nonstandard cuts, so I was there for a 2 pound hunk of pork belly with the skin on — but I always get derailed by the odd, the interesting, and the bargains. I AM ALL ABOUT THE BARGAINS.
I ended up leaving the market with my rib-bone-in pork belly, a beef flank steak, a few neat plates for food pictures, some coconut milk and coconut cream, and some veggies. If you have an Asian market in your area, don’t be nervous to wander in — they probably have the freshest fish in town, amazing produce, and the lowest prices on meat and things you probably need in your pantry like soy sauce, teriyaki, noodles, tea, and other surprises. I can find soy for half price, and I got my coconut milk for $1 less a can than at the regular store.
And, stuff like this:
Vietnamese spring rolls (right) with shrimp, mint, carrots, cabbage and cellophane noodles with dipping sauce — one of my favorite healthy snacks. And, YU CHOY (left), which as I tell my friends whenever I cook it,is “my favorite of ALL the Choys!” Yu choy is related to bok choy, Shanghai bok choy, en choy, all those Choys (which you can probably all find at your local Asian grocer). It’s kind of peppery and almost like mustard greens, and it has these yummy little yellow flowers that are edible.
For a great, illustrated, easy guide to Asian green veggies, check at Serious Eats.
There is also nowhere in the world you will find dried shrimp and crab chips on the same shelf as chocolate filled panda cookies, but the Asian grocer:
Or Santa in September — is he just early, or left over from last year? What’s up with this label?
You just never know what you’ll find when you wander into any ethnic grocer, but the Asian market is always an adventure. I hope you will go explore!
If you have gone already, what’s the craziest or neatest thing you’ve seen? Are you like me, taking crazy pictures of things you find?
Carnitas! (Fried Mexican Pork)
I have a soft spot in my heart for Mexican food. To me, Mexican food can be sort of the perfect comfort food. Once you get past really Americanized Mexican food and Tex-Mex (all of which have their place, and I dig on all of them), you find authentic Mexican food is an amazing mix of savory and sweet, tender and crunchy, creamy, spicy, and deliciously fresh. A great example of this is one of my favorite Mexican dishes — carnitas!
Carnitas are made from the pork shoulder (same meat we use for pulled pork BBQ) and it is first seasoned and slow-cooked, then browned and crisped up before being used in tacos, with eggs, scooped up into tortillas and devoured, or any number of interesting and easy ways. We had ours with warmed flour tortillas the day I made it, but the leftovers made it into breakfasts, on nachos, and just warmed and shoveled into our mouths with a fork.
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