falafel pitas

I wish I was eating this right now...

Easy Slow-Cooker Pulled Pork

I've had such success lately with slow-cooker pulled chicken that I decided to delve into trying slow-cooker pulled pork. We had a whey-fed pork shoulder (from Willow Hill Farm) in the freezer, so I threw it into the slow-cooker, topped it with lots of delicious ingredients, and let it hang out for 10 hours. It was frozen, so I started the slow-cooker on high, let it go for about 4 hours, then turned it down to low for the rest of the day. The result was a tender and delicious mound of sweet pulled pork. If you start with a thawed pork shoulder, low for 8 hours should do just fine.

I was inspired by the pulled pork on Baking Bites, and tweaked the recipe to accommodate what I had in the kitchen. I served the pork on crusty rolls with slaw and sharp cheddar.

Easy Slow-Cooker Pulled Pork
3.5# pork shoulder roast
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, sliced or chopped (it will melt into the sauce)
1/3 cup ketchup
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar (light or dark)
1/3 cup fire-roasted tomato sauce
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp grainy mustard
2 tsp paprika (I used sweet, not hot)
pinch cayenne pepper
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
3/4 cup water
3 tbsp maple syrup

1. Place pork shoulder in slow-cooker
2. Add all remaining ingredients
3. You may want to move some things around so that the pork is covered by the sauce
4. Set the slow-cooker to low
5. Cover, and let cook for 8 hours (If pork is frozen, try doing what I did!)

Indian-spiced chicken pitas

My boyfriend and I made these delicious chicken pitas a while back... We found a recipe for Indian-spiced chicken burgers in Martha Stewart Living's Everyday Food - Great Food Fast cookbook, and made slider-sized patties. We topped the patties with a savory yogurt sauce and tossed in some cucumber slices. We served each pita with spicy potato wedges and an orzo salad with asparagus and feta cheese. We will definitely be repeating this!

You can find a similar recipe at Bakin' and Eggs, a fantastic food blog.

ajvar burgers

Yesterday, while exploring the aisles of Taste of Europe (European grocery that stocks Russian, Bosnian, Polish, Macedonian, and German foods -- next to the YMCA on 34D Mallets Bay Ave. in Winooski), my favorite Ukrainian found quite the selection of ajvar. Ajvar is a Balkan condiment that is made from red peppers, eggplant, garlic and chili peppers. It can be either mild or hot, and was the perfect addition (along with some Bulgarian sheep's milk cheese) to our burgers last night. You can order ajvar online from Taste of Europe at Eurofoodmart.com.

pita panini

No bread? No problem.

Throw it in a pita and make a panini!

I made this tasty pita panini with pesto, smoked turkey, and provolone cheese. Yum!

smokin' time

In all honesty, this is a flashback-type post. A while back, I was tooling around with my borrowed (now owned) stovetop smoker. All in all, I smoked some skewered shrimp, some potatoes (all over mesquite chips), and later made a wrap sandwich with lettuce, tomato, and a lightly-smoked slab of haloumi. My favorite so far is still the haloumi wrap. Soooo good!