Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Pulled Pork in the slow cooker.

What is wrong with me??? I'm constantly saying I can't think of anything to cook. Yesterday it dawned on me I needed to look at MY OWN RECIPE INDEX here on the blog!!! Yes. Once I post a recipe, I often forget about it. So yesterday I picked out one I had not made in years. One that would make enough to stock the freezer. And one that I was sure we liked.

We have been waking up crazy early lately. This morning was no exception. After coffee on the porch as the sun came up, I put together this recipe in the slow cooker. This one takes 10 hours to cook, so it needed an early start. Once it was in the slow cooker, the rest of my day was free. Knitting. Piano. Reading. An entire day to myself. Then at supper time, it only took a few minutes to shred the pork and dinner was ready.

The recipe is so simple. But let me caution you to actually read the recipe. I half read it and was about to dump in the barbecue sauce along with the vinegar and honey before the pork cooked. I'm not sure if that would have really been a bad thing. If I had actually poured it in, I would have cooked it that way and crossed my fingers. But that last glance at the recipe came just in time.

We made sliders for dinner with Hawaiian rolls. And I put 4 small bags in the freezer. 

PULLED PORK BARBECUE (slow cooker)

Spice rub:

   4 teaspoons smoked paprika

   1 tablespoon packed brown sugar

   2 teaspoons jarred minced garlic

   1 teaspoon ground mustard

   1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional

1 medium onion, sliced

3-4 teaspoons mince garlic

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup honey

1 (4-5 lb) pork butt, trimmed of excess fat

Salt & pepper

1 cup barbecue sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray’s)

Mix the spice rub ingredients. Season the pork butt with salt and pepper and rub the spice mix all over. (If you have time, you let put it in a bag or container and let it refrigerate overnight. I did not plan ahead, so put it in the slow cooker right after rubbing.)

In the bottom of the 6-7 qt slow cooker, put the onion and garlic. Pour in vinegar and honey. Place the pork butt on top. Cook on LOW for 10 hours.

When done, carefully move the roast to a large pan (9x13 works) and let cool for 5 or 10 minutes. Using two forks, shred the meat, discarding the bone and any large chunks of fat. Pour about a half cup of cooking liquid over the meat. Stir in a cup of barbecue sauce and mix.

As I typed this recipe, I realized I STILL didn't follow the actual directions. 😂 What is written here is how I made it today. If you want to read the original version, you can see it here on a post from a few years ago. This goes to show that most recipes have a lot of room for interpretation. Don't get too hung up on being exact.

 

Yes. I even practice piano on the porch.

It took us long enough, but we finally got this planted.

Make-Ahead Bean Salad

Make Ahead Bean Salad

After a crazy few weeks, I'm settling in to routine. I think know I do better when I have a routine to follow. Particularly when it comes to choosing my meals. It is so incredibly easy to slip off the healthy food wagon and make less wise choices. Sometimes because I'm tired and I want the quickest food I can grab. Sometimes because I'm lazy and don't want to cook. Sometimes because dessert sounds like the best thing I can think of!

But for one more time I'm trying to do better. That usually means keeping ready to eat things in my refrigerator. Like this bean salad. I love bean salads and there are a few in the recipe index here on the blog. This one is a little different. Most of the ones I make call for sugar in the marinade. Sometimes not much but there is always some. 

Unlike those, this salad has no sugar. Not even sweet pickles! I used dill pickle salad cubes along with some of the pickle juice and vinegar for the marinade. The first taste was good, but I'm sure it well be even better after it sits in the refrigerator for several hours. By dinner time it's going to be the perfect side dish.

Using canned beans makes this so quick to put together. And beans are high in fiber and protein. Both fiber and protein are good for keeping you from getting hungry 20 minutes after you eat—like I do when I've grabbed fast food. 

In keeping with my jazz journey, this recipe also involves improv. There are so many similarities between cooking and playing music. Improv is a big one. I had a recipe as my starting place. Then I changed things around because of when I had (and didn't have) in my kitchen. You have my permission to do the same thing.

Here is the original recipe. My "improv" changes follow.

MAKE-AHEAD BEAN SALAD

1 (15-oz) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed

1 (15-oz) can light red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup chopped cucumber

1 cup diced grape tomatoes

1 cup diced orange bell pepper

1/2 cup scallions

1/2 cup dill pickle salad cubes

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

2 tablespoons dill pickle juice

2 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Combine all ingredients. Can serve chilled or at room temperature.

How easy is that? Here are my adjustments. 

• I used a red bell pepper because that's what I had. The orange pepper would add another color to the mix. That would be a nice visual, but the taste is the same.
• I didn't have scallions so I added some minced onion. Close enough.
• No fresh parsley here either. I used a good sprinkle of parsley flakes. Fresh would definitely be best, but you do what you have to do.
• How could I be out of white vinegar? I'm never out of that. But I was today. Apple cider vinegar was close enough.

See? No major changes. No need to dash to the store for a missing ingredient. This is close enough.

Same as with recipe variations, the most interesting music is full of variations, too. Learning how to put the pieces together is excellent brain exercise. I'm learning to play Misty right now—and all the fun embellishments and fills that I've always wanted to understand,.

And just to show that I really am getting back to my routine, the knitting has been pulled out, too! You can't play piano and cook all of the time. 

 

Jazz Journey

 Because reader Chloe asked about my jazz journey....

I have spent countless hours in the last three years learning a new way to play piano. For most of my life when I heard a jazz pianist or a cocktail style pianist I wondered how they did it. How did they get that tinkly sound that I love? I have played piano for decades, but always from printed music. And these musicians that I heard—whether in person or on television or on a recording—sounded different. It really didn't occur to me that maybe I could learn a little of this. 

But like many of us who tried new things during the pandemic shut down, (how many of you learned to bake sourdough?) I used that time to explore jazz piano. I am far from accomplished but I'm making progress.

When you watch this snippet of my video, understand that I am not reading music off the page. I didn't have any! I'm watching the timing on a backing track app. This recording was done as a final project for an online class and we had to maintain the assigned tempo. 

Why am I doing this? It keeps my brain cells and my fingers active. I've learned a lot of music history. I've learned to be a better music listener. And it's proof that it's never too late to learn new skills. It might take longer, but it's never too late. My goal is to be the best mediocre jazz pianist I can be. It's only for fun!

Yes, there has been a lot of grandmothering happening also. So many funny stories. So many aching muscles. So many good memories. But in the thick of things, I didn't get many photos to share. 

There have not been many new recipes happening in my kitchen. I am thankful for the good ones that I use over and over. This week I made one of our favorites—Carol's Marinated Veggies. It's delicious and it keeps for days in the refrigerator. I'll share it again because maybe it's new to you.

The last time I made this salad, I remember thinking maybe I could use less sugar in the marinade. I know I love how Carol makes it, so I texted her to ask if she used the 3/4 cup of sugar in the marinade. That's what the recipe called for. I told her that I think hers is always better than mine. Here is her reply:

Sometimes I do and sometimes I don’t. I don’t stick to recipes very well. I do drain and rinse all canned veggies. Use dark red kidney beans. Have been using small butter beans lately instead of edamame beans. Sometimes use canned corn.  I’m sure yours is just as good, though.

CAROL'S MARINATED VEGGIES

1 (15.5 oz.) can light red kidney beans

1 (15.5 oz.) can black beans

1 (6.5 oz.) can mushroom stems & pieces

1 (8 oz.) can sliced water chestnuts (I cut into smaller pieces)

1 (2 oz. ) jar diced pimento

frozen white corn (amount about equal to the kidney beans)

frozen green peas (amount about equal to the kidney beans)

1 bag frozen shelled edamame beans, cooked according to package directions

1 rib celery, finely chopped, optional (I used this)

1/4 cup canola oil

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2  to 3/4 cup sugar (I used 1/2 cup)

1/2 teaspoon salt

Drain and rinse canned vegetables. Cook and cool edamame beans. In a large bowl, mix drained beans, pimento, mushrooms, and water chestnuts. 

Combine oil, vinegar, sugar and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. When cool, pour over vegetables and refrigerate. Vegetables will keep in refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Yes, you add the corn and peas frozen. No cooking. I did cut the slices of water chestnuts into smaller pieces. I'm sure if there is something that you don't like here, you can leave it out.