Tuesday, April 18, 2017

a couple of new recipes

I've tried out a couple of new recipes this month.

First there was Pork Carnitas.  I followed this recipe (click to see recipe) but instead of simmering the pork on top of the stove, I braised it in the oven.

And I made a Tomatillo sauce using this recipe...except I roasted the tomatillos rather than boiling them. There was plenty of juice and I didn't need to add water.



The Carnitas were good. 


It's one of Choppers favorites at the Mexican restaurants. He said they just serve the pork and sauce with tortillas, so that's the way we ate them for Sunday dinner,  but when eating as leftovers we found they are better with lettuce, tomato and some shredded cheese on them.

I've been wanting to try making Cabbage Rolls ever since my dental hygienist was talking about how good hers are. She is from Romania so I'd like to get her recipe sometime, but meanwhile I tried out  this recipe, except I microwaved the head of cabbage to soften it and baked the rolls in the oven instead of simmering on the stove.

I think my rolls may have been a bit small...






...but they were tasty.
Lonnie really liked them and I had plenty to freeze for later.  I think they might be good with a slice of American cheese melted on top!


While I'm talking about food...I've been buying papayas at the grocery.  They are delicious - so long as you let them ripen until they are fairly soft.
The information book in the produce section at Kroger said the seeds are edible...well sure they are but they taste horrible!



I have the top all sewn together for the Ninja quilt. This photo is a little washed out. It's brighter than this.


Next, I am going to put together another top like this but in girly colors because I am not sure if the upcoming new arrival is a boy or a girl.  
Either way I will be glad to have an extra baby quilt on hand...it seems like they just keep coming!


My outdoor project is re-doing this flower bed.  I've dug out an overgrown Forsythia that was there when we moved here in 1986.  It was the kind that arcs over and had an out of control, messy growth habit. It only looked pretty a couple of weeks a year when it bloomed. The rest of the time it was just a tangle of stems, no matter how much I trimmed and pruned.  
I did save about 8 or 10 "babies" from it - you can see them there on the right. Not sure what I'll do with them...maybe plant along the edge of the woods.


Now, I will thin out and spread the Iris, Day Lilies, Daffodils and Crocosmia  growing in there.
Also I will lift those three asparagus plants (you can see the tall stalks - used to be my asparagus bed) and give them to the Sasquatch who is going to try growing some asparagus.

I still think I need something taller and larger to balance out that side of the bed...maybe a small evergreen?  I have some growing in containers that I could use. I'll keep thinking about it as I continue cleaning it up.











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