annie blog

The Sculptor in Our Midst

So, on Friday, my youngest son was playing with play dough. Now, he plays with play dough frequently, but has never really made anything with it except for cut outs or the occasional worm or snake.

So, when he said, “Hey, Mom, I made a frog!”, I think I said, “Sounds good, Hon!” and went on making dinner.

(By the way, I call my sons “Hon” all the time. I got it from my Ma Beaut who was my maternal grandmother. She was from north Alabama, so when she said “hon” sounded like “Hun” — as in Attilla. “Hon” works with boys — they are equal parts sweet (honey) and warrior (hun) — so it fits, you know?)

Anyway, I was prevailed upon to COME SEE the frog. And, dude, can I tell you, it totally looked like a frog.

These boys continually surprise me.

The Sculptor in Our Midst

So, on Friday, my youngest son was playing with play dough. Now, he plays with play dough frequently, but has never really made anything with it except for cut outs or the occasional worm or snake.

So, when he said, “Hey, Mom, I made a frog!”, I think I said, “Sounds good, Hon!” and went on making dinner.

(By the way, I call my sons “Hon” all the time. I got it from my Ma Beaut who was my maternal grandmother. She was from north Alabama, so when she said “hon” sounded like “Hun” — as in Attilla. “Hon” works with boys — they are equal parts sweet (honey) and warrior (hun) — so it fits, you know?)

Anyway, I was prevailed upon to COME SEE the frog. And, dude, can I tell you, it totally looked like a frog.

These boys continually surprise me.

The Sculptor in Our Midst

So, on Friday, my youngest son was playing with play dough. Now, he plays with play dough frequently, but has never really made anything with it except for cut outs or the occasional worm or snake.

So, when he said, “Hey, Mom, I made a frog!”, I think I said, “Sounds good, Hon!” and went on making dinner.

(By the way, I call my sons “Hon” all the time. I got it from my Ma Beaut who was my maternal grandmother. She was from north Alabama, so when she said “hon” sounded like “Hun” — as in Attilla. “Hon” works with boys — they are equal parts sweet (honey) and warrior (hun) — so it fits, you know?)

Anyway, I was prevailed upon to COME SEE the frog. And, dude, can I tell you, it totally looked like a frog.

These boys continually surprise me.

My Favorite Meat,
hands down, is pork. Unlike other hypothetical questions, like,”Wine or beer — if you had to pick one for the rest of your life, which would it be?” If someone asked me to choose only one meat for the rest of my life I wouldn’t even hesitate. Yes, I’d miss cheeseburgers and fried chicken. Truly, I would. But pork — I LOVE it.

If you are like me and you find that you, too, are a pork fan, then you must have this recipe in your collection.

It is easy.
It is inexpensive.
It will make a ton of food.
It will make your house smell scrumptious.
It is exceptionally versatile.
It can easily be paired with barbeque sauce to make a fabulous pulled pork sandwich.
It can be paired just as well with tortillas, avocados and pico de gallo to make a delightful tex-mex dinner.
Or put some on nachos with some cheese and peppers for a yummy appetizer.

Alright, I know, enough talking already. Right?

Spicy Pork Roast
(I don’t know about the name, it’s really not at all spicy..)

4-7 pound pork shoulder (or picnic roast or pork butt)
1 yellow onion
4 cloves garlic
1 t. chili powder
1 t. oregano
1 t. cumin
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 T. oil
2-3 T. apple cider vinegar (or white distilled would work)
pepper to taste (I use a lot)
1 T. salt

Dry off the pork roast with paper towels. Heat the oven to 300. In a mini chopper or Cuisinart, combine all other ingredients until the onion is really minced up and everything is well mixed. Rub the mixture all over the pork. Put the pork in a Dutch oven and fill with water so that it comes up to about the half way mark on the pork. Cover the pork and cook it 6-8 hours. The length of time that it must cook is directly related to the size roast that you cook. I personally get the biggest one that will fit in my pot. Turn the roast every hour or 2 or, if you’re like me, when you remember to. At some point it will start to fall apart on you. This is good. When it is tender enough for you, jack the temperature of the oven up to 400 or so and cook it a bit longer without the top on the pan so that you can get it brown (about 15 minutes more or until desired brownness). Shred it up with 2 forks and dig in.

This is magical pork, y’all. I hope that you enjoy it!

My Favorite Meat,
hands down, is pork. Unlike other hypothetical questions, like,”Wine or beer — if you had to pick one for the rest of your life, which would it be?” If someone asked me to choose only one meat for the rest of my life I wouldn’t even hesitate. Yes, I’d miss cheeseburgers and fried chicken. Truly, I would. But pork — I LOVE it.

If you are like me and you find that you, too, are a pork fan, then you must have this recipe in your collection.

It is easy.
It is inexpensive.
It will make a ton of food.
It will make your house smell scrumptious.
It is exceptionally versatile.
It can easily be paired with barbeque sauce to make a fabulous pulled pork sandwich.
It can be paired just as well with tortillas, avocados and pico de gallo to make a delightful tex-mex dinner.
Or put some on nachos with some cheese and peppers for a yummy appetizer.

Alright, I know, enough talking already. Right?

Spicy Pork Roast
(I don’t know about the name, it’s really not at all spicy..)

4-7 pound pork shoulder (or picnic roast or pork butt)
1 yellow onion
4 cloves garlic
1 t. chili powder
1 t. oregano
1 t. cumin
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 T. oil
2-3 T. apple cider vinegar (or white distilled would work)
pepper to taste (I use a lot)
1 T. salt

Dry off the pork roast with paper towels. Heat the oven to 300. In a mini chopper or Cuisinart, combine all other ingredients until the onion is really minced up and everything is well mixed. Rub the mixture all over the pork. Put the pork in a Dutch oven and fill with water so that it comes up to about the half way mark on the pork. Cover the pork and cook it 6-8 hours. The length of time that it must cook is directly related to the size roast that you cook. I personally get the biggest one that will fit in my pot. Turn the roast every hour or 2 or, if you’re like me, when you remember to. At some point it will start to fall apart on you. This is good. When it is tender enough for you, jack the temperature of the oven up to 400 or so and cook it a bit longer without the top on the pan so that you can get it brown (about 15 minutes more or until desired brownness). Shred it up with 2 forks and dig in.

This is magical pork, y’all. I hope that you enjoy it!

My Favorite Meat,
hands down, is pork. Unlike other hypothetical questions, like,”Wine or beer — if you had to pick one for the rest of your life, which would it be?” If someone asked me to choose only one meat for the rest of my life I wouldn’t even hesitate. Yes, I’d miss cheeseburgers and fried chicken. Truly, I would. But pork — I LOVE it.

If you are like me and you find that you, too, are a pork fan, then you must have this recipe in your collection.

It is easy.
It is inexpensive.
It will make a ton of food.
It will make your house smell scrumptious.
It is exceptionally versatile.
It can easily be paired with barbeque sauce to make a fabulous pulled pork sandwich.
It can be paired just as well with tortillas, avocados and pico de gallo to make a delightful tex-mex dinner.
Or put some on nachos with some cheese and peppers for a yummy appetizer.

Alright, I know, enough talking already. Right?

Spicy Pork Roast
(I don’t know about the name, it’s really not at all spicy..)

4-7 pound pork shoulder (or picnic roast or pork butt)
1 yellow onion
4 cloves garlic
1 t. chili powder
1 t. oregano
1 t. cumin
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 T. oil
2-3 T. apple cider vinegar (or white distilled would work)
pepper to taste (I use a lot)
1 T. salt

Dry off the pork roast with paper towels. Heat the oven to 300. In a mini chopper or Cuisinart, combine all other ingredients until the onion is really minced up and everything is well mixed. Rub the mixture all over the pork. Put the pork in a Dutch oven and fill with water so that it comes up to about the half way mark on the pork. Cover the pork and cook it 6-8 hours. The length of time that it must cook is directly related to the size roast that you cook. I personally get the biggest one that will fit in my pot. Turn the roast every hour or 2 or, if you’re like me, when you remember to. At some point it will start to fall apart on you. This is good. When it is tender enough for you, jack the temperature of the oven up to 400 or so and cook it a bit longer without the top on the pan so that you can get it brown (about 15 minutes more or until desired brownness). Shred it up with 2 forks and dig in.

This is magical pork, y’all. I hope that you enjoy it!

Change of Coiffure

This is my baby last Saturday. We had gone to the Laumeier Sculpture Park to get some fresh air and sunshine. I think that what he was telling me here is that, if he ever has a daughter, he will name her Sparkle Barlow. He probably would, too.

A few days later, a bang trimming went awry and a much more grown-up-looking little boy took up residence.

Do you want to know the real problem, though, besides the fact that my baby is all little boy now — has been for awhile — and the existence of a envelope full of golden hair that now resides in my drawer, of course?

The problem is the eyes. They’re slaying me, y’all.

Sigh.

Change of Coiffure

This is my baby last Saturday. We had gone to the Laumeier Sculpture Park to get some fresh air and sunshine. I think that what he was telling me here is that, if he ever has a daughter, he will name her Sparkle Barlow. He probably would, too.

A few days later, a bang trimming went awry and a much more grown-up-looking little boy took up residence.

Do you want to know the real problem, though, besides the fact that my baby is all little boy now — has been for awhile — and the existence of a envelope full of golden hair that now resides in my drawer, of course?

The problem is the eyes. They’re slaying me, y’all.

Sigh.

Change of Coiffure

This is my baby last Saturday. We had gone to the Laumeier Sculpture Park to get some fresh air and sunshine. I think that what he was telling me here is that, if he ever has a daughter, he will name her Sparkle Barlow. He probably would, too.

A few days later, a bang trimming went awry and a much more grown-up-looking little boy took up residence.

Do you want to know the real problem, though, besides the fact that my baby is all little boy now — has been for awhile — and the existence of a envelope full of golden hair that now resides in my drawer, of course?

The problem is the eyes. They’re slaying me, y’all.

Sigh.

Rye

I tried my hand at making rye bread yesterday. The bread turned out really well. I used the recipe from Smitten Kitchen and followed it exactly. I’ll make it the same next time, all except I’ll not form it into the large round loaf as the directions say. I didn’t mind it — except that the finished loaf is so large that a bread knife the length of a saber is needed to slice the thing. So, next time, I’ll make either 2 smaller round loaves or maybe an oblong batard.

We shall see. Oh, and one more thing about the rye besides the taste — which was excellent, by the way — it has carraway seeds. It is dark instead of white.

What does that mean for this mom of some picky folks?

More for me. Wonderful.