sauce for ribs and pulled pork

1 rack of pork back ribs
or
2-3lb pork shoulder roast

whisk all these together:

1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 tin tomato paste
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp worcestershire
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cumin
2 tbsp paprika

don't add onions!

for ribs:

you will want to take a big piece of tin foil and put your ribs on it, fold the sides up to make a bowl shape so no sauce will leak out. make your sauce and pour it into the 'bowl,' making sure all sides of the meat get smothered. Now seal the tin foil at the top, making sure the sides of the tin foil package are sealed well too. try to wrap it tight enough that there are no air pockets.

mashed potatoes or garlic bread make a really good side to soak up all the sauce.

bake at 300 for 2 1/2 hours.

for pulled pork:

heat the sauce in a pan for a few minutes to make it warm/hot.
heat up a pan to medium and lightly sear the roast on all sides.
put the roast in the slow cooker and pour the sauce overtop. cook for 8 hours, check to make sure it's cooked through.
use a fork to pull the meat apart, it will turn stringy and nice quite easily because it's so tender from being cooked all day.

make some coleslaw. let it sit for about 20 minutes before serving, this makes it creamier.

put the pork and coleslaw and buns on the table and let everyone assemble their own sandwiches. they get soggy if you assemble them ahead of time.

if you want these to be even tastier, try using garlic toast instead of white buns!

summer squash risotto with spicy tomato salsa

risotto
1tbsp olive oil
1tbsp butter
1 medium/large shallot - chopped tiny
2 cloves garlic - sliced thin
3/4cup arborio rice
1/2cup white wine
3 cups stock heated to a simmer
1 carrot - sliced to 1/4inch
3-4 small summer squash, either patty pan or zuccini - diced to 1cm pieces
4 large green beans - sliced to 1/2 inch
a few leaves of lacinato kale, diced
2 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

heat a large frying pan on low heat. add the butter and oil.
as soon as the butter has melted (it should melt slowly) add the shallots.
cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
add the garlic and cook for 5 more.

now turn up the heat to medium and add the (uncooked) rice.
stir the rice in and allow to cook for about 3 minutes, until it gets translucent around the edge of each grain.
add the wine and stir in well, then allow the wine to evaporate.

add about 3/4 cup of the hot stock and stir together with the rice.
add the carrots and 1/2 cup of the hot stock, stir together and allow to almost evaporate.
repeat this step with the summer squash
repeat again with the beans
repeat again with the kale
repeat the liquid adding process until the rice is cooked. If you run out of stock hot water will work too.

now remove the risotto from the heat cover for about 5 minutes.
remove the lid, stir in the butter, lemon zest, and parmesan cheese.

spicy salsa

1/4 of a habanero pepper - diced very small
about 1/2 cup tomatoes diced small
2 tsp red wine vinegar
1tbsp diced italian parsley

combine habanero, tomatoes, parsley and red wine vinegar.

serve risotto topped with a scoop of salsa and about 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil drizzled over everything.

I garnished this one with kale chips. Rub kale with oil and bake at 400 for approx 10 minutes