A $9 pork shoulder, 6 ways from Sunday

It took me a long time to come around to the idea of a Sunday roast. My parents grew up without refrigeration, and as a result, even once we immigrated to the US, each meal was cooked daily with no concept of leftovers. My first "how-to" encounter with a Sunday roast was about 10 years ago in a Nigella cookbook, where the roast was accompanied by several labor intensive sides, leading me to conclude, "Sunday, the day of rest for everyone but Mom." While I appreciated the low effort of Sabbatarian baked beans, I wanted the Lord's Day to have a more special meal. Eventually, by cooking my way through Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, I was able to get pretty quick at getting a braise underway. I came to realize that no thirty minute meal had anything on the Sunday roast and its trickle down effect making the rest of the week easier.

Pork prices have been low lately, and I bought a couple 7 lb bone in pork shoulders in COV for about $9 apiece. I consider myself a pretty frugal cook who doesn't waste food, but even I was surprised how many meals the roast contributed to for my family of four this week. (NB: We were supposed to have company over on the "roast" night, but they cancelled due to illness, so there was more leftover meat than planned).

1. Roast
This slow cooked pork shoulder recipe is about as easy as it comes and you wouldn't believe meat cooked for 6 hours could be so pink and tender.  Add a side of crockpot mashed potatoes and a cabbage slaw, and you would be hard pressed to find an easier Sunday dinner.
 
2. Pulled pork
I mixed half the remaining meat with homemade barbecue sauce for pulled pork sandwiches.

3.Pork fried rice
I used the remaining meat to make fried rice.

4. Pork Skin
There was a crisp pork skin on the roast that I used to flavor braised green beans, a side for the pulled pork.

5. Bone simmered into a stock
I simmered the pork shoulder bone with other kitchen scraps to make a couple quarts of stock for soup.

6. Fat rendered out 
When preparing the glaze for the roast, I skimmed about 2/3 cup of fat into a jar and refrigerated it. Just a spoonful has added a lot of flavor to sautees and refried beans, and has been the base for gravy.

So, to recap, a $9 pork roast provided the meat for three dinners and flavored several other dishes. Not too shabby.

St Elizabeth of Hungary

Elizabeth was a lifelong friend of the poor and gave herself entirely to relieving the hungry. She ordered that one of her castle should be converted into a hospital in which she gathered many of the weak and feeble. She generously gave alms to all who were in need, not only in that place but in all the territories of her husband’s empire. She spent all her own revenue from her husband’s four principalities, and finally she sold her luxurious possessions and rich clothes for the sake of the poor. (Conrad of Marburg, her confessor)



Image top: The Charity of St Elizabeth, Bartolomeo Schedoni, 1611
Image bottom: The Prayer Book of St Elizabeth of Hungary, 1220

ISO: Pirate book recommendations for an almost five year old

A neighbor passed on this wooden pirate ship her children had outgrown, which I am planning to give my older son (almost 5) for Christmas. I'd like to give him some pirate or nautical books to go along with the ship, but would love any recommendations. The Little Fisherman by Margaret Wise Brown and The Maggie B by Irene Haas are favorites at out house; I checked out the Little Tim adventures from the library, but found them a but past his comprehension level. What are some books in this vein that have been enjoyed by your family?

Image source: The Salvation of Peter, Santa Maria Novella, Florence

Some Thanksgiving books we are enjoying

Living in an agricultural community, my kids (ages 4.5 and 20 months) are familiar with the harvest, but this year I introduced the history of Thanksgiving. Here are some books we have checked out from our public library and enjoyed:

Hardscrabble Harvest (Dahlov Ipcar)
Fittingly, I first came across Dahlov Ipcar's work in the first book she illustrated, Margaret Wise Brown's The Little Fisherman. I was drawn to the book because the illustrations reminded me of the wonderful vintage Sanseau curtains in their nursery. From sowing the seeds in spring to the Thanksgiving meal, the rhymes follows the course of a year on the farm.

N.C. Wyeth's Pilgrims (Robert San Souci)
Full disclosure: this book is mostly for my benefit. NC Wyeth's murals for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company are amazing, but this is definitely a book for older children.

The Thanksgiving Story (Alice Dagliesh)
With charming woodcut illustrations, this book tells the story of coming to America from the perspective of the Hopkins children, which really brought the Pilgrim experience to life in my son's mind.

Sharing the Bread (Pat Zietlow Miller)
A sweet rhyming book about a 19th century family preparing Thanksgiving dinner.

Cranberry Thanksgiving (Wende and Harry Devlin)
For many years, we lived in Boston, and especially in the fall I get nostalgic about that part of the world. The Cranberry series have been a fun way to share some of that culture with my oldest son, who was born there. He finds the escapades of Maggie and Mr Whiskers hilarious, and I appreciate the subtle nods to collective memory, such as the singing of "Praise God from whom all blessings flow" at the Thanksgiving table.

St Frances Cabrini

Although her constitution was very frail, her spirit was endowed with such singular strength that knowing the will of God in her regard she permitted nothing to impede her from accomplishing what seemed beyond the strength of one woman.

(Pius XII, Canonization of St Frances Cabrini)

Frugal Gift: Church Lady Grocery Store Games

 

Six weeks from today is the Nativity of Our Lord. In my family, we alternate Thanksgiving and Christmas between various sides of the family. To reduce mailing costs (and to give gifts that can't be mailed) we often exchange Christmas gifts at Thanksgiving, even if they aren't opened until the end of December.

Here's a frugal gift idea, mostly purchased from the grocery store. The total cost was under $15, and it's local, comestible, and won't clutter up your house. What's not to love? Inspired by a visit to a local BBQ eatery, I put together a sauce sampler for my brother who enjoys smoking meats. 

Does your town have a local shelf stable specialty? Salsa? Chocolates? Preserves? When I lived in Boston, Trappist Preserves were for sale in the regular grocery store at the same cost as national brands. Spend some time poking around the next time you are grocery shopping- you might find a great gift!

St Martin of Tours

"Lord, if your people still need me, I am ready for the task; your will be done."
St Martin of Tours














Image source: Bernini "The Charity of St Martin"

St Leo the Great

Virtue is nothing without the trial of temptation, for there is no conflict without an enemy, no victory without strife.
Pope Saint Leo the Great












"Alessandro Algardi Meeting of Leo I and Attila 01" by Alessandro Algardi, (Italian, 1598–1654) - Image from Web Gallery of Art. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alessandro_Algardi_Meeting_of_Leo_I_and_Attila_01.jpg#/media/File:Alessandro_Algardi_Meeting_of_Leo_I_and_Attila_01.jpg

An ideal Friday lunch

A mug of tomato soup, hummus and pita, and a deviled egg.

Frugal Pesto, two ways

 

Top left: herb stem pesto salmon artichoke pizza

My family loves pesto, but in our small town, pine nuts are hard to come by and the grocery stores only sporadically stock prepared pesto. Instead, I have started using roasted, unsalted sunflower seeds in place of the pine nuts -an 8 ounce bag runs about $1.50.

This week, I made a couple frugal pestos from pantry and fridge/freezer staples. I haven't had much luck with incorporating herb stems in stock, but they work as well as leaves in marinades and blended sauces. Neither was on the menu in the forseeable future, so I opted to turn them into pesto rather than let them go to waste. I used the same formula a few days later, swapping frozen peas for the cilantro and enhancing its flavor with dried mint. Each recipe makes about a cup of pesto.

 

Herb stem pesto

1 bunch cilantro stems

2 cloves garlic

1 scallion (green and white portion)

1/3 cup sunflower seeds

2 T olive oil

1/2 t lemon juice

Blend all ingredients in a food processor or blender.

Pea pesto

2/3 cup frozen peas, thawed

2 cloves garlic

1 scallion (green and white portion)

1 mint tea bag

1/3 cup sunflower seeds

2 T olive oil

1/2 t lemon juice

Blend all ingredients in a food processor or blender.