Blogging, a new world

Well, this is my third post in as many days! I have to say, I am enjoying taking the time each day to sit and write. I used to write in journals and used to write some poetry back in the day, so this is fun for me. However, I do feel a little odd writing about myself so much in a relatively public forum. I wish it was more interactive and that I was hearing more about you and your worlds as well as your cooking. I learn from my friends and family each and every day about everything - life, thoughts, values and of course about cooking. So, please share in the comments section or in any other forum. I don't want to feel alone here! I think the comments section might be difficult to navigate. Technology is great until it doesn't work....then it is supremely annoying!

I find that I spend too much time with technology these days. I am so, so guilty of this, especially as I sit and write a blog! I find I am on my phone too much (especially now that I am not working outside the house) and I am aiming for some time away from that aspect in my life. The iPhone or any other phone for that matter is so convenient - you can do so much work from the palm of your hand but I can lose so much of life in the process. A goal.

So, in light of what I said above, I had this bittersweet feeling last night. We are down to one car right now while the other one gets fixed from the ice storm damage a couple of weeks ago. Sosie came with me to pick Kel up from work. We had this really good conversation - one of a few we have had recently. It made me so happy to have this real time with Sosie to talk about real things, but also so sad that she will be out of the house in 6 short years. I can't believe how quickly the time has gone and how special and cherished it is. It makes me want to bottle this time and yet I have really enjoyed each stage of Sosie and Sage's lives. This is not to say that the kids aren't hard or that I don't want to scream at times. It just means when I think of the big picture of our lives as a family, I feel so incredibly lucky and grateful. I don't want this time to end but I want them to continue to grow and thrive.

Ok - song of the day.....Wildfire by John Mayer. This is from his new album. The whole thing is worth the download really. So put it on and get cooking.

Since Kelley and I have moved, we have become obsessed with tomatillo salsa. We absolutely love it and I start to get panicked when we run low, in the same way I panic when we run low on wine, milk and cookies. We find a way to put it on just about everything!  Kelley has become the master at egg sandwiches and egg burritos and tomatillo salsa is the key ingredient. I have a recipe to make it from my friend Becke and that will be shared soon but in the interest of time, Trader Joes makes a great one and since I don't have Traders nearby, we use Herdez. This is a great brand. And yes, I am panicking because it is only half full.....

The recipe I am going to share comes from Bon Appetit in April 2008 via my incredibly talented sister in law. We made this last night. It does make a lot so is a good one to make when you have guests. The recipe calls for pork but lately I have been using chicken-breast or thighs or a combination. To make kids happy, you can always add cheese to tortillas when warming them but we didn't use cheese last night and the kids ate them fine! We use lots of avocados and cilantro and if you have leftover cilantro from the Asian salad recipe, all the better!

The best part about this recipe is that it is really easy, and really quick preparation.......

Slow-Cooked Carnitas Tacos

2 pounds boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp dried oregano (preferably Mexican)
1/2 large onion or 1 medium, cut into 4 pieces
1 avocado, halved, pitted and sliced (I use more than one)
Fresh cilantro sprigs
Sliced red bell pepper (optional but we do this and can use other colors for prettiness factor)
Tortillas (corn but we used whole wheat last night)
Tomatillo salsa (lots!!)

Toss pork in bowl of slow cooker with salt, pepper and dried oregano to coat. Place onion pieces atop pork. Cover slow cooker and cook pork on low setting until meat is very tender and falling apart, about 6 hours.

Using slotted spoon, transfer pork to cutting board.  Discard onion pieces. Using fingers, shred pork; transfer carnitas to platter.  Place avocado slices, cilantro sprigs, and sliced red peppers alongside. Wrap corn tortillas in damp kitchen towel; microwave until warm, one minute. Serve carnitas with warm tortillas and tomatillo salsa.

Serves 4.

Notes: As I said, I used chicken breast and have used breasts and thighs (as well as pork) in the past. I shred the meat in the slow cooker (it falls apart) and I put the makings in separate bowls. We also made frozen corn and I put some cilantro in it too. The kids made it part of the taco and I ate mine on the side. I also do not discard the onion pieces. Side note: The onions are made mostly of water. They provide the juice in the slow cooker - though I tend to add a bit of water too just to make sure there is some juices in there.

Before and after shredding

 

Above are some of the fixings and below is Sage's tortilla before wrapping....

Well, that is a wrap! Ha!!

Enjoy the day!