A Life, Lived

California Dreaming

A year ago we were enjoy a stay in Paso Robles at the lovely Schoolhouse Rental. Yes, I would love to be back on vacation there now. Since that is not happening I am heading there for Travel Tuesdays.

 

Sweet and Sour Country Style Pork Ribs

These Instant Pot sweet and sour country-style ribs are made with meaty pork ribs, pineapple juice, and a flavorful sweet and sour sauce. This recipe uses  country-style ribs, but you could use spare ribs, bone-in country-style ribs, or pork chops in the dish.

These were delicious served with mashed sweet potatoes and roasted carrots for a delicious Sunday night dinner.

In a slow cooker this recipe would take 8 - 10 hours. In the Instant Pot I was done in about 45 minutes using the pressure cooker feature.

 Sweet and Sour Country Style Pork Ribs

3 lbs. country style pork ribs
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/3 cup pineapple juice
1/3 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 clove garlic, finely chopped or pressed
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, finely grated
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon water

Generously salt and pepper ribs. Select Browning and add 1 tablespoon oil to the cooking pot. When oil is hot, brown pork ribs on all sides. Work in batches so you don’t crowd the pressure cooker. Remove ribs to a platter when browned.

Add pineapple juice to pressure cooking pot and scrape up in bits on the bottom of the cooking pot. Add vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce, mustard, salt, garlic and ginger to pressure cooking pot and stir to combine. Add ribs and any accumulated juices.

Lock lid in place, select High Pressure and 20 minutes cooking time. When beep sounds, turn off pressure cooker and use a natural pressure release for 10 minutes, then do a quick pressure release to release any remaining pressure. When valve drops carefully remove lid.

With tongs, remove ribs to a platter and cover with foil to keep warm. If desired, use a fat separator to separate the fat from the juices. Return juices to the cooking pot.

In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and water. Add to juices in the cooking pot. Select Saute and bring to a boil, stirring constantly until it thickens. Turn pressure cooker off.

Add ribs and stir to coat with the sauce. Put the lid back on the pressure cooker and let the ribs absorb some of the sauce for about 10 minutes stirring occasionally if sauce is still bubbling.

Holocaust Remembrance Day

Today the world marks Holocaust Remembrance Day, the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz Nazi death camp by the Soviet Red Army in 1945.

Some ten days prior to the liberation of Auschwitz, 58,000 inmates were marched away because the Nazis did not want them to fall alive into the hands of the liberators; instead, they had to go on what has become known as the Death Marches. Over half of them would die as a result. They left behind the ashes and bones of over a million human beings, more than 900,000 of them Jews, most of whom died by gassing, and some 7000 sick and dying inmates, including Jewish and Roma children on whom the German doctors had performed murderous medical experiments.

Having visited Auschwitz in the fall today is even more poignant for me.

This sign is the first thing you pass when you enter the facility.

The Holocaust, which established the standard for absolute evil, is the universal heritage of all civilized people. The Holocaust profoundly affected countries in which Nazi crimes were perpetrated, but also had universal implications and consequences in many other parts of the world. As genocide and atrocity crimes keep occurring across several regions, this has never been so relevant.

Instant Pot Pork and Sauerkraut

Apparently in some parts of North America it is traditional to eat pork and sauerkraut on New Year's Day. I need to fin out where as this is a tradition I could get behind!

Sauerkraut wasn’t something I loved so much as a kid but I really love it with pork and kielbasa as an adult. We eat a similar meal many times in the fall and winter . . . I guess you could say that it is a family favorite. We keep it really simple and recently I decided to try it in the Instant Pot.

The results were amazing - better, in fact, then with the more traditional slow roast in the oven method that I normally use. I really like how the Instant Pot always results in tender, melt i your mouth, meat - even those cuts which can be tough.

Instant Pot Pork and Sauerkraut

1 tablespoon oil
1 lb pork ribs
1 pound kielbasa, sliced
24 oz. sauerkraut
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1/3 cup water

Push the saute button on your Instant Pot and let heat up.

Add the oil and then place all the ribs in to brown. Sprinkle salt and pepper and brown on both sides.

Then add the sauerkraut and sprinkle the brown sugar on top.

Put the kielbasa slices on top and pour in the water.

Close and lock the lid and switch the vent to the sealing position.

Push the manual button for 15 minutes.

When timer is down, either let vent naturally or turn vent with a quick release.

Open the lid and mix the kraut around a bit.

Travel Tuesdays - Carmel

This time last year we were getting ready to fly to California for some much needed R and R in the sun. We started off in Carmel.

 

 

Kitten Update

Well, the boys are boys no longer.

Last Friday we took them in for their 'procedure'. We also had them micro-chipped since it was easy to do it while they were already under anesthetic.

Everything seems to have gone well - although they are not impressed with their cones.

The vet advised us to try and keep them quiet however when they came home from the clinic I have never seen them so active. It must have been a combination of extreme change in routine, coming out of the anesthetic, and just stress. We tried to settle them down to no avail. Finally the wind left their sails and they crashed.

They slept for much of the weekend afterwards.

The vet sent us home with separate meds for Lucca and for Jake. I think the meds must have had a calming affect as well because once they were done - BOOOM - wild kitties again!

Oh well. I keep telling Paul - they are babies, they make poor choices . . . like when Jake fell into the toilet in the middle of the night last night because someone (me) had foolishly left the lid down AND the door open.

The cones come off tomorrow and we should return to normal . . . whatever that is these days.

They are getting big. So big that it was getting difficult for them to snuggle up in the cat bed together.

Instant Pot - Swiss Steak

Swiss Steak is one of those foods I remember from my childhood. It would show up on the menu from time to time - likely because mom's recipe made enough for two meals and she could use a cheap cut of meat for it. By the end of a long, slow cooking process you'd never know a cheap cut of meat had been used.

I'm not sure why this is called Swiss Steak. I doubt that there is anything remotely Swiss about it. Swiss steak is often confused with Salisbury Steak, but there is a difference between the two. A Salisbury steak is made with ground beef and shaped into a patty while Swiss steak is actually steak! Salisbury Steak generally has a beef broth based gravy while Swiss steak has a tomato based sauce.

To make this without an Instant Pot you'd normally send 3.5 hours prepping and cooking in a Dutch Oven in the oven or 7 - 8 hours in a slow cooker. in the Instant Pot the cooking time is about an hour.

You can serve Swiss Steak with noodles or rice but we like it over mashed potatoes.

Instant Pot - Swiss Steak

2 pounds sirloin roast, sliced into 5 pieces
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons oil
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
1 medium white onion, chopped
2 (16 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Season cut meat on both sides with salt and pepper; sprinkle flour on both sides and pat in.

Turn pot to sauté; wait until the pot registers hot.

Add oil and two pieces of meat (if you crowd the meat it will steam and not brown properly); brown on both sides, remove from pot and place on a plate. Continue with the remaining pieces of meat.

Mix together the bell pepper, onion, tomatoes, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.

Once all the meat has be browned; return to the pot and pour sauce over the meat.

Secure the lid.

Reset pot to Meat/Stew or high pressure; set timer for 30 minutes with the pressure valve closed.

Once timer goes off let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes; twist valve for quick release to remove the remaining pressure.

When all the pressure is released; transport meat to platter with sauce.

Instant Pot - Pea Soup

Normally pea soup is a 2 to 3 hour job. I was keen to try it in the instant pot where it was supposed to be a 25 minute job . . . yes, 25 minutes. I thought that had to be wrong but I was game to try it.

Generally pea soup is a post-Easter thing for me. Since ham is often on the menu there is a leftover ham bone to utilize and it helps make the best pea soup I find. I had a ham bone in the freezer that I was happy to throw into the pot.

I modified a recipe from the Skinny Taste blog and it came out really well.

Instant Pot - Pea Soup

1 lb dry green split peas
1 tsp olive oil
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
1 medium onion, diced
1/4 cup diced celery
2 cloves garlic, minced
leftover ham bone
1 - 2 cups diced, cooked ham
6 cups chicken broth
2 bay leaves
1 tsp dried thyme leaves
1 tsp poultry seasoning (you could also use savory)

Rinse peas under cold water.

In a pressure cooker, add oil, onions, carrots, celery and garlic and saute 4-5 minutes.

Add ham bone, peas, chicken broth, bay leaves, and spices. Cover and cook high pressure for 15 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally then open, remove the bone and bay leaves and stir in the chopped ham.

The soup will thicken as it stands.

Travel Tuesdays - the Okanagan

In honor of our recently booked trip to the Okanagan I am heading there for this edition of ravel Tuesday. These are from 2015 when I was there for work and a mini vacation.

2018 Travel Plans

As I struggle to achieve life balance travel becomes more important. I do not get to travel as much as I would like, that being said, I know I travel far more than most people are lucky enough to do so I shan't whine .  . too much.

I've already shared some of my plans for 2018 on my Travel Tuesdays posts. But here are the details.

I am spending 8 days in Rome in March. This was a bit of an impromptu trip. It had been 4 years since I was last in Italy. There was a huge sale on airfares on Black Friday. It just sort of came together. Unfortunately Paul is not coming. Even though I'll be back before Easter he feels that they won't let him have time off since Easter is a food holiday (he works for a grocery chain). He didn't even bother to ask so whatever. While I will certainly miss having him along on the adventure I am also not adverse to traveling on my own.

I've rented a fabulous apartment about two blocks from the Pantheon. It looks as if it is behind St Maria Sopra Minerva Basilica, one of my favourite churches in Rome. St Maria Sopra Minerva Basilica is famous for its medieval tombs, Michelangelo sculpture & elephant obelisk out front.

I also found a great Black Friday sale on tours with one of my favourite tour companies so I booked two. The first is a tour of a preserved Roman house Case Romane del Celio. Located under the church of Saints Giovanni and Paolo this really is a collection of 2nd and 3rd century Roman houses in which Christians worshiped with a number of well-preserved frescoes. After that we will wander parts of the Colosseum and Roman Forum that are generally off limits to tourists.

The second tour that I have booked is a out of hours tour of the Vatican. Actually, I think only the Sistine Chapel portion of the tour is out of hours but the opportunity to be alone (or relatively alone) while viewing Michaelangelo's masterpiece is exciting.

We also tour the museums and St. Peter's Basilica. One of the things I hope to do is to actually go back and see more of the Vatican museums. Any time I have been there before I have been stuck in a huge group that raced past things that I wanted to see.

The rest of my time in Rome is unplanned but I know will involve amazing food, art, history, shopping, and people watching.

All good.

Next up on the trip front is a long weekend in Ottawa. Paul and I celebrate the 20 anniversary of when we met on May 18. It is also our second wedding anniversary. We've been invited to a colleague's wedding in Ottawa that weekend so we decided to make an extended trip of it. Our first getaway after we started dating was a weekend away in Ottawa. it seems sort of fitting that we return. We'll stay at the Lord Elgin hotel once again but I found a great deal on an upgraded room so we'll have a bit more luxury than we had 20 years ago. :-)

Other than the wedding we have no significant plans for our time in Ottawa although I'm sure we'll find many interesting things to do.

In July we head to Edmonton. I'll be in a meeting for most of our time there but I know Paul will have an interesting wandering the capital city of Alberta.

As soon as the meeting is finished we'll be taking a short flight to Kelowna to hang out in BC's famous wine region for a week. We had a taste of the region (pun intended) when I was there for a work function a few years ago but it was off-season and many of the wineries were closed or had reduced hours. We managed to get in enough tasting to know we wanted to go back.

Paul did the research for this trip. He found a beautiful house on a vineyard for us to rent.

I am looking forward to sitting at the table with my morning coffee and taking in that amazing view!

We will visit wineries, visit some farm-to-table restaurants, do some hiking, shop, and relax. . . a perfect way to enjoy wine country.

I am sure a few more things might come up over the course of the year but these three getaways are set in stone at this point.