A Life, Lived

Pork Chops with Red Cabbage and Apples

This recipe, from Eating Well, was originally for pork chops with red cabbage and pears. Since I had a lot of apples to use up and no pears in sight I did a swap. Other than that I followed it as written.

Pork and braised red cabbage screams 'cold weather antidote' to me. It is a classic fall/winter combination. This version of braised red cabbage with a blend of sweet and sour is quite common in German cooking (and they know a thing or two about cold temperatures and comfort!)

The only thing I didn't love about this dish is the red cabbage didn't soften up as well as I have had with other dishes. It could be that I cut the cabbage too thick. It could be that the cabbage needs more time to simmer - other recipes I have made call for simmering the cabbage for anywhere to 25 - 60 minutes.

Anyway, despite the cabbage having had a bit of a crunch, this was delicious. Certainly delicious enough to try again in order to perfect the cabbage cooking piece.

Enjoy!

Pork Chops with Red Cabbage and Apples

¼ cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
¼ teaspoon dried sage, crushed
6 small pork loin chops, cut 1/2 inch thick (about 2 pounds total)
½ teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon dried sage, crushed
⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons canola oil
6 cups coarsely shredded red cabbage
1 cup sliced onion
2 medium apples cored and sliced
1 tablespoon snipped fresh sage and/or thyme

In a small bowl, combine cider vinegar, brown sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon sage. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the mixture; set both mixtures aside.

Trim fat from pork chops. Sprinkle pork with the dried thyme, the salt, 1/4 teaspoon sage, and the pepper. In a very large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add pork chops. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes or until pork is slightly pink in the center and juices run clear, turning pork chops once halfway through cooking and brushing with the 1 tablespoon vinegar mixture for the last 1 minute of cooking time. Remove pork chops from skillet; cover and keep warm.

Add red cabbage and onion to skillet. Cook and stir over medium-high heat for 6 minutes. Add the remaining vinegar mixture and the apples to skillet. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Top with pork chops; heat through. If desired, sprinkle chops with fresh sage and/or thyme.

Things You Never Say

Humour in art . . .

How to be a Good Cat

The Sofa

Cat owners will understand this dynamic . . .

Travel Tuesdays - The Beach

It is cold in Ontario. So cold that the local beach looks like this!

This little inlet is where kids often wade in the summer months. I took this pic because of the formation of the ice. These ice disks form where there is a protected circular flow. As the waves come into the inlet they spin the ice around forming these round disks . . . interesting to look at but there is NO way I'm dipping my feet into that water!

Instant Pot Rotisserie Chicken Noodle Soup

Long time readers know I am not prone to hyperbolic statements. This is by far the best soup I have made lately. In fact, if you don't already own an Instant Pot I'd buy one just to make this soup.

This recipe (posted on the Dad Cooks Dinner blog) takes longer than most Instant Pot soup recipes because you're not making this soup with store bought broth or that bottled bouillon powder. There are two steps - in the first you make a super rich and flavourful bone broth from a store bought rotisserie chicken. The second step is quicker - you use the broth to make an amazing soup.

Because of the way the recipe is structured you can split it over two days. I made the broth on one day, refrigerated it and then the soup the following day.

There are only two tricks to this recipe:

1. Save the breast meat for the soup. Pressure cooking the pulls the flavor out of the bones and meat into the broth, leaving the remains spent and dull. That’s why I reserve the chicken breasts, saving them for the soup.
2. 1 cup of egg noodles isn’t going to seem like much, but they expand and suck up a remarkable amount of broth. Don’t add more noodles or you’ll end up with a noodle stew, not soup.

So, are you ready for homemade chicken soup, in the Instant Pot, from scratch? Pick up a rotisserie chicken and you're ready to go.

Enjoy!

Instant Pot Rotisserie Chicken Noodle Soup

Rotisserie Chicken Broth

1 (2- to 4-pound) rotisserie chicken, breast meat removed and saved for later
Juices from the rotisserie chicken container
1 onion, peeled and halved
1 carrot, scrubbed and cut in half
1 stalk celery, cut in half
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
8 cups water

Rotisserie Chicken Noodle Soup

1 tablespoon butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and sliced ½ inch thick
1 stalk celery, sliced ½ inch thick
½ teaspoon< dried thyme
½ teaspoon< fine sea salt
8 cups of Rotisserie Chicken Broth (from above)
4 ounces baby red potatoes, quartered
1 cup wide or extra-wide egg noodles
Breast meat from the rotisserie chicken, shredded
1½ teaspoons fine sea salt
¾ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Minced parsley for garnish

Pressure cook the broth for 60 minutes with a Natural Pressure Release:

Cut the chicken breast meat off of the rotisserie chicken and set aside for later. Add the rotisserie chicken carcass, onion, carrot, celery, bay leaves, and salt to the pressure cooker pot, then add the 8 cups of water. (It should just cover the rotisserie chicken - it’s OK if the knobs of the drumsticks are poking up.) Lock the lid and pressure cook on high pressure for 60 minutes in an Instant Pot or other electric PC (Manual or Pressure Cook mode in an Instant Pot) or 50 minutes in a stovetop PC. Let the pressure come down naturally – about 30 minutes. (It takes a long time for all that water to cool off. If you’re in a hurry, let the pressure come down for at least 20 minutes, then quick release any remaining pressure.) Scoop the chicken carcass and vegetables out of the pot with a slotted spoon and discard; they’ve given their all to the broth. Strain the broth through a fine mesh strainer, and set aside for later.

Wipe out the pressure cooker pot liner, then put it back in the pressure cooker base. Add the butter and melt over sauté mode (medium heat for a stovetop PC). Add the onion, celery, and carrot, and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon of salt and the dried thyme. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the onions soften and turn translucent about 5 minutes. Stir in the potatoes and the egg noodles.

Pressure cook the soup for 4 minutes: Pour the rotisserie chicken broth into the pot, lock the lid, and pressure cook for 4 minutes on high pressure (same timing for both Instant Pot, electric and stovetop PCs). Let the pressure come down naturally for 10 minutes, then quick release the rest of the pressure. (If the steam that is released starts to sputter and spit out starch, shut the valve and let the pressure come down for another 5 minutes before quick releasing again.)

Add the chicken and season the soup: Stir in the shredded chicken breast meat, fine sea salt, black pepper, and parsley. (Don’t be shy with the salt – this much broth needs it.) Let the soup rest for 5 minutes to reheat the chicken meat, and serve.

Dry January

Lots of folks attempt 'Dry January'. If you dont know it is an attempt to make it through the month of January without consuming any alcohol. Presumably it is part of their urge to be more healthy after the indulgence of the Christmas season.

Me, I am not a fan. I'm more a fan of this:

January is challenging at the best of times but in the time of COVID. WOW

I don't drink a lot any more but I sure do enjoy a glass of wine with my dinner.

Perhaps this version of 'Dry January' is more my style:

 

Do Your Part

It isn't difficult.

Travel Tuesdays - Berlin

Last week I posted about the post Christmas my friend and I enjoyed in Amsterdam and Berlin. After a week in Amsterdam we hopped the train to Berlin. Note to self: don't take the train from Amsterdam to Berlin. While it looks to be a short distance on a map it is LONG. It didn't help that I was sick. We were in a train with private compartments - I slept in the corner and Nancy enjoyed herself talking to all of the folks who joined us for a part of the journey.

Here are some shots from our time in Berlin.

Snow Cones

Oh Calvin . . .