Trappist Ale Risotto with Grilled Pork

Posted on October 9, 2020 by Our Growing Paynes

Where we live, the length of our growing season isn’t guaranteed. Winter can be 4-6 months long depending on the mood of Mother Nature so second harvests of veg usually isn’t in the cards. But my husband decided to experiment a bit with the peas. The packet always says you can do two plantings but we’ve never had luck with that but he took peas from the pods that had gone past it a bit and planted those peas. Lo and behold, it worked! We did have to cover them a few times with the frosts we’ve had. Thank goodness as there seems to be a shortage of peas in the grocery shops and it’s a key veg in my Trappist Ale Risotto with Grilled Pork.

With this insane year it has been fascinating what becomes scarce in the shops. Now it’s peas but I’ve had trouble getting Coleman’s mustard, Old Bay seasoning and sour cream. Olives were scarce but that must be because of the spike in martini drinking. Like most people, a crystal ball would be handy so I can try to stay ahead of the curve!

I like mixing it up with risotto, it is such a versatile ingredient so it’s fun to think outside the box. I was in the mood for more German inspired flavours for this dish and I love trappist ale. It’s a great pairing with Jarlsberg cheese that is in this dish.

Technique for Trappist Ale Risotto with Grilled Pork

You couldn’t get an easier marinade if you tried. Beer, mustard, sea salt and pepper. That’s it.

Stir the ingredients and add the pork. Cover and chill for about an hour.

When it is time to cook the risotto, prep all the ingredients and get the grill heated. In a large skillet, heat up the garlic infused olive oil. Add the scallions and mushrooms.

Sauté for a few minutes, then add the risotto.

Cook for a minute. Add the mustard and stir well. Cook for another minute then add the beer.

As the liquid reduces, gradually add the veg bouillon to the dish while stirring frequently. When you start adding the bouillon, add the peas. At this point start grilling the pork. Cooking the risotto will take about 20-25 minutes. You don’t want it boiling but a decent simmer is good.

When you put in the last of the bouillon, add the cheese. There needs to be enough liquid for the cheese to melt into.

Once the pork is cooked, allow it to rest a few minutes before slicing it.

Top the risotto with the sliced pork and grate some Jarlsberg over the dish. Serve immediately.

It’s such a good feeling to be able to use and eat food that we grew ourselves, can’t get more local than that!

Trappist Ale Risotto with Grilled Pork

A fun twist on risotto with trappist ale and Jarlsberg cheese.

Course Main Course

Cuisine German

Keyword Trappist Ale Risotto with Grilled Pork

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Servings 4

Author Our Growing Paynes

Ingredients

Grilled Pork

1 lb Pork Loin 453g
1 cup Trappist ale 8oz
2 tbsp stone ground mustard
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Trappist Ale Risotto

2 tbsp garlic infused olive oil
1/2 medium sized scallion/green onion chopped
3-5 shiitake mushrooms chopped
2 tbsp stone ground mustard
1 cup Trappist ale 8oz
1 1/2 cup risotto 290g
1 cup frozen peas 130g
5 cups veg bouillon, needs to be hot. 40oz
1 cup grated Jarlsberg cheese 85g
sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Instructions

Grilled Pork

Mix the marinade ingredients together and add the pork loin. Cover and chill for at least an hour.
Heat the grill to medium high. Cook the pork until very light pink in the centre. Once cooked, let it rest for several minutes before slicing.

Trappist Ale Risotto

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the scallions/spring onions and mushrooms and sauté for a few minutes.
Add the risotto and cook for a minute. Then add the mustard. Stir well and cook for another minute. Then add the Trappist Ale. Cook again for another minute.
Begin adding the bouillon 1/2-1 cup at a time. Add the peas at this point as well. You don't want the risotto to be boiling but you want a good simmer going. As the liquid reduces, add more bouillon. Throughout this process stir frequently.
When the last of the bouillon is being added, add the cheese. Stir well and season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

Putting it all together

Slice the pork. Spoon the risotto onto a plate. Place the pork on top of the risotto and grate Jarlsberg over the top. Serve immediately.

Slow Cooked Lemon Garlic Pork

Posted on July 16, 2020 by Our Growing Paynes

So how’s the year going for everyone? Crazy you say? We all have years that we are glad to see the back of but this is a year, for the first time in a very long time, I think we’re all looking forward to see the back of. It’s been difficult to hold on to some normalcy, especially with our kids. Blogging took a back seat with sewing face masks and headbands, as well with just wanting to do cosy things and make sure the family was in a good and safe space. For a lot of us, the anxiety has been over the top. How there hasn’t been a wine shortage, I’ll never know. We still need to eat, of course! This Slow Cooked Lemon Garlic Pork is very easy to make and has a lovely fresh flavour, perfect for these hot days.

Technique for the Slow Cooked Lemon Garlic Pork

Preheat the oven to 300F/150C.

Prep the pork by removing any connective tissue and then pierce the pork in several spots. Everytime I think or say “pierce the”, I always think of the movie Birdcage and the “I pierced the toast!” line. Very funny movie. Place the pork in a deep baking dish. Season liberally with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

Add the rest of the ingredients to the baking dish.

Cover and bake for about 6 hours. Low and slow is key here. You’ll end up with moist and falling apart pork.

Remove the big pieces of rosemary so you don’t have big twigs in the meal. Shred the pork and stir well so the onion, garlic and rosemary are evenly mixed in.

Serve on a bed of lettuce, top with freshly grated parmesan cheese. I absolutely love roasted potatoes so that was my chosen side with this light meal.

I hope you are all getting through this surreal year and are staying healthy, we will eventually get through this.

Slow Cooked Lemon Garlic Pork

A lemony slow cooked pork served over lettuce

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Keyword Slow Cooked Lemon Garlic Pork

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 6 hours

Servings 4

Author Our Growing Paynes

Ingredients

2 lbs pork shoulder 900grams
1/2 onion, chopped
2-4 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
2 boughs of rosemary
1/2 cup lemon juice 4oz
1 cup chicken stock 8oz
sea salt to taste
freshly ground pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 300F/150C
Remove the connective tissue from the pork and pierce with a knife, several times. Place in a deep baking dish and season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Add the remaining ingredients to the baking dish.
Cover the baking dish and bake for 6 hours. After about 3 hours, baste the pork every 45- 60 minutes.
Remove the big pieces of rosemary. Remove from the oven and shred the pork with two forks. Mix in the rosemary, onion and garlic evenly.
Serve over a bed of lettuce and grate fresh parmesan over the pork.

Pork Wellington

Posted on August 2, 2019 by Our Growing Paynes

Pork Wellington has been on my list of things to blog for awhile now, waiting for a special time to make it. My husband just had a business trip that was crazy busy and when he comes back from these trips I like to treat him to a special meal. Understandably he gets tired of restaurant food and eating on the run.

The meal had to wait a day as we had tickets to go see Heart. Those two ladies at 65 and 69 years of age can seriously rock. Leaping about and belting out the songs, it was amazing. I would love to have that energy!

This is a time consuming but not difficult meal to make. You can save time by buying puff pastry but making the rough puff pastry is relatively simple and tastes a lot better than store bought pastry.

Technique for Rough Puff Pastry

The main key for a good rough puff pastry is keeping everything cold. Some people will grate frozen butter for this but you can get away with butter from the fridge.

Add the ingredients to a mixing bowl. Work the butter into the flour until you have a coarse mixture.

Add a bit of water at a time until the clumps come together in a rough ball. Cover and chill for at least 20 minutes. If you find that you add too much water, don’t panic you can fix it when you knead the dough.

Turn out the dough onto a floured surface. If you made the dough too wet add extra flour while you are kneading the dough. You don’t want to overwork the dough but you want a smooth ball where you see marbling of the butter. Roll out thinly into something close to a rectangle.

Fold into thirds like an envelope.

Rotate 90 degrees and roll out into a thin rectangle.

Fold into thirds again.

Cover and chill for at least 20 minutes and until you are ready to use it.

Technique for Pork Wellington

Melt butter in the skillet. Season the pork with sea salt and pepper. Sear all sides and cook it to about two thirds done. This is probably the trickiest part as you need the pork to be cooked through by the end of baking but you don’t want it dried out. It’s not like the beef wellington where you want it medium rare.

Remove from the skillet and set aside while you cook up the apple mixture.

Finely chop up the apple, mushrooms, garlic and sage. Add additional butter to the skillet and sauté the ingredients for several minutes until the mushrooms start to brown.

Deglaze with the calvados and cook until the liquid reduces to nearly zero. Remove from the heat.

On cling film lay out the prosciutto and spoon the mushroom mixture onto the prosciutto and spread it out. Coat the pork with the mustard and place the pork in the centre.

Tightly wrap the pork and chill for half an hour. After the half hour roll out the dough, remove the cling film and place the pork in the centre of the dough.

Trim the ends and wrap the pork like a burrito. Place seam down on a baking sheet and brush with a beaten egg.

Bake in an oven set at 425F/220C until the pastry is golden and flaky. About 30-35 minutes.

Let rest for about 10 minutes before slicing. Though if it is really flaky, the darn thing will fall apart as you slice.

I roasted up a bit of parsnip and made up a side salad to keep the meal light.

This Pork Wellington was well worth the effort and the flavours were even better the next day.

Pork Wellington

A twist on the traditional beef wellington.

Course Main Course

Cuisine English, French

Keyword Pork Wellington

Prep Time 1 hour

Cook Time 35 minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

Rough Puff Pastry

150 grams strong flour
150 grams cold butter
1/2 tsp salt
60 ml cold water (up to 60 ml)

Pork and Apple Mushroom mixture

1 lb pork loin
1 cup finely chopped shiitake mushrooms
1 cup finely chopped apple
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3-4 leaves sage, finely chopped
1/4 cup calvados 2oz
4-5 tbsp butter
sea salt and pepper to taste
6-8 slices thin prosciutto
1 tbsp stone ground mustard

Instructions

Rough Puff Pastry

Sift the flour and salt in a bowl. Cut up the cold butter and add it to the flour. Using your fingers, incorporate the butter into the flour until you have a coarse mixture. Add a bit of water at a time until the dough comes together in a ball. It will be coarse and sticky. But you don't want it overly wet. Cover and chill for 20 minutes.
On a floured surface, knead the dough until it is a smooth dough where you can see a marbling of the butter. Don't overwork the dough.
Roll out thinly into a rough rectangle. Fold into thirds in an envelope. Rotate 90 degrees and roll out again into rectangle. Fold again into thirds. Cover and chill for at least 20 minutes or until you need it to wrap the pork later.

Pork Wellington

Heat half the butter in a skillet. Season the pork with sea salt and pepper. Sear all sides of the pork. Cook it about 2/3 thirds of the way. When it's done baking at the end you want the pork to be cooked thoroughly but not dry. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Add more butter to the skillet. Add the mushrooms, apples, sage and garlic. Sauté for several minutes until the mushrooms begin to brown. Pour in the calvados to deglaze the pan. Cook until the liquid is reduced to nearly zero.
On a piece of cling film lay out the prosciutto. Spoon the mushroom and apple mixture onto the prosciutto and spread it out. Coat the pork with the mustard and place the pork in the centre of the apple and mushroom mixture. Tightly wrap the pork in the prosciutto and seal with the cling film. Chill for 30 minutes.
Roll out the pastry thinly. Place the pork into the centre. Trim the sides and wrap the pork like a burrito. Place on a baking sheet and chill for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 425F/220C.
Brush the pastry with a beaten egg. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the pastry is golden and flaky. Let rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing.

Lemon Rosemary Grilled Pork

Posted on July 18, 2019 by Our Growing Paynes

While I don’t like the heat and humidity we get this time of year, I do love that we are starting to be able to benefit from our veg garden. Miraculously, thanks to my lovely husband, we still have a rosemary plant going strong. It’s an annual where we live and he’s managed to get it to grow to a decent size. I would have killed it by now.

To keep it a manageable size, I’ve been using it a lot in various dishes, including my Lemon Rosemary Pork. For a side dish I sautéed some swiss chard we’re growing. The swiss chard is going gang busters this year, it’s rivaling the rhubarb!

Technique for Lemon Rosemary Pork

Get the dry ingredients of the marinade together before adding the olive oil and lemon juice.

Add the pork and marinate for at least a couple of hours in the fridge. When it’s time, start prepping the sauce ingredients while the grill warms up. Heat up the butter in a skillet and add the mushrooms.

Cook for a couple of minutes before adding more garlic and rosemary. Once you add the pork to the grill, add the remaining marinade to the skillet. Bring up to a simmer.

Add the chicken stock and lemon juice. Simmer for a few minutes. Remove about a 1/4 cup of the sauce and set aside.

Once the pork is cooked and resting, sautè the swiss chard in the remaining sauce. Cook the stalk pieces first then add the leafy bits. I like them slightly wilted but not mushy.

Spoon the chard onto the plate, top with the pork and drizzle the reserve sauce over the dish.

I need to come up with more swiss chard dishes as well because they aren’t showing any sign of letting up.

Lemon Rosemary Pork

A flavourful dish for grilling season

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Keyword Lemon Rosemary Pork

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Servings 2

Ingredients

Marinade

2 tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 tsp sea salt
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 pork chops

Sauce

3 tbsp butter
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
1 tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
remaining marinade
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 tbsp lemon juice
sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
2 cups swiss chard

Instructions

Marinade

Mix all the ingredients for the marinade. Add the pork and chill for at least a couple of hours.

Grilling the Pork

Heat the grill to medium high. Grill the pork until the internal temperature is 145F/63C. Allow to rest about 10 minutes.

Sauce

Heat up the butter in a skillet. Sautè the mushrooms for a few minutes. Add the rosemary and garlic. After cooking for a few minutes, add the chicken stock and lemon juice. Bring to a simmer.
Reserve a 1/4 cup of the sauce for the pork.
In the remaining sauce, cook the swiss chard stalk pieces for a minute or two, then add the leafy part of the chard to slightly wilt.

Assembling the Dish

Spoon the swiss chard onto the centre of the dish. Place the pork onto the swiss chard and spoon the reserve sauce over the pork.

Spiced Candied Bacon

Posted on March 1, 2019 by Our Growing Paynes

The inspiration for Spiced Candied Bacon struck as we were on a little escape to see Mumford and Sons in Providence, Rhode Island. I was at a loss of what to blog about this week as the show was this past Wednesday night, the night I usually cook something up for my blog. The bar at the hotel came to the rescue! We ordered a charcuterie plate that had some candied bacon. It was so good with a hint of spiciness. I just had to make it.

For my husband’s birthday, our kids bought him a ticket to Mumford and Sons. The band is amazing live. Great harmonies, fantastic music and they just interact with the audience really well. A fabulous break from the dull winter.

Technique for Spiced Candied Bacon

Mix the dry rub ingredients together. For this recipe I used 2 tablespoons of brown sugar but if you want it less sweet, you can reduce the sugar by up to a tablespoon. Or increase the spices. You just need to make sure you have enough rub for the bacon.

Evenly coat the bacon and then bake on convection/fan. Keep an eye on this as you don’t want it suddenly to get overly crispy. It takes 5-10 minutes depending on the thickness. Set aside when done.

As it’s probably not a good idea, though they wouldn’t protest, to just feed your kids bacon I made a southwest veg topping with panko crusted chicken and pepper jack cheesy potato and parsnip mash. I cooked up corn, mushrooms, onion, garlic and pepper with a bit of chicken stock, habenero flakes, lime zest, chili powder and cumin.

Layer the mash, chicken, veg and the bacon and serve. I’ll definitely be making this bacon again. It’s so easy to do and would go with so many different kinds of dishes. Thank goodness for inspiration!

Spiced Candied Bacon

A quick and easy recipe balancing heat and sweet for entrees and starters.

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Southwest

Keyword Spiced Candied Bacon

Cook Time 10 minutes

Servings 4

Author Our Growing Paynes

Ingredients

8 Streaky bacon rashers
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
zest from half a lime
sea salt to taste
1 tsp habanero flakes

Instructions

Preheat the oven on convection/fan to 350F/175C.
Mix the dry ingredients well then coat the bacon rashers. Lay out the bacon on a metal cooling rack and place that onto a baking rack. Bake for 5-10 minutes, keeping an eye on it so it doesn’t crisp up too much.
Serve with entrees or starters, or by itself!

Cider Sage Pork

Posted on January 10, 2019 by Our Growing Paynes

Just like any food blogger that has been doing this for several years, I find inspiration and motivation for new recipes ebbs and flows. I love it when it flows, no surprise there but when life gets crazy the brain cramping definitely increases. When the imagination is sparking I make lists but sometimes ideas show themselves when you aren’t paying attention.

I was in the queue waiting to pay for my weekly food shop and I spied a magazine with a pork dish on the cover. The title for it said Cider Sage Pork. If the magazine wasn’t $10 then it would have left the rack and been perused. But it stayed. I figured I could come up with my own recipe and keep the $10!

Sweet apple is lovely with garlic and sage

We’re lucky that our co-op carries delicious sweet apples like gala or pink lady. First thing is to prepare the marinade so the pork loin can marinate for several hours. If you don’t have the time, try to marinate for at least an hour. Give the pork a chance to take on the lovely flavours. The cider I used was apple cranberry as there was a special on and I’d thought it would be fun to add the tang of cranberry to this dish. But obviously regular cider works. I should also note, the cider is non-acoholic, not the hard cider.

When it is time to cook dinner, finely chop the apple, onion, garlic and sage. Set aside. Pre-heat the oven to 350F/175C. In a skillet, heat up the olive oil and brown all sides of the pork loin.

Finish off the pork in the oven while making the sauce. Add the onion, garlic and apple to the skillet. Cook for several minutes until the onion starts to become translucent.

Add the remaining marinade and chicken stock. Bring to a simmer and add the mustard, sage and thyme. Season with sea salt and pepper.

Simmer the sauce to reduce by a third. When the pork is cooked, remove from the oven and let is rest for 8-10 minutes.

To serve, slice the pork loin and top with the sauce. To keep the dish light we had roasted potatoes and corn as sides.

I was very happy to find this inspiration while patiently waiting in a queue. I’m definitely keeping my eyes open!

Cider Sage Pork

A flavourful pork loin with apple cider, onion, and sage.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword Cider Sage Pork

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 2

Author Our Growing Paynes

Ingredients

1 pork loin (about a pound/16oz

Marinade

3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup apple cranberry cider 4oz
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp fresh thyme
2 tsp fresh sage, finely chopped
sea salt and pepper to taste

Sauce

2 tbsp olive oil (used to brown the pork)
1/2 cup thinly sliced onion
1 apple, chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup chicken stock 4oz
marinade used for the pork
2 tbsp brown mustard
1 tsp fresh thyme
1-2 tsp fresh sage, chopped
sea salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Marinade

Mix the ingredients together and marinate the pork for several hours in the fridge. If you are pressed for time, marinate for at least an hour.

Pork Loin

Preheat the oven to 350F/175C. Heat the olive oil in a skillet and brown all sides of the pork and finish cooking in the oven. Once cooked, rest for 8-10 minutes before slicing.

Sauce

In the skillet with the olive oil used to cook the pork, add the onion, garlic and apple over medium heat. Cook until the onion starts to become translucent. Add the marinade and chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Add the sage, thyme and mustard. Season with sea salt and pepper. Simmer until the sauce reduces by a third.

Serving

Slice the pork and top with the sauce.

Pork Pie with Apple and Thyme

Posted on October 11, 2018 by Our Growing Paynes

Those that have followed my blog for awhile know I have a list of food I like to eat when we go back home to the UK. Fish and chips, sausage rolls and pork pie. Obviously I don’t eat them the entire time we’re there, I have to fit in the plane seat on the way back. But I do get through the list!

It’s been on my to do list to make homemade pork pie for quite awhile now. When my father in law mentioned that he loves pork pie as well I decided now was the time. They’ve gone home now and it’s strange not to have them here. We really enjoy visiting with them. Holidays seem to go by way too fast. We are already planning the next few visits and the way time flies, well it won’t be long.

Technique for the pork pie filling:

Now, I won’t lie, this is a time consuming dish. Worth it, but yes it will take awhile. Mainly because of finely chopping the meat. I didn’t want to use mince for this.

The recipe I used as a guide was from the BBC for Raised Pork Pie but with my twist. As it is apple picking season, any excuse to use up the apples will do. Pork goes really well with sage, thyme and apple. Finely chop the meat, apple and garlic. When you chop the meat remove any hard fat. You do want a balance of fat but you want that fat to render into the meat when cooking. Add the herbs, sea salt and pepper.

Mix well and set aside.

Technique for pastry:

Next prepare the baking tin. I used an 8″/20cm springform pan and lined the bottom with parchment paper. In a saucepan melt the butter in the water. Bring it to a high simmer but don’t boil.

In a large mixing bowl add the flour and make a well. Carefully pour the liquid into the flour.

Mix well with a spatula or wooden spoon. When it becomes cohesive turn it out on a floured surface.

This will be fiddly! Make no mistake. Knead for a minute or so then divide it 1/3 and 2/3. Cover and set aside the 1/3. Flour the rolling pin to minimise the stickiness. Roll out the pastry out thinly. Fold it into a quarter.

This helps get it into the pan a bit easier. Gently unfold it and press it up the sides. Make sure there aren’t any holes or cracks. Use your knuckles as nails are not your friends here! Add the filling pressing it firmly into the pastry.

Roll out the remaining pastry then lay it on top of the pie. Pinch the ends together and take a wooden spoon and poke the end in to make a hole in the top.

Bake for 30 minutes at 350F/180C. Reduce the heat to 325F/160C and bake for 90 more minutes. Beat the egg and brush the top of the pie with the egg.

Bake for 20 more minutes. Let cool. In a small saucepan add the chicken stock and thyme. Bring to a boil and add the gelatin. Allow to cool to room temperature.

Remove the thyme. Using a funnel, gradually add the stock liquid to the pie. This takes awhile as you don’t want the liquid to overflow.

Allow the whole pie to chill in the fridge overnight.

Serve with a side salad. On the table we had salad cream, brown sauce, coleman’s mustard and branston pickle. Can’t get more English than that! 🙂

Pork Pie with Apple and Thyme

A classic English dish with a twist of apple and thyme

Course Main Course

Cuisine English

Keyword Pork Pie

Prep Time 1 hour

Cook Time 1 hour 50 minutes

Total Time 2 hours 50 minutes

Servings 8

Author Our Growing Paynes

Ingredients

Filling

2.25 lbs pork shoulder/butt 1000 grams
1/2 lb pork belly 200 grams
1 large apple
2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tsp fresh thyme
2 tsp fresh sage
pinch sea salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Pastry

575g all purpose flour
200 grams salted butter
220 ml water

Remaining ingredients

1 egg, beaten
2 packets gelatin a packet equals 3 leaves
300 ml chicken stock
handful thyme sprigs

Instructions

Finely chop the meat, apple, garlic and herbs. Mix well and set aside. Make sure you remove the hard fat.
Preheat the oven to 350F/180C.
Heat the water and butter until a high simmer. Add the flour to a mixing bowl and create a well. Pour the hot liquid into the bowl and mix well. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for a minute or so.
Line the bottom of an 8"/20cm springform pan with parchment paper. Divide the pastry in a 1/3 and 2/3. Cover the 1/3. Roll out the rest thinly and place into the pan. Press the pastry up the sides, make sure there aren't any holes or cracks. Press the filling into the pastry.
Roll out the remaining pastry and place it on top of the filling. Pinch the ends together. Use a wooden spoon end to create a hole in the top.
Bake for 30 minutes then reduce the temperature to 325F/160C and bake for 90 minutes more. Brush the beaten egg over the top and bake for 20 more minutes. Let cool.
Bring the chicken stock and thyme to a boil. Add the gelatin and let cool. Using a funnel, carefully pour the gelatin liquid into the pie. Chill overnight in the fridge. Serve with a side salad.

Pork Belly and Who Are You Calling a Witch?

Posted on September 13, 2018 by Our Growing Paynes

Sometimes distractions can be really fun. Last Friday I hosted a lunch to meet distant cousins that I connected to through the DNA on Ancestry. Which meant I needed to get our shared branch in order. For me, that means going straight down the rabbit hole to find out more and more. I completely lose track of time. However, I’m really glad I did as I found a connection to the Salem Witch Trials.

A horrible time in history of hysteria which largely started because of a fungus on the rye grains. I got my ancestry back to Esther Elwell neè Dutch and the trials suddenly popped up. I found a deposition accusing her and two other women of pressing, choking, and squeezing a Mary Fitch who died. A seventeen year old girl was witness to this. I’m thinking holy moly. Until I did more digging. The witness had visions, Mary Fitch just had an illness. The stroke of luck for my ancestor was that the court was dissolved a few weeks before her arrest because more and more “reputable” people were getting accused so the court finally thought, hey maybe we shouldn’t be using visions as evidence. Esther wasn’t the only one I found, a Rachel Vinson neè Varney was also accused. Scary times. If they had been charged, it would have been a death sentence.

It made for a very interesting lunch!

Recently I’ve seen a few blogs using pork belly and I thought it was high time I took the pork belly out of the freezer and create something. I’ve just added a WP Recipe Maker plugin to, hopefully, allow for a printable recipe below. Please let me know what you think and if you have any issues. I’m starting with the free version so I can’t include unit conversion but I should be adding that down the road.

Pork Belly How-To

Preheat the oven on convection/fan to 425F/220C.

It looks like a lot of mustard but it will not overpower the flavour.

In a roasting dish add the pork belly that has been scored, seasoned with sea salt and pepper, and rubbed down with brown mustard. Roast for up to 30 minutes. Keep an eye on this! You want the skin crispy but not burnt. Then turn the oven off of convection/fan and set the temperature to 300F/150C. Bake for another hour or so.

Normally at the co-op the red onions are massive but suddenly they fit neatly in the palm of my hand and I have small hands. In a skillet, take a couple of tablespoons of the drippings from the roasting pan, heat up the skillet. Finely chop a small onion and two cloves of garlic. Sauté on medium heat. As the onions become more translucent chop up a mushroom or two. Add them to the skillet and stir well.

When the mushrooms start to brown add 1/2 cup/4oz of vegetable bouillon along with 2 tablespoons of brandy. Add a dollop of brown mustard.

Yes, more mustard! But it works. 🙂

Stir well and let simmer. In the meantime cook up 1/2 cup of quinoa.

To serve, place a large handful of lettuce greens on the plate, add a few spoonfuls of quinoa then top with the pork belly and sauce. It’s the kind of dish that straddles the hot and cool of the beginning of autumn. Getting tired of salads but not quite ready for stick to your ribs food.

Pork Belly with a Mustard Garlic Sauce

A flavourful recipe by Our Growing Paynes that highlights the pork belly with a mustard garlic sauce.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 45 minutes

Servings 2

Author Our Growing Paynes

Ingredients

1/2 lb pork belly 227 grams
1/3 cup brown mustard 3 oz
1 small onion
2 cloves garlic
1-2 white button mushrooms
1/2 cup vegetable bouillon 4oz
2 tbsp brandy 1oz
2 pinches sea salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
1/2 cup quinoa
lettuce
3 tbsp pork belly drippings 1.5oz

Instructions

Preheat the oven on convection/fan to 425F/220C.
Score the pork belly with a diamond pattern through the fat but not the meat. Season with sea salt and ground black pepper. Rub brown mustard all over the meat. Place in a baking dish and roast uncovered for up to 30 minutes. Keep an eye on it! You want to crisp the skin but not burn it.
Reduce the heat to 300F/150C on regular bake.
Take the pork belly drippings and add to the skillet. Heat up. Finely chop the small onion and sautè in the skillet. Finely chop the garlic and add that to the skillet. While the onion is becoming translucent chop up the mushrooms and sauté.
Once the mushrooms begin to brown add the bouillon, brandy and mustard. Stir well and let simmer.
Cook the quinoa according to the instructions.
Add lettuce greens to the plate, top with quinoa, pork belly, and the sauce.

Pork Loin with Mustard Garlic White Wine Sauce

Posted on March 15, 2018 by Our Growing Paynes

With this week’s nor’easter we weren’t sure if the kids would be at school to participate in the national walkout to protest the mass shootings that keep happening in this country. We had a snow day on Tuesday but only a delay yesterday. Both kids at each of their schools joined in and I couldn’t be prouder. It’s so important for people, kids in particular, to find a way to get their point across in a mindful way. May they bring about the change that is so needed.

I’d love to say that this storm was the last but we’re not going to be that lucky. Another one coming next week! So over this winter.

I wanted to treat the family to a nice Saturday meal this past weekend that would have a side of Brussel sprouts as it’s a treat for my husband. I was puttering about on the Pinterest site and I saw many recipes for mustard and garlic pork and then white wine garlic pork and I thought, why not do it all?

A couple of hours before dinner I did up the marinade for the pork loin. In a bowl that would fit the loin add a 1/3 cup of olive oil and 1/4 cup of white wine. Finely chop 4-5 cloves of garlic and a healthy handful of fresh thyme. Season with sea salt and pepper.

Score the pork loin, season with sea salt and pepper and add it to the bowl and make sure the marinade coats the pork well. Set aside in the fridge for a couple of hours.

When it was time to cook everything up I prepped the potatoes and parsnips for roasting. I really like them cut into disks. I find I get a lovely golden roast on the veg. Brush them with olive oil and season, again!, with sea salt and pepper.

Preheat the oven to 375F/190C. Take the pork out of the fridge and put on a sheet to roast. Mix 2 tablespoons each of brown sugar and brown mustard and brush it onto the pork.

Pop it into the oven along with the potatoes and parsnips. In a skillet add the remaining marinade and mustard mix.

Bring to a low simmer and add a cup/8oz of chicken stock. Simmer slowly while the the pork cooks. As it reduces add more chicken stock if needed to balance out the flavours and to make sure you have enough sauce. You don’t want a watery sauce but you want enough to go round!

As I mentioned my husband loves Brussel sprouts so I pan seared a bunch for him and our daughter. Our son and I don’t like them so I did up some green beans for us.

When the pork is done let it rest for several minutes then slice and layer over the potatoes. Spoon the sauce over the pork and serve with veg and parsnips.

This had so many delicious flavours that worked together. We all really enjoyed this meal.

Garlic and Herb Sauce with Pork and Pasta

Posted on March 2, 2018 by Our Growing Paynes

It’s common for people to lament the fact the younger generation will never make something of themselves. Every generation does it. They don’t work hard, they feel entitled etc. But then something happens and you can’t deny they are a force to be reckoned with.

When I was in high school the district was doing the usual layoffs but just using the seniority system rather than getting rid of teachers that weren’t good. The students including me were not pleased. There was a public meeting where students gave impassioned arguments saying we wanted teachers that would give us a good education. One of the maths teachers had to be constantly corrected by the students and she would get all flustered and it would get worse. She had seniority so she would stay. Hence the displeasure of those of us who were heading to university. We didn’t get very far but we showed the higher ups that we should have a say in decisions that would affect our future.

We’re seeing the power of students now for a much more serious reason. This country is plagued with school shootings but nothing has been done about it. Well the ground swell that is happening now is completely down to the students. Rightfully so they say enough is enough. They are using their voices for change. On the 14th of March there will be walk outs across the country and I’m proud to say my kids are going to be part of it. I really hope change will happen. It shouldn’t be a dangerous thing to send your kids to school.

Here is to positive changes with the students leading the way!

And now onto the cooking portion of this programme.

I came across a recipe for pork chops with a creamy garlic herb sauce by What’s In The Pan that looked good. I hope you enjoy my version. 🙂

We had 4 boneless pork ribs to use so I didn’t bother buying extra pork chops. I prepped the pork first so it could be finished off in the oven. Mix a 1/4 cup of flour, a teaspoon of dried oregano, 1/2 a teaspoon of sea salt and 1/2 a teaspoon of ground pepper on a dish.

Season the pork with sea salt and pepper then dredge them in the flour mixture. Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet. Brown all sides of the pork until they are nice and golden brown. Finish them in the oven at 350F/175C. I’ve no picture of this step as the one I took came out really blurry. No idea why I only took one! While the pork is cooking prep the rest of the ingredients.

Slice 4-5 mushrooms and chop 5-7 cloves of garlic. Add two tablespoons of butter to the skillet and add the mushrooms and garlic. As the mushrooms begin to cook add another tablespoon or so of butter. Also add small handfuls of fresh thyme and rosemary.

Take about a tablespoon or so of the flour mixture and add it to the skillet. To this add a heaping spoonful of brown mustard. Stir well and cook for a couple of minutes to cook the flour. To create the sauce add 1/2 cup/4oz of dry white wine, 1/2 cup/4oz of chicken sauce and 1/4 cup/2oz of lemon juice. Bring to a simmer to reduce down by a third.

Once the pork is nearly cooked along with pasta add 1/2 cup/4oz of heavy cream. Heat through and toss in the pasta.

Serve with a bit of parsley. I have to say one of my weaknesses is a cream sauce with lots of garlic. I could eat that all day!