Pork Spareribs

The husband was outside at 5pm and being the perfect day and that tomorrow will only be nicer, he mentioned he would like to drive up to the mountains and go fishing... Right away i search my fridge for picnic food and besides the peach salsa from Cannon's birthday there's nothing else. All my meat is in the freezer, so i ran to the grocery store and they had the best looking rack of spareribs, WINNER!!!! We'll have ribs, rolls, leftover chicken/rice salad, and chips and salsa.... oh yeah...tons of dark chocolate and a bottle of champagne! Not to forget lots and lots of napkins and wet naps to clean off the sticky fingers!!!
Since i like my ribs cooked low and slow, I'm cooking them tonight and will reheat them in the morning before we leave.

Ingredients:
1 rack of pork spareribs
Lots of Salt and Pepper
1 lemon
BBQ sauce of your choice or you can make your own (Recipe on the bottom of page)

Preheat oven to 225F.
Cut off "all" or" all you can" fat and membrane from the back side of the ribs.

Rub the ribs well with salt and pepper and squeeze a lemon over it. Wrap it in aluminum foil and place it on a cookie sheet.

Bake it for about 3 hours or when the meat is falling off the bone. I usually check after 1 1/2 hour in the oven, and keep checking it every 30 minutes.

If you like sauce on it, remove top of the foil after 1 1/2 hours in the oven and brush sauce all over it, brush more sauce every half hour until ribs are done.

BBQ sauce:
1 cup of apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups of ketchup
2 tablespoons of molasses
2 tablespoons of brown sugar
Salt and Pepper to taste
Splash of hot sauce

Mix all ingredients in a saucepan and bring it to a simmer over moderate heat. Cook it on low for 30 to 45 minutes or until thickened to taste.

Ham Steak with Caramelized Onions and Candied Yams

Whenever I'm lazy and don't feel like cooking much, ham come to my mind, it's already cooked so you are really just reheating, I like throwing it on a hot grill for a few minutes and topping it with caramelized onions! Candied yams are a perfect side.

Ingredients:

For the ham steak:

1 ham steak , i like the center cut

1 large yellow onion thinly sliced

1 teaspoon of sugar

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 teaspoon of butter

For the candied yams:

2 large yams or sweet potatoes

2 tablespoons of brown sugar

2 tablespoons of butter

Salt and Pepper to taste

In a large frying pan heat the butter and olive oil. Add the onions, sugar, salt and pepper. Cook on low for 45 minutes to 1 hour .

Preheat your outside grill to 500F or you can use a hot grill pan on your stove and cook ham steak on it for 5 minutes per side. Top with onions and serve it with candied yams.

While cooking the onions preheat the oven to 400F.

Peel the yams and cut into thick slices, place them on a baking dish and put a small piece of butter on top

of each slice. Sprinkle brown sugar, salt and pepper and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 30 minutes or until yams are soft.

Yesterday's "Roasted Chicken" Today's "Chicken and Brown Rice Salad"!

The chicken was absolutely fantastic last night! My father-in-law even asked for the recipe!
Had a thigh and a leg left and a small piece of the breast ,and as I hate to waste food decided on a brown rice salad with chicken. Add some veggies and some fresh herbs and it's the perfect lunch!
It's simple and quick, the only thing that takes some time is cooking the rice. I chose a blend of brown rices and lots of fresh herbs.

Ingredients:

For the rice:

1 cup of brown rice

2 cups of stock or water ( i used vegetable stock)

a splash of olive oil

For the salad:

1 carrot shredded

1 rib of celery finely chopped

Fresh parsley, marjoram and tarragon finely chopped

a large glug of olive oil

a splash of balsamic vinegar

salt and fresh pepper to taste

leftover shredded chicken

To make the rice mix all ingredients in a small pan and bring it to a boil. Bring the temperature down to the lowest setting and cook for 45 minutes.

Fluff with a fork and add a bit of salt to taste. Set aside to cool down.

In a large bowl mix the rice and chicken. Add the vegetables, herbs, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Season to taste. Serve it cold or room temperature.