“Pray don’t talk to me about the weather, Mr. Worthing. Whenever people talk to me about the weather, I always feel quite certain that they mean something else. And that makes me quite nervous.”—Oscar Wilde
I’m not really a talk about the weather all the time kind of person. Winter in VT means it will be cold, some days more so than others. I get it. The best thing about weather, to me, is that nowadays the forecasts are so spot on that one can properly prepare in advance for the assorted elements.
Speaking of preparing in advance, this super easy Slow Cooker Korean Spiced Pork is really delicious. Its sweet and spicy sauce contrasts wonderfully with the cool, sour kimchi when piled into sandwich rolls. Add more sriracha if you need additional heat.
I served the sandwiches with Parmesan Crusted Parsnips, an eclectic side for sure, but a nice change up to French fries or chips. Baking gives the cheese/cornmeal/mustard coated parsnip a crunchy coating that makes them absolutely irresistible.
Slow Cooker Korean Spiced Pork Sandwiches
Ingredients:
1 pound pork shoulder
2 tsp hoisin sauce
1 Tbs brown sugar
1 tsp black pepper
½ tsp ground ginger
4 Tbs soy sauce
1 tsp sriracha
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
Kimchi and additional sriracha, to serve
Sandwich buns
Directions:
1. Place pork into a slow cooker.
2. Combine next 7 ingredients and rub onto pork.
3. Cook on low setting for 8 hours.
4. Chop or shred the pork and place some onto sandwich buns. Top with some kimchi and a drizzle of sriracha.
Serves 6 to 8
Recipe slightly adapted from Bakes In Slippers
Parmesan Crusted Parsnips
Ingredients:
1 kg (2.2 lbs) parsnips, peeled and quartered lengthwise
4 Tbs oil
2 Tbs polenta
50g Parmesan
1 tsp English dry mustard
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 220℃/425℉.
2. Cook the parsnips in boiling salted water for 6 minutes or until just tender. Drain and pat dry.
3. Pour oil onto a large shallow baking tray and place in oven for 5 minutes to heat up.
4. Mix together the polenta, cheese and mustard powder on a large plate. Toss the parsnips in the mixture while they are still hot.
5. Transfer parsnips to the hot tray and bake for 15 minutes. Stir the parsnips and turn over, then cook for another 15-20 minutes or until crisp and golden.
Serves 6
Recipe from BBC Good Food Magazine
Yesterday, while choosing a band from Philadelphia to go along with the Philly Cheesesteak Pizza, I happened upon The War On Drugs Soundcloud page. Their album ‘Lost In The Dream’ was on lots of 2014 best of lists, but I missed it entirely. I love this quote about the record from Pitchfork “it’s dad-rock for people who are too fucked up and broken to even think of having kids.”
Check out The War On Drugs on the band’s Website, where you can learn of upcoming world tour dates and buy their music.
Cheers!
