Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Pulled pork is one of my favorite meats.  In the summer, I do my pulled pork in my Bradley smoker.  But living in the north much of the year smoking outside is just not a realistic option.  That is when I turn to my slow cooker.

The inspiration for this recipe comes in part from Ree Drummond’s Spicy Pop Pulled Pork.  I went in my own direction for the recipe from the get go, but her recipe sounds really good as well.

It is a bit of work, but I really like the result.  Having pulled pork in the middle of winter is definitely a great way to remember the days of summer.

Enjoy!

Cornbread Pancakes

Cornbread Pancakes

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Cornbread is one of those dishes that varies greatly from region to region of the United States.  Canada tends to go along with the northern versions, as of course they are our neighbours.

In the south, cornbread tends to be more cornmeal and less flour, for a dryer texture and more corn flavoured taste.

In the north, cornbread tends to be less cornmeal and more flour, for a cakier texture and less pronounced corn taste.

In my kitchen, I have found that I like a balance of the two.  I developed a cornbread recipe, and have been using it for a few years now.  One morning I had some buttermilk left over, and an overabundance of cornmeal.  I decided that I wanted to see how well the cornbread muffin mixture would convert over to pancake recipe.  After a couple of adjustments, I have a recipe that I am quite happy with.  It is a bit more northern, but still has a good cornbread taste and texture.  I did sweeten it up, but used brown sugar and honey so that there was not just sweetness from the ingredients, but a flavour as well.

There is a fair amount of butter in this recipe, but it contributes to the tenderness of the pancake.  It also makes butter at the table unnecessary, and when leftovers are toasted they can easily be eaten out of hand with no added butter.

These are a nice brunch pancake, and if you have some pulled pork kicking around, serve them in a stack with pulled pork in between and Jack Daniels/Maple syrup poured over the top for a super nice sweet and savoury breakfast.  They also pair very well with my Maple Butter, or so says my chief taste tester.

Aniko’s Shepherd Pie

  1. Aniko’s Shepherd Pie

Aniko Birtch was a very special lady in my life.  Aniko was my best friend, my partner and my love.  She was also an amazing mother, and an awesome cook.

Aniko and I enjoyed cooking together, and this was a recipe that we came up with one afternoon collaborating in the kitchen.   It was something we created for her Grandmother, something easy to portion out and freeze for her have on hand.

Almost as quickly as Aniko came into my life, she was gone.  She was diagnosed with  cancer, and after 11 short months of cramming as much life into every day that we could, she slipped away from us.

I cherish my memories of this very special lady, and this dish will always take me back to my time with her.

 

Aniko and Grandma K out for dinner with the clan
Aniko and Grandma K out for dinner with the clan
Aniko and Ryan
Aniko and Ryan
Aniko and Ryan
Aniko and Ryan
Aniko
Aniko