It’s been 5 months now and I’m very much still NOT used to this weather but I’m started to get better with it. The rain gear; umbrellas, galoshes, coats – one for running and one for walking, the dog rain gear, the towels strewn about the floor to walk on when you enter your apt sopping wet… the list goes on! And yes, I said ‘dog gear’… she gets so wet and smelly! Anything I can do to reduce wet dog smell and whatever her coat picks up as we’re walking

Hates the rain

So one of the first rainy Sunday afternoons called for a good comfort food dinner. I had received an email with recipes and one for an ‘all purpose pork shoulder‘ and couldn’t resist clicking. It was great! It gave the directions for a simple and tasty pork shoulder and then 10 more recipes on what to make with it.

First I made the chili, which normally I feel is too heavy and just sits in your belly afterward but this recipe was much lighter and had a great flavor. And I might have added a few things to spruce it up a bit as well.

gathered the ingredients

Yes, some canned goods were used, but when it’s raining and you want to hit the store once you just grab what is available.

Time to sautee the veggies while the meat is cooking for a few hours.

Pictures really don’t do this justice but the smell of my apartment and the little crispy bits falling off the bone were just what I wanted out of this cooking afternoon.

Like butter baby… just shred and pile it up.

Mixin it up!

I added a little wine to give it a little something extra. The portions were great as well. Made about 4 main dish servings. It had a lot of good chunks of peppers and beans and wasn’t too ‘soupy’.

As I stated before you make due with what’s available, but I’ll tell ya… the Safeway bakery corn bread was AWESOME. Super yummy and moist. It was a perfect little side snack with the chili. 

I added some avocado, cheddar cheese and some green onions to top it off. A little tortilla on the side if I wanted some good scooped bites.

The next night I made the pasta recipe which was fine… probably my least favorite out of the three I made. Then next night I made the tacos which were awesome! I ate them so quickly that I completely blanked on taking a picture of the pretty little guys.

I loved this article the idea of taking one main ingredient and making up several different delicious meals that you can’t get tired of throughout the week.

tulips are out now and make any kitchen a happy kitchen… with a happy cook

Another rainy day a couple weeks later I was in the mood for soup. Now, this is not from that pork shoulder article, but from Ina’s  new Foolproof cookbook that’s out now. (This is a great gift for any cook!) I made the tomato soup with grilled cheese croutons. Seriously one of the best tomato soups I’ve had. This will be a repeat all winter long. Besides, who doesn’t love grilled cheese w/tomato soup??

So here’s to attempting to figure out the weather, what to eat, what to wear, what to drink (I’ve been partial to a lot of bourbon drinks lately), how to food shop and how much to buy since you most likely will have to carry it a couple blocks as well as potentially up hills.

Cheers!