slow cooker banh mi

Yesterday I bought 5 pounds of pork for $4. It was a steal but I had no idea what I would do with it. Today I woke up with a sick craving for something spicy and salty but way to lazy to go out for food. What better than vietnamese pulled pork sandwiches. You won't have to stand in line at Saigon if you've got this recipe!

Ingredients:

1 pound pork roast (or any boneless pork)
freshly cracked black pepper

4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsp vietnamese fish sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 green onion, chopped
half yellow onion, sliced
5 star anise
1/2 tsp white pepper
1 inch fresh ginger or 1/2 tsp ground ginger
4 thai chilis, minced
1 tbsp sesame oil

fresh cilantro
cucumber
pickled veggies (instructions to follow)

Rub pork with pepper. Mix the rest of the ingredients in the slow cooker. Add pork and cook for 4 hours on high setting.

Meanwhile make the pickled veggies. Use one part distilled vinegar and one part sugar. Add carrots, daikon, onion or cucumber.

To assemble:

Slice french roll in half lengthwise. Top with meat, sliced fresh jalapenos,sliced cucumber, pickled veggies and fresh cilantro.

Makes 4 sandwiches

I've gone all bananas!

I know I've gone bananas but I can't stop myself. Blame it on stress, lack of sleep or the fact that all my meals added up today totaled 5 grams of fat. Of course I am grumpy. Tomorrow I will sport that bikini and then stuff my belly full of grilled meat. Thank you Ketan for having a beach BBQ birthday! Anyway, all this talk of my neurosis made me want to share this recipe. After testing many recipes I took everything I learned and created:

THE BEST BANANA BREAD RECIPE EVER!



Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp of walnut extract*
2 cups of mashed bananas*
chopped dates*
3/4 cups of walnut pieces

Preheat oven to 350 ( I set my oven to 325) It might take a couple tries to test your oven temp.

Butter and flour one loaf pan. You need to do this to get the finished banana bread out in one piece.

In a medium bowl, sift in the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In another bowl, combine sugar, eggs and oil and beat at high speed for about 10 seconds.

Add the mashed bananas, chopped dates, optional nuts and vanilla. Mix until smooth. I usually mix for bout ten seconds. Stir in the dry ingredients and blend for another 10 seconds on high. Do not over beat but make sure all ingredients are incorporated.

Pour the batter into prepared pan and bake for 50 -60 minutes. Check with a toothpick to make sure the bread is done.

***Tips ***

The walnut extract is a must. I found a bottle of frontier walnut extract. I leave the dates in the fridge for a while to dry them out so it's easier to chop. You can also blend them in a food processor with the bananas. The best banana bread is made with over ripe bananas. I leave them out in the sun till they are just about black, then put them in the fridge for a couple more weeks. Don't let them mold though.

DO NOT SUBSTITUTE THE OIL. This taste so good with REAL butter. Mmmm...

Gold and Pearls

Gold on purple satin embellished with pearls and set on a metal chain headband. It's soft and tough as nails all in one piece. What accessory is more perfect than this for the girl that can kick your ass in shape and then land those melt your heart kisses right on your smacker?!