Citrus Braised Pork

Does anyone else out there have a go-to shredded pork recipe?  Maybe it is because I grew up seeing billboards that said, "Pork.  The other white meat." but having a solid shredded pork recipe is a must for me and my kitchen.  I was vegetarian for a couple years and the primary reason I ever broke my vegetarianism was for a pork dish.  Not little ol' bacon but an honest, solid, delicious pork dish.  It is definitely my favorite of all the meats.

A couple months ago I came across a book called "Date Night In" by Ashley Rodriguez.  I instantly fell in the love with the concept of the book and ordered it off Amazon.  And when it finally arrived (and by finally, I really mean two days later-thank you, Amazon Prime!), I was not disappointed!  I have made many of the dishes in this book and have loved them all.  Ashley's Citrus Braised Pork recipe has definitely become a staple in our home.  I pull this recipe out whenever I want to impress people with a flavorful pork dish that is ridiculously easy to put together.

In Ashley's book, this braised pork is to be used in a chilaquiles dish.  I have made this dish multiple times and I will let you know it is incredible.  I am pretty sure chilaquiles is now one of Matt's favorite dishes of all times.  In fact, now that I think about it, I have made it twice for my in-laws.  That alone is a testimony to its tastiness. When a chilaquiles recipe is a go-to when cooking for your in-laws, you know it must be solid.  I have also used the just braised pork recipe in a variety of other ways.  We've put the pork on sandwich buns. Delicious!  We've put it in tacos. Amazing! We've made nachos and piled them high with this pork.  Incredible!  It is simply a wonderful and easy go-to shredded pork recipe.

I really can't say enough about this book. I love that the book has recipes based on the availability of seasonal fruits and vegetables.  I love that Ashley has created courses for each of the the date night meals.  It really makes a date night in feel special because there are rounds of food just like if going to a fancy restaurant.  I also love that it has a list of groceries written out for you so you know what ingredients you need to complete each set of date night recipes.  The meals do take some planning to complete but isn't the preparation part of the joy of cooking?  I hope you enjoy!

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Citrus Braised Pork 
Date Night In by Ashley Rodriguez
serves 6 to 8

2 cups orange juice
2 teaspoons freshly grated lime zest
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil
10 garlic cloves, smashed
1 yellow onion, sliced
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 dried bay leaves
3 1/2 pounds bone-in pork shoulder or 3 pounds of boneless pork shoulder

In a heavy Dutch oven or other oven-safe pan with a lid, stir together the orange juice, lime zest, lime juice, olive oil, garlic, onion, brown sugar, salt, pepper, oregano, cumin, and bay leaves. Add the pork shoulder and turn to coat.  Cover and refrigerate for at least four hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Cover the whole roasting pan tightly with aluminum foil.  Roast, covered, for 1 1/2 hours.  Carefully flip the pork, cover again, and roast for another hour.

Remove the foil and roast for another 1 1/2 to 2 hours, turning once halfway through.  If the pork falls apart as you try to flip it over, it is done.  If not, continue to roast until it falls apart and the marinade is reduced. For a shoulder of this size, the total cooking time is usually 4 to 5 hours, or an hour to an hour and half per pound.

Remove from the oven and let rest for 20 minutes.  Shred the pork in the pan with two forks and mix with the reduced marinade.  Remove the bay leaves.

The pork can be fully prepared (marinated and braised) 1 to 2 days ahead and stored, covered, in the refrigerator.  The flavor improves over time.

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Cookies for the nursing mommas (and all the other people who just enjoy cookies)

After baby Owen was born, he had some major gas issues that caused him stomach pains and screaming fits.  It was horrible for him and for us.  We hated seeing our little ten day old baby in so much pain.  The pediatrician recommended I cut down on my dairy consumption to see if that helped with the problem.  Low and behold, it did. It made a huge difference so I am basically dairy-free right now.  I definitely have cheat days but a majority of the time I pass on the milk, cheese, butter, etc.  It's a slightly sad life to live dairy free (primarily regarding the lack of cheese situation) but I know it is only temporary.  

I recently had a conversation with a friend and she stated her Nurse Practitioner told her that oatmeal, flax seed, and berries were just some of the foods that increase a mother's milk supply.  As a nursing and pumping mother, I am always on the lookout for ways to increase my milk supply! So the other day when I came across a recipe for lactation cookies on the blog How Sweet It Is, my world was shaken.  What?!?  I didn't even know cookies like this existed.  (And just for clarification, they do not contain any breastmilk.  They are designed to help increase a mother's milk supply.) I looked over the recipe.  Oats, check! Flax seed, check! Brewer's yeast, check! All foods that can help increase milk supply!  I quickly determined that these cookies needed to be made asap.  

So to connect back to the first paragraph of this blog, I needed to make some modifications on the original recipe to make it dairy free.  I didn't want little Owen to be all gassy even though I was producing more milk.  I also wanted these cookies to be gluten-free. (That's a whole other story for a whole other blog post.)

Since I made these cookies and have been eating them on the regular (like literally daily), I really have seen an increase in milk production.  In reality though, even if I didn't see an increase in milk, I would totally keep this recipe in my file. They are super good!  Matt and my sister have been eating them too and love them.  This is definitely a recipe to keep around if you are looking for a hearty, raisin cookie...that also happens to have positive side affects for nursing mothers! I hope you enjoy!

This recipe calls for Brewer's yeast.  I did some googling and found the best price on Amazon.  This is the one I ordered (Brewer's yeast). It adds a really depth to the cookies.  I don't know what else I can use it in but it definitely works in this recipe.

I used Earth Balance instead of butter.  As you can see, when creamed with coconut oil, it looks just like whipped butter would look.  I couldn't even tell it wasn't butter.

The first time I made these with dark chocolate like the original recipe calls for.  The second (and third) time I made these cookies, I added raisins instead.  I loved the change!  The raisins melded so well with the heartiness of the oats, flax seed, and Brewer's yeast. 

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Gluten-free, dairy-free Lactation Cookies
*makes about 36-42 cookies depending on how much of the dough you eat before baking


3 cups old-fashion rolled oats
1/2 cup coconut flour
5 tablespoons of Brewer's yeast
3 tablespoons of ground flax seed
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup of Earth Balance
4 tablespoons of coconut oil
1 1/2 cups of cane sugar or coconut sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon of vanilla
1 cup of raisins (or more)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Add dry ingredients in a bowl and mix to combine.

Using an electric mixer, add Earth Balance and coconut oil to bowl.  Mix to combine.  This will take about 2-3 minutes. Add the sugar and beat it until it lightens in color and looks nice and fluffy.  This should take about another 3-4 minutes.  Add one egg at a time until combined.  Add vanilla.  Scrape down the sides as needed.

Add dry ingredients gradually.  Mix to combine.  Stir in raisins.

Bake for 9-11 minutes or until the bottoms are golden.  These cookies are great warm but even better when they are cool.  I have been freezing them and they freeze really well.

-Recipe adapted from How Sweet It Is' Lactation Cookies

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New chapters

This wonderful blessing is what has taken up all of my time recently.  Isn't he precious?!?

Clearly I cannot blame a 2.5 year absence from blogging on my sweet 3 month old baby boy.  But honestly, a lot more has changed in the last 2.5 years than just adding a new addition to our family.  We have moved states, changed jobs, and really just about changed our whole world as a married couple.  We have also changed kitchens twice.  Although we renovated both of those kitchens in order to make them into ideal cooking environments, I still did not feel the desire to blog.

Over the last three months of being a mother, it has reminded me that I still need to be connected to the parts of me (cooking, being creative, having some sort of outlet) that makes me, me.  We will see how this goes.