Jack Jack

Pork & Apple Pie

organic apples

Monday. Garfield hated Monday's. Most weeks I don't mind Monday's but today was just a horrible day. Cooking always helps me feel better even on the worst day. I have been reading through a wonderful book called Pies Sweet and Savory by Caroline Bretherton and so today I decided to make the basic pie dough and then fill it with ingredients that I have in my kitchen.
My husband had pulled pork from the deep freezer. I knew I was going to make a pie so I looked over the recipes and decided to make my own adaptation of the pork and apple picnic pie.
 My son went out and picked three apples from the apple tree and I grabbed the bacon fat, apple juice, onions, shallots, potatoes and started working.
 I still cry large tears when chopping my onions. Even shallots bring me to tears, but I love them too much NOT to use them. I am thankful for my mandoline, which makes quick work of this painful task. And just in case you are wondering, a mandoline is a kitchen slicer NOT a musical instrument. ;) 

yummy onions and shallots

I combined all the ingredients, cooked them in a pan for about ten minutes to soften the potatoes. I ran out to the garden pick some sage then I added the pork and some chicken broth. It smelled like heaven. Bacon flavored heaven. 
YUM! YUM!

I placed everything in a bowl and stuck it in the freezer to cool. I added a little too much chicken broth so I left it in the pan and turned it on high and added a little flour to make a gravy. I rolled out the bottom crust, filled the pan and then rolled out the top crust. I attempted to use my pie crust cutters, but I rolled out the top a little too thin. It didn't look nice but it tasted just perfect! 

potatoes

I filled the pie, topped it off and baked it for almost an hour at 375. 
I was really worried that it wouldn't come out too good, but it was divine! 




So here is the recipe. It's not exact but I will do my best to remember what I did. 











3/4 pound boneless pork half frozen (makes it easier to cut) cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 1/2 cups potatoes cut into 1/2 inch cubes
one red onion sliced thin
5 shallots roughly chopped
1/4 cup bacon fat
1/4 cup apple juice
3 Macintosh apples peeled and chopped 1/2 inch cubes
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 sage leaves chopped 
1 tsp dried parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Pie Crust
2 cups flour
10 TBSP butter cut in small cubes
egg yolk
salt
ice water
gently mix in butter and egg until mixture resembles coarse crumbs, add water a few tablespoons at a time until it holds together. Work very gently. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before using. 


Leave the pork in the fridge while you prepare the veg. Chop the onions, shallots, potatoes and apples and place in a pot with bacon fat, apple juice and chicken broth. Cook for about 10-15 minutes stirring occasionally. Add herbs, salt and pepper and cook a few minutes longer. Add the pork and cook just a few minutes until white on outside. It will cook completely while baking, and not be too dry. Place in a bowl and stick it in the freezer to cool while you line the pan with the pie crust. 

listen to some good music while you cook

Oven 375 
Cover dish with butter and a little flour
Line 9" round dish with one layer of crust.
Roll crust and cut steam vents in top layer
Bake about one hour

YUM! YUM! 

not a great photo, but it sure tasted fantastic. yum yum. 

Moodi Foodi: Recipes : Baked Crab Rangoon

Moodi Foodi: Recipes : Baked Crab Rangoon

This looks SO YUMMY! Crab Rangoons are one of m favorite foods ever.

Canning Pickles: Have a good laugh at my ridiculousness

OK so I am going to can! I have the canner, the jars, the lid, the canning tools and a ridiculous amount of cukes. I clean the kitchen counters and wipe everything down with vinegar. Meghan walks in and says "Mmmmmmm it smells so good in here." Note that I have NOT even started making the pickles yet. She is so much like her Auntie Angela; she could eat enough pickles to preserve herself until she was 300 years old. I fill up the canner and another pan to sterilize the lids and jars. I start with the lids. I boil them exactly 10 minutes and attempt to remove them with the JAR LIFTER. This is where the trouble begins. Of course there is ONE lid that I cannot pick up. After much frustration and many failed attempts I finally got the last lid and I placed them in a glass dish with a cover and pour boiling water over them. Time to boil the jars. There on the towel is the magnetic wand you are supposed to use to lift the lids and rings out of boiling water. I shake my head and move on. Time to sterilize the jars. The canner is filled with water so I get ready to put the jars in. I look in the pot and realize the 2 handles on the side of the rack have fallen down. Or they were always down. The water is boiling so I try to use the jar lifter to get them up. I get one up burning myself in the process. I am a lot more careful the next time. The first side now falls down. I am now cursing under my breath. I can do this. It takes a few more minutes and I finally get them up and place a jar in the water as fast, but as carefully as I can. Another side of the lifter falls. Again. I wrestle with it and get another jar in. Now the other side falls. *SCREAM* I finally get them all in. Deep breath. While they are boiling I look at the bowl with the lids. Oh great... what if they get cold?? I am on the verge of a panic attack. I dump some of the water out and add some boiling water from my tea kettle. I did my homework.  Always have boiling water on standby. Time to get the jars out. I pick one up with the jar grabber. Ooooh I like this toy. I pour out the boiling water and then look around. Where do I put the jar? At first I was going to pull all the jars out at once, then I decided I was going to pack them one at a time. I place the jar back in and get a towel ready on the counter. The jar falls almost sideways. SERIOUSLY??!! I manage to get it out without burning myself again. I load in the dill and some peppercorns and then start to load the cucumbers. I look and see the funnel. I place the funnel on the jar and continue to load. Some of the cucumbers don't go in all the way. I shake the jar. Nope. I push it down with my finger. Then I freak out. What if I touch the inside of the funnel? I am going to KILL my family. I can see the headlines now. DEATH BY DILL. CANNING MOM GETS LIFE SENTENCE. I tell myself not to freak out. Time to add the brine. Fill it to the bottom of the funnel. I pour the liquid in. To the bottom... but wait... what if it's a little below or even worse, ABOVE the funnel?! Why aren't there directions somewhere to answer all of these questions??!! WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING??!! I remove the funnel and go to get the top. This is when I remember my MAGIC magnetic wand! This will be easy! I go to fetch a lid first and instead I get three rings all stuck together. You have GOT to be kidding me. I shake them off. I get a lid FINALLY and place it on. Then the ring. OH NO. I forgot to wipe the jar. I take the lid off and wipe the jar. There. Oh no, I FORGOT to push out all the air bubbles. I should have just gone to bed. I managed to prepare 6 jars of pickles. Time to process them. I look in the water. The lifters have fallen. Evil evil things. But WAIT! I have the MAGIC magnetic wand!!! I take it and use it to lift one side up burning myself. OUCH. I am more careful and I finally get the handle out of the water. OK. Now what. I have one free hand. I try to grab a jar with the grabber with one hand. I hope you are laughing because I have just completely lost my sense of humor. I manage to get the jars in while constantly battling the HANDLES FROM HELL. I put the lid on. Now the water just needs to boil. Tick. Tock. Lift the lid. Tick. Tock. Another peek. Tick. Tock. BOIL ALREADY!!!!!!! 

Finally the water boils and after the timer goes off I leave them in the water for a few minutes. Time to take them out. I recall reading a story about someone canning, and they claimed that a cool breeze would cause the jars to SHATTER. By now I am convinced that I AM GOING TO DIE. "TURN OFF THE AIR CONDITIONER!" I yell to the kids. I lift the jar slowly, as if it were a ticking bomb. I turn my head away so I wont get glass in my eyes if the jar does explode. I wait. One.. two... three.... nothing happens. I slowly walk it over to the counter and hold my breath. It didn't break. I repeat the same thing another 5 times. Somehow I have survived my first *real* canning experience. Will I survive eating them? Only time will tell...... 

my faithful chicken herding chihuahua

Chronicles of Farmia

And here is yet another blog that I wrote. I am a blogaholic?

http://chroniclesoffarmia.blogspot.com/

I love spiders

Old Farm Posts

If you want to catch up on some old blog posts you can read them here:

http://tuckersturkeyfarm.blogspot.com/

flying my roller pigeons

Back to Blogging

I have a confession. I have started many blogs. some of them are still there, but I have forgotten my password and user information so I can't get into them anymore. Have you ever done that? I bet you haven't. Blogging has changed so much since I began way back in the 90s. There is Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, Google +, Twitter, Flickr and Tumblr. It can be maddening at times and honestly if you are a busy Mom, wife, farmer, gardener, home chef, animal care taker... etc. how can you find the time for ALL of this and still remain sane? I still haven't found an answer to this but I am trying.

A butterfly on our butterfly bush

Maybe I can figure out how to add some buttons, but in the meantime here is a pretty photo of a butterfly for you. Enjoy!