The Art of Leftovers // Shortrib Taco

Inspired by a combination of my mama (who is the champion of making leftovers new again) and Roy Choi.

The situation: Leftover shortribs from my roommate's Memorial Day barbecue, toasted sesame seeds, my mama's home-pickled mustard greens (home-grown by my papa), sriracha sauce, and tortillas that desperately needed to be eaten.

I chopped the shortrib into little pieces and tossed them into a hot pan to get those crispy edges I so love a la carne asada. I threw the bones into the pan, too, in hopes of getting some marrowy flavor out of 'em.

Toasted the tortilla directly on the gas flame until tender and just barely starting to char, added chopped meat, chopped pickled greens, sriracha, and sesame seeds. And didn't even have to log on to Twitter, drive anywhere, or stand in line. Nom.

Five Things Learned in 2011

1. Salsa verde and chile verde are amazingly easy to make. And extremely delicious. Peeling the papery skin off of tomatillos to reveal their sticky, smooth, green skins is so satisfying. Just throw them in a pan with some pricked jalapenos, stick them under a broiler until their skins are dark brown, then throw them in a blender with some onions, garlic, chile, and salt. It's magic. Tomatillo salsa! Then brown some chunks of pork shoulder, pour off the excess fat, and add tomatillo salso to just barely cover it (add water or broth if necessary), and simmer for a couple of hours, or until tender. This is how I ate mine:

Corn tortillas, chopped red onion, chopped red cabbage, queso fresco, and Cholula (not yet applied).

2. I can make my own half-and-half. Why this did not occur to me before confounds me. I mix milk and cream in a little jam jar so that I can shake it up before adding it to my morning coffee. My home-kitchen version of homogenization? The advantage of making half-n-half instead of buying it is that I always have both cream and milk on hand. The disadvantage is that I always worry about one or the other spoiling. But since I make my own chocolate syrup, I can just guzzle hot chocolate with whipped cream in case of an emergency...

3. Toast steel cut oats in a dry pan first to make them cook a little faster and taste a lot better. Well, it tastes better if you like your oatmeal with a nuttier flavor. I sometimes soak steel cut oats in a jar overnight if I need to cook them quickly in the morning, and I found that if I don't toast them first, the finished product is too oozy and almost slimy. I just gently toast the oats (in a little butter if I'm feeling sassy) in the pan until I can smell the toasty-oaty aroma, then add water and simmer for twenty or so minutes. The other day I forgot about the pot on the stove. The edges were burnt and dry, but the 1/3 of a cup left in the middle was salvaged with some jam, almond butter, and cinnamon.

4. Dried sour cherries and dried tart cherries are very, very different. I bought sour cherries from Whole Foods and they were delicious; sticky, sour-sweet, and plump. The next time I went, there were only "tart" cherries. I snuck a taste and it didn't taste exactly right, but I got some anyway. When I got home and tried to eat a few more the next night, they were almost bitter, a bit dry, and miles from the lovely sour cherries that I'd had a week earlier. I was so disappointed in them that I actually went and returned them. Now I will wait until I see dried sour cherries in the bulk section. And I'll taste more than one. Shhhh.

5. Homemade cookies make people happy, even if they're mediocre. At least, I thought that most of my attempts were mediocre at best, but my friends and officemates seemed to enjoy them. I tried out apple cinnamon oatmeal bars, cherry chocolate chip almond oatmeal, and oatmeal chocolate chip almond. None of them had the crisp edges and chewy centers that I want in a cookie, so I guess I have to keep trying. Baking is the area in which I am least confident because I'm not very disciplined with my measurements-- except with brownies. They are forgiving. They do not intimidate me in the slightest. Brownies and I have an understanding that cookies and I have not yet reached. Maybe in 2012.

Does Your Bacon Generate Electricity?

One of many reasons people become vegetarians is environmental concern; not only are forests cut down to create fields for raising livestock, but the emissions generated by livestock contributes to global warming. This article in the New York Times describes the way one farm in Sterksel, the Netherlands has dealt with the environmental impact of meat and dairy production:

That is why a group of farmers-turned-environmentalists here at a smelly but impeccably clean research farm have a new take on making a silk purse from a sow’s ear: They cook manure from their 3,000 pigs to capture the methane trapped within it, and then use the gas to make electricity for the local power grid.

I like that increasing awareness of environmental repercussions has lead to the development of creative and practical farming methods. I'd say "buy Dutch pork!" but the pollution generated by importing it would probably negate the pollution saved by the producers.