Slow cooked baby back ribs

The East coast is still hovering between winter and spring. Fortunately, within the greenhouse the climate is temperate and seeds germinate in anticipation of their planting mid May. In the freezer, I still have some of my fall tomato sauce. Although the cycle has not gone full circle yet, I derive inspiration from the promise of the fruit and the reality of the stock. Always one to anticipate the good things to come, I am preparing baby back ribs the easy (and healthy) way of the slow cooker. To retain both moistness and grilled taste, I first sear the ribs before adding the tomato sauce, vinegar and ketchup.
The slow cooked baby back ribs recipe serves 4.

Another (good) reason to slow cook

I have already made obvious my love of slow cooking. Until now there were two reasons: taste and convenience. The faculty is now confirming this choice and adding a medical component. New studies on advanced glycation end products, AGEs in short, indicate that those compounds, which form when meat is seared at high temperature, the famous Maillard reaction, increase inflammation (i.e. risks of heart disease, artherosclerosis, diabetes and arthritis) in human bodies. Because we love this charred taste and smell, the food industry has added a lot of synthetic AGEs to their products. The usual suspects are the good guys in our fight against AGEs: we should eat more vegetables and fruit, use fresh products AND cook at slow temperature. In other words, favor boiling, steaming and poaching over grilling. My recipe of the week respects all this criteria and more. A pork rib roast gains flavor from an association with cumin and citrus fruit. A long simmering in the natural juices from both meat and fruit insures a not too sweet taste. Served with rice, it is a perfectly satisfactory dinner for four to be enjoyed without guilt.

Sophisticated Jerusalem Artichoke

The few spring days we were blessed with were just enough to dig out a few Jerusalem artichokes from my garden to use in a sophisticated soup. I first got the idea from a Paris restaurant. Their recipe combined sun chokes, chestnuts and foie gras. As I do not particularly care for warm foie gras, I picked instead bay scallops, which are much cheaper and in season. Their delicate slightly sweet taste adds a nutty texture to the smooth soup. Pancetta brings the dish together. I like the fact that the soup relies on four ingredients only to provide a fairly complex taste. An extra advantage is the time saved by preparing the soup ahead. As it is the only time consuming operation, the meal can be assembled in less than ten minutes, provided the soup is made ahead of time.
The quantities are enough for four people as a main course or eight appetizers.

Sunny jerk lamb

Winter shows its might on the East coast of the United States and blankets prettily country sights and city views. It is a great time to slow cook meats and concoct yet another twist on old favorites. While away in the sun, we came across a Caribbean jerk mix. My friend Michael integrated the spices in a wet rub to enhance a baked quartered chicken. Back home, I craved lamb and decided to use the mix to modify an old Moroccan dish: the seven hours slow cooked lamb, the only dish men traditionally prepare. Part of the fun came from guessing what was in the mix. After adding oil to a teaspoon of the coarse powder one can taste the ingredients: rosemary and thyme, allspice, red pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg. I added turmeric and cumin seeds. To round up the savors and sweeten the kick, I put in a tablespoon of honey. For the same reasons, I decided to serve it with buttercup squash chips and creamed French flageolets, the French version of dry beans.