I'm sitting down to write this while experimenting with a new beverage option, by Celestial Seasonings. I was looking for black tea on Sunday at PCC, and questioned the woman next to me who I thought was purchasing regular old black tea (sometimes it's hard to tell at PCC, know what I mean?) only to find out she was purchasing COLD BREW black ice tea. Dear ones my jaw hit the floor. I was skeptical. Wouldn't cold brew ice tea be an oxymoron? A unicorn even? How could it exist? I mentioned this in passing yesterday while out with The Mamas and Mama Katie said "I thought all ice tea was cold brew". I looked at her with an "oh no you didn't..." expression and I'm pretty sure I reverted to some Southern dialect while shaking and my head and saying "Girl, I'm from the South. We take brewing our ice tea seriously". She's not from the South and if you're not either, let me lay it out for you. Ice tea is THE regional drink for Southerners. I don't even know how many ways there are to make it, but I know that even on the hottest days you BOIL the water (unless it's sun tea) and you add tons of sugar, because it's the South.
However, living in Seattle now for close to twenty years, I've had to adjust some of my culinary expectations. Having a family, arriving at middle age (by the grace of the Divine), and a desire to be around for that family for years to come led me to rid my diet of refined sugars, processed foods, gluten and finally most sugar all together. While I did spend two to three years experimenting with a vegan, and then vegetarian, lifestyle, I have found that my true calling is that of a carnivore. "I've never seen a girl that likes meat as much as you do" said The Farmer, just recently, in fact. (after leaving Jones BBQ where I inhaled an enormous rack of ribs, the best I've ever tasted in Western Washington) He's right and what's more, like a good Southern gal, I love pork. I also love pigs and try to tread gently on the planet and consume food that is not traumatized so we purchase our pork humanely (nods to those who don't think that is possible, this perhaps is not the blog entry you want to be reading). I could eat pork every day. Although it was my first pregnancy that led to my lapse in vegetarian eating, it was the consumption of bacon that reignited my love affair with pork and to this day, we have not separated. Joy.
While traversing my life, I was blessed to meet and for some time be married to the children's father, whose family is, among other things, Hawaiian. It was in hushed tones that he explained to them that I was a vegetarian. At the time, I thought "No problem, I'll just research Hawaiian cuisine and then I'll convert the recipes". If you're laughing by now, then you already know what I found out. Hawaiian cooking, much like Southern, is largely about pork. In both cultures, it is a less expensive meat and can be cooked in large portions to serve big families, both by birth as well as by "kin". Community and eating and having enough for all is paramount in both cultures. In the South we pair our spicy ribs, and pulled pork with slaw, cucumber salads, and potato salads both to make ends meet and balance the spice and richness in the pork. Similarly, in Hawaii, well seasoned kalua pork is shredded and served up with heaping mounds of steamed white rice, bland poi, and cabbage. In both cultures, the women learned to be frugal, fill the bellies of their families and friends, and still satisfy the palates.
The latter of these is born out even today, in the life of this busy writing mama. Like the mamas before me I want to eat well. Contemporary women need to budget their time as well as their finances. Finally, nostalgia factors in heavily here dear ones. Life in Seattle has been good to me I love it here. That said, the word barbecue is thrown around more loosely than dice in Las Vegas. My first few years here people would invite me over for "barbecue". I would arrive, practically salivating, hoping to find some vestige of home. Much to my horror I would find hamburgers and hotdogs. Barbecue is a verb here that carries deeply different connotations than it does in the South. Years later I have adjusted. I stopped going to most places that feature barbecue, although I must reiterate Jones Barbecue excels in homestyle, Southern barbecue as well as down home charm and reasonable prices.
As I mentioned, time is a huge factor in parenting any family and one with three children all who have various degrees of diagnosis is no exception. (and we won't even discuss in THIS blog how those apples don't fall far from the trees that bore them). Although I eventually learned to make a mean mess of slow-cooked ribs, I simply don't have the time to baby them like they deserve. So I was delighted to find this quick fix for boneless ribs which The Farmer and I have come to love. In thirty minutes you will have foolproof, tender and tasty ribs. Follow the recipe, although I sear my ribs without the benefit of a cast iron skillet. While understand the preference for cast iron, I promise this recipe does not suffer in its absence. I often season mine with cumin or lately the new BBQ rub from Trader Joe's.
As much as we love these, they do require an oven and while I could eat them daily, I suspect The Farmer might protest. So dear ones when the heat spiked here in Seattle this week, it brought a plethora of cucumbers from our hothouse and a need to cook dinner without heating up the house. Enter my hero Nom Nom Paleo! I know, Paleo. Don't be turned off by the trendiness of the term. Michelle Tam regularly posts recipes on her site that are delectable and often easily executed in a busy family. I was delighted to find that she and her family love Hawaii, its culture and its food. I couldn't pass up a chance to try her slow-cooker kalua pig.
This recipe did not disappoint. I could not find the Hawaiian salt, so I used a mineral infused sea salt and it was fabulous. As I understand it, the Hawaiian sea salt is infused with minerals from lava rock which brings the redness to its color, I AM curious to try it and see if there's a difference. That said, it's hard to imagine in any way how this dish could be improved! It was simple and practically fell apart when I went to shred it. The mouth watering traditional Hawaiian pork made the perfect companion to my favorite Southern salad of cucumber, onion, and fresh garlic seasoned, ironically with rice vinegar. The rice vinegar is an Asian touch, another nod to Hawaii's racially complex influences. It is light and fresh and pairs well with a splash of lemon. I used Walla Walla onions for sweetness as I don't add sugar (by the way my West Virginia peeps could easily use the sweet Vidalia this way and while we're at it, let's not forget the wonderful Maui onion, another Hawaiian crossover). Not using the sugar is a huge departure from my Southern upbringing, but keeps me in better mind and body.
And this, dear ones brings us around full circle. As I sip my cold brew ice tea, I find it is delicious. There is just enough Stevia for me to notice it, but not to be annoyed by it as I generally am by Stevia and the added lemon flavor makes it feel like a treat that exceeds anything I could get at Starbucks. Success. In five minutes, for very little money, I have something that satisfies my South-West palate. Yes, I'm taking liberties with the term and that's a conversation we'll meet up for another day. More will be revealed....
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