The last weekend of summer has finally arrived, finding us packed and ready for yet another road trip to San Francisco to drop our son off at school.   The send-off is much more quiet this year since he’s beginning his second year and I guess that makes him experienced.  No picnic time at the beach for those of us sporting muffin tops, and no barbeques at home planned for the event, but a few card games at home, movies, and some take out fit the bill.  The road trip is a nice way to spend a bit of time together,  with my husband and I hovering in the city a couple of days to make sure the man boy has everything he needs.  While he’s settling in, we’ll be exploring neighborhoods we’ve never walked through, trying new restaurants, and getting much needed exercise.  The one thing about San Francisco we can always count on is that there will be a lot of hills to climb.

For those of you looking forward to pre-season football and last gasp of summer get togethers — or perhaps being stuck in the house due to bad weather — this recipe is for you.  Get out that slow cooker because that’s all you’ll need for these Slow Cooked Beef Short Ribs.  Shred the beef and pile it onto a bun.  They’ll make you think you’re having a barbeque no matter what and they’re guaranteed to slide right down.

The good news is, they taste even better the next day, so make a double batch for leftovers.

Slow Cooked Beef Short Ribs for BBQ Sliders

Rib Rub

A huge recipe for lots of other ideas later.  Cut it down to your own size if you don’t want it super-sized.  You’ll only need 2 T for the short ribs

Ingredients

3/4 c. raw sugar or turbinado

1/2 c. salt

1/4 c. smoked paprika

2 T black pepper, finely ground

1 T granulated garlic

1T onion powder

1 T ground cumin

1 T chili powder

1 tsp. dry mustard

1 tsp. ground coriander

1/2 tsp. cayenne

1/2 tsp. ground allspice

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients  until well combined.
2. Store in a well-sealed container until ready for use.

Recipe Notes:

• This recipe is from Ribs, Chops, Steaks, and Wings by Ray “Dr. BBQ” Lampe (Chronicle Books, 2009).  I made it earlier this summer for some slow grilled pork shoulder and we loved it.  Of course the recipe makes so much, I cut it in half and still had lots left over.
• Try brown sugar if you can’t find raw sugar which retails as “Sugar in the Raw” at most markets.
• Try any kind of paprika if you don’t have smoked.  Sweet Hungarian will be just fine.
• Granulated garlic:  I have a shaker of dried garlic bits mixed with chives called “Oh Garlic!  It comes in handy for spice blends like this one, but sue what you can find.  Just get that garlic flavor in there.
• Maybe you have some of your own favorite rub on hand already — use that.  You know how these recipes work!

Beef Short Ribs Recipe for Sliders

Ingredients

4 lbs. English cut short ribs

2 T spice rub (above)

2 T extra virgin olive oil
1/2 c. ruby port
2 T Dijon Mustard
2 T soy sauce
1 T freshly ground pepper
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 T barley malt syrup
3/4 c. Water
1/2 large onion, diced
4 lg. Cloves garlic

Directions

1. Pat the short ribs with paper towels and sprinkle the spice rub over all surfaces, turning to coat as needed.  To make it easy, do this in a large paper bag and shake.
2. Combine the remainder of the ingredients and mix well.
3. Place the ribs in your slow cooker and pour liquid mixture over.
4. Cover the slow cooker and set on Low for 7 hours.
5. Use a slotted spatula to remove meat from the slow cooker.  It should be falling off the bone.
6. Allow to cool a bit, then using two forks, shred the meat.
7. Place in a well-sealed container in the fridge or freezer if not using immediately.
8. To make the sliders, I use dinner rolls from the bakery.  They’re just the right size.
9. Either mix the Sweet Mustard BBQ Sauce in with the shredded beef, or pour it over once you’ve put the beef on the bun.  Or do both.  It’s good any way you make it.
10. We put soft Gorgonzola cheese over the beef, and although the flavor is good — it was overpowering.  Go easy on the cheese if you put it on the sliders or use a more mild cheese.
11. Finish it off with a crunchy slaw like this one, or this one.
12. You can also do what I did this time:  shred a half head of cabbage, a quarter of a red onion, and some red pepper.  Toss it around with a splash or two of red wine vinegar and a squirt of fresh lime.  Salt and pepper, then allow to stand so it will soften.  Toss it from time to time and it will be perfect for your sliders.  The cool crunch with the spicy beef and sweet mustard BBQ sauce is so very, very good.

Recipe Notes:

• Definitely spicy ribs here and SO very good.  I know I already said that, but they are.
• If you don’t have barley malt syrup (I get mine at Henry’s — Whole Foods probably has it as well) then use molasses instead.
• On the port — I lovingly refer to port as “raisin juice.”  That’s what it tastes like to me and from a cooking perspective, it adds such amazing flavor to braised meats, leaving it out of a recipe makes my heart wilt.  Tawny or ruby — use it.  So very, very good.

Sweet Mustard BBQ Sauce Recipe

This finishes the sliders off, so don’t forget to make it.  Super easy recipe adapted from food52.

Ingredients

1 cup brown mustard
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons left over strong brewed coffee
1 tablespoon wildflower honey
2 tablespoons molasses
2 teaspoons liquid smoke (see below)
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons bottled hot sauce

1. Mix all the ingredients in a small pan and over medium heat, bring to a boil.
2. Stir the mixture a few times, remove from the heat and allow to cool.
3. If not using immediately, allow to cool completely before pouring into a sealed container and placing in the fridge.

Recipe Notes:

• As much as I enjoy good barbeque, I love a mustard taste in the mix, so this hit the spot.
• My bottle of Liquid Smoke is older than the hills so who knows what kind of flavor it added to this.  If you don’t have any, just leave it out.
• I like Louisana brand or El Pato hot sauce, but use your favorite.

I’ve been working on our patio for a few months now trying to make it more functional and enjoyable.  It’s a narrow area that wraps along two sides of our house and much different than the half-acre of hillside we tended at our former house.  At first, the idea of having so much less to manage outside was attractive because we were busy with our jobs and moving closer to the ocean and a beautiful seaside community that would inspire us to get out more and enjoy weekends full of sun and fun.  But I’m a gardener — I always have been.  And as much as the weather is often quite gorgeous here, I’m content to spend time outside digging in the dirt.  Unfortunately, that hasn’t been very easy for the past few years.

A former owner had planters installed on the patio and made less than smart choices about what was planted in them, so now, several are completely root bound.  Old flagstone capping has loosened from the planter walls, much of it cracked or broken completely.  The fence, although beloved by my cats for its great scratching post qualities, was more a termite high rise.  Tearing it down took little thought.

I’ve always kept pots of annuals and herbs, and for the first time two years ago, began growing tomatoes in pots.  About a year ago, I put together a small herb box as well.  This year, one of the tomato pots has become a salad greens pot.  It may not seem like much, but I can tell you the snails would be quite upset if I ever got rid of the little herb box.  And this year, they’ve truly enjoyed picking out all but one variety of salad green from the new pot.  Who knew snails had such discriminating palates — erm — radula?

Even though my patio is small by suburban yard standards here, I could squeeze the few things I enjoy harvesting in an even smaller space such as a balcony if I had to.  In other words, it doesn’t take much to grow a few of your own veggies and or herbs.  I’d enjoy planting even more among the roses and succulents I’m currently planting in the newly filled, capped, and painted planters, but until those plants are established, adding anything edible to them isn’t advisable and may never be.  Hence, the pots I have are a great idea because I can move them around according to the seasons and sunlight.

My tomato plants are sporting grape-sized fruit, but the idea frying tiny green tomatoes isn’t as appealing to me as plucking some of the salad greens, a few leaves of the perennial bloody sorrel that continues to thrive, some wild arugula, and purple basil.

Perfect for a wrap with a bit of left over chicken and, if the patio was finished, a nice lunch outside with a good book.  All in due time.

Are you a gardener?  Do you have an outside space to relax in when the weather is pleasant?

Chicken Wrap with Spicy Greens

wraps or flour tortillas

2-3 oz. chicken per wrap, cooked

smashed green olives

red onions, thinly sliced

feta

sun-dried tomatoes

extra virgin olive oil

fresh lemon juice

honey mustard Dijon

arugula

sorrel

purple basil

salt and pepper to taste

Spread the mustard over the wrap.  Toss the greens in a bit of olive oil and squirt of fresh lemon juice.  Lightly season with salt and pepper.  Place a good hand full of the greens on the wrap and top with the remaining ingredients.  Tightly roll and split to share or save half for later.  It’s filling!

Notes:

• I mixed a couple of packages of salad greens seeds to sprinkle in the pot and they sprouted and began to grow pretty quickly.  It didn’t take long to realize the snails had left only one kind of green which I thought was Green Leaf Lettuce.  Boy was I wrong.  It was arugula — which I love — but it was incredibly spicy.  Far more spicy than the wild arugula (which is much smaller with thin leaves and grows like a perennial).  Definitely an unexpectedly spicy, but yummy wrap!
• I like wraps in general, but rarely if ever make them for myself.  I see them at parties or meetings loaded with cream cheese and sliced into spirals.  I guess that constitutes a wrap in its pre-sliced state, right?  I bought some low-carb , almost fat-free whole grain wraps (Toufayan Bakeries) and was surprised to find they were actually tasty.  Since I made this wrap, I’ve been scrambling eggs and wrapping them up with tomatoes and basil.  Clearly, they’re growing on me.
• Use any kind of salad greens and herbs for a wrap like this, but go heavy on the greens. I thought of it as a way to eat salad without a plate and it worked.
• I had the chicken left over from the previous night’s dinner, so it was perfect for this.
• Adding the rest of the ingredients is fun.  Just use what you enjoy.
• About the sorrel:  It’s specifically Bloody Sorrel or Red Dock, an herb which comes from the Mediterranean region and used both medicinally and in cooking.  Some sources will say that it’s purely ornamental and that eating it will cause stomach discomfort.  I’ve never had that problem.  Overall, sorrel has a strong taste without the metallic characteristic that spinach often has, and with a bit of a tang.  It’s not bitter or sharp tasting.  To prepare it, I remove the red veins and central stem and discard.  I cook it for soup with spinach and also use it in salads.  Greens like bloody sorrel and spinach contain oxalic acid which interferes with the absorption of the calcium in those foods.  If cooked, this no longer happens.  Read more about foods containing oxalic acid here.
• My sorrel is planted in a small herb box.  It enjoys sun for half the day — mostly in the afternoon.  On hot days, it’s prone to extreme wilting unless it’s been watered that morning.  It perks back up out of direct sunlight.  New leaves are very tender and great for something like this wrap.  Like most plants, the older, larger leaves are more coarse and tough.  Keep an eye on it, as snails and slugs enjoy it quite a bit.

Patio Project Progress:

Essentially, we’re freshening things up out back to make it more attractive and pleasant to spend time in.  Although we’re working primarily on the planters, at some point, we need to replace the fence for privacy since we’re in such close proximity to our neighbors on both sides.

Before: Old flagstone chipped, breaking. Fence rotten.

I'm replacing flagstone with river rocks.

Looks much better, doesn't it?

New plants and a temporary fence are done.

Now the planter is ready for painting.

Continuing the rocks across the center.

I'm digging out the old soil in the planter on the other side now.

Monday has become my favorite day of the week. My husband will tell you it’s because he’s gone back to work leaving me to my quiet house and accompanying quiet life, but I’d say it has more to do with looking forward to all that a new week brings.

For us, this particular week marks the last of a grueling busy season which begins in earnest after the first of the year, slowly building in intensity with extended hours of work each day. At first, the hours are added on the end of weekdays, then begrudgingly, the alarm is set earlier in the morning as well.  Saturdays at the office quickly follow, and a card table surfaces on Sundays in our family room where production is set up for a good six hours or more with any number of sports playing on the muted TV. This year, our SDSU Aztecs’ winning season and March Madness provided a pleasant diversion until their crushing loss to UCONN.

But there’s always next year, isn’t there?

This past week, the days have been more than 12 hours long.  Saturday was a full day, and Sunday, the card table was left folded against a wall in the living room for another full day spent at the office.

Only seven days remain.

Dinner is usually not complicated because we eat late. I wait for him so we can have a bit of time together, maybe watch a recorded show.

A good grilled sandwich is perfect for a Sunday evening after an 85-hour work week.  The sweet potato fries I was going to make to enjoy with our panini will just have to wait for an evening later this week.

Do you have a panini pan?

Double Decker Panino

Here’s the list of our ingredients, but you can be creative with just about anything:

Black Forest Ham

Peppered Turkey

Sopressata

Hot Capocolla

Brie

Muenster

Provolone

Stone Ground Dijon

Honey Mustard Dijon

Dill Pickles

Roasted Red Peppers

Sliced Red Onion

Sourdough Bread

Olive Oil

Make them double decker style by grilling the center pieces of bread first.  Rub each lightly with olive oil on both sides.  Place in a skillet, flipping when golden brown.  After each side is done, set aside.

Prepare two more pieces of bread for each of two sandwiches by choosing your condiments.

I chose two different types of mustard — one for each slice.  My husband likes good old yellow mustard for his.

Provolone goes on over one slice, then some ham, some roasted red pepper, and red onion slices.

Top with the pre-grilled slice of bread.

Second deck begins with more meat — I chose the hot capocolla.  Top that with a few nice slices of dill pickle, then top with brie and cap it off with the  honey mustard piece of sourdough.

Make sure the panini pan heats up with the lid in the pan and spray both with oil first.

Drizzle a bit of olive oil over the exterior of both sides of the sandwich.

Place in the pan, put the lid over, and press lightly for 10-15 seconds.  Allow to cook until nicely browned on the bottom, about 2-3 minutes.

Carefully flip and repeat.

Slice in half and dig in.

Notes:

• If you don’t have a panini pan, then you could use two cast iron skillets of different sizes, heating both and using the bottom of one as a press.  If you don’t have two skillets, then an oven proof dish that you can set something heavy over to help the panini settle could work.   Have fun experimenting!
• As for flavors, have fun with that, too.  We like good old fashioned Cubano sandwiches and so this panino is my take on that.
• Clearly, there’s not much to prepare ahead with a sandwich like this, but if you take the time to do anything, then roast your own pepper.  They’re so delicious, and not soggy like the ones purchased in jars.  Yes, I do have them on hand, but it takes no effort to roast your own for something like this.

I’m a tough sell when it comes to pickles.  They can’t be too briny, sitting long in their salty, vinegary bath until they’re a uniform green through and through.    There has to be a garlicky brightness in their flavor, and a decent crunch each time I chew.  Sweet pickles are never an option because, well, they’re sweet, and we’ve never quite agreed with one another for any reason — not even on a hot dog at the ball park slathered in ketchup, mustard, and onions.

A great pickle holds up in my mother’s potato salad, its juice added right before she tosses all the ingredients together.  The perfect tuna sandwich has an abundance of diced pickles mixed in, or it’s not a tuna sandwich as far as I’m concerned.  Egg salad?  I have to have pickle.

We’ll never be the pickle eaters my sister’s family happen to be; I’ve only managed to raise one son who seemed to inhale the jar of crisp Vlassic garlic dills as soon as I came home with them.  I never actually saw this remarkable feat, but realized it when I needed a pickle for a recipe and reached for the jar to find a lone spear left bobbing in the brine amongst the pickling spices.  After raising three boys, I’m convinced that if on any occasion there is one left of anything originally contained in a jar or package, it translates to, “Mom.  I didn’t eat all of it.”

Although I can’t say I’ve ever canned anything, this simple pickle recipe has me thinking I might like to try.  And it’s so easy, running out of pickles won’t be a problem again.  I can also tell you they happen to be perfect in a good tuna egg salad sandwich — a perfect meal for any day, but especially a summer day when cooking is the last thing on one’s mind.

Easy Homemade Pickles

8-10 Persian cucumbers

1-1/2 c. white wine vinegar

1/4 sweet white onion, sliced thinly

4 lg. cloves garlic, smashed

2 T sugar

1 T pickling spices

2 tsp. black peppercorns

1-1/2 c. water

4 tsp. kosher salt

Slice the cucumbers into quarters lengthwise.  Fill a small bowl with the water and heat in the microwave briefly until hot, but not so hot that you can’t keep a finger in the water.  Add all the ingredients except for the cucumbers and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved.  Place the cucumber quarters into a jar, bowl, or sealable plastic bag and pour the brine over them, covering completely.  Place in the fridge until chilled, at least 12 hours.  Enjoy the next day!

Notes:

• This recipe was adapted from one published in the August 2010 issue of Real Simple.
• I basically doubled the recipe, except for the sugar.  I also used some rice wine vinegar in the whole vinegar quantity.  The pickling spices I used can be found amongst the plastic bagged spices at the market and this particular mix was heavy on the mustard seed, coriander, and contained  cumin as well as dried whole peppers and bay leaf.
• Go easy on the hot water.  It only needs to be hot enough to quicken the integration of the sugar and salt into the mixture.  The original recipe calls for hot tap water, but if I ran my water long enough for it to get hot, I’d deplete what’s left of our city’s meager water supply.  Hence, the microwave.
• Persian cucumbers are long and thin, but not as long as an English cucumber or one of the basic varieties.  They’re nearly seedless and the peelings are tender.

Tuna Salad Sandwiches

2 cans chunk albacore in spring water, drained

2 green onions, finely chopped

2 pickles, finely chopped

1 stalk celery, diced

2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped

1 heaping tablespoon good mayo

splash of pickle brine

salt & pepper to taste

1 avocado, mashed

squirt of lemon for the avocado

soft greens

sour dough bread

In a medium bowl,  combine all ingredients except the avocado and lemon.  Toss lightly to combine.  Taste and adjust flavors to your liking.  In a separate bowl, mash the avocado and squeeze in the lemon.  Mix well and season to your liking.    Toast your favorite bread, then spread the avocado on each of two slices.  Layer some nice, tender greens on one slice, then heap the tuna salad over the greens.  Cap it off with the second slice and enjoy!

Notes:

• Egg in my tuna salad isn’t a must, but I sure do like it.  In fact, I’ll eat the egg salad without tuna, but still have to have all the other ingredients.  Have to.
• Pickles, onions, and celery are a must.  The crunch factor is important as well as the flavor.  Sometimes, it’s more about these ingredients than it is the tuna.  Maybe the tuna just holds it all together.  Silly.
• Have you ever tried mashed avocado on a tuna sandwich?  Oh my.  Don’t forget the lemon.  Perfect.
• Mayo is a seriously big deal at our house.  We don’t eat a lot of it.  In fact, almost none.  So a heaping tablespoon is plenty because a mouth full of mayo is not a pleasant thing on any occasion.  Besides — think of all that fat.
• I don’t need greens on this, but green things are good for you body, so the more you use them, the better.  Sprouts would be great, too.  Especially radish sprouts.  They’re tart!
• As much as I fondly remember the tuna sandwiches packed in my lunch box in elementary school (picture soft, white, squishy bread) I love sourdough toast.  It adds another texture and holds up against the weight and moisture.
• If you want to skip the bread, mound the salad in the avocado half, or prepare a bed of salad greens, dice the avocado, squirt on the lemon, then add the tuna egg salad.  Dinner!

I think I’m the last person on the planet who has had the Vietnamese sandwich, banh mi, added to her food radar. The first time I saw anything about them was in one of my food magazines about a year ago. Anything with bright veggies gets my attention — especially if it’s salad. But a salad in a sandwich? This had to be good. Pickled carrots, cucumber with cilantro…and pork? I’d never heard of this particular kind of sandwich before. It was interesting that it was on a French baguette, too. An easy search led me to Battle of the Bahn Mi and then to White on Rice for some amazing renditions of this sandwich.

My first attempt follows.  After much procrastination, I’ve finally joined the ranks of those who love this sandwich.

Now, I need to find a local place that makes them.

I could eat them every day.

Pork Meatball Banh Mi

Recipe source:  Bon Appetit

The recipe can be found here.

Notes:

• We wanted to eat the meatballs before we made the sandwiches.  The aroma was amazing,
• You knew how lean pork was, right?  Here’s the deal:  there are a few more calories compared to ground chicken or turkey, but ultimately the calories from fat are significantly less:  half.  That’s quite the difference.  I used  California natural extra lean ground pork and doubled the quantity (2 lbs.).
• I used quite a bit of basil.  I couldn’t help myself.  I had a package that needed to be used and got carried away, so added about 1/2 cup to the mix.
• If you don’t have Sriracha, you don’t know what you’re missing but you could substitute any hot sauce you like.
• There was no daikon at my market.  Go figure.  I sliced radishes and added them to the carrots to pickle.  They were most likely a tame version of what the daikon would have been.
• I didn’t have jalapenos.  I couldn’t believe it.  I always have jalapenos.  Honestly?  If you used the Sriracha liberally, the extra heat isn’t needed.  The balls and the sauce are spicy enough.
• On the sauce:  I hate to mention this, but have to.  I couldn’t get my husband to consider eating anything with mayonnaise in it, so I made the sauce with ranch dressing.  Don’t get me started.  It was fine.  Don’t tell anyone.
• I used a store-bought baguette and cut it into three pieces to make our banh mi.  For the amount of meatballs I had, I could have fed 6-8 with small portions.  Great party food.

You’re wondering what peposo is, right?  Or perhaps you know what peposo is and you’ve already wondered how it ended up in a sandwich.  If you’re like me, you may even just want to take a big bite of it right now because it’s dinnertime and it would be much easier to have a savory Italian sandwich magically appear instead of needing to make dinner.  Oh, how I wish that might be so tonight.

This sandwich has quite a long story behind it, so I’ll share it soon — along with the recipe for the peposo, the roasted pepper salad, and the focaccia.  But it’s Wednesday, and I’m supposed to be wordless — or nearly so.