Oriental Spare Ribs

(Dairy free, soy free, gluten free, sugar free)

One of my favorite foods – spare ribs! Probably because all summer my father grew the pigs for our winter table and the treat was always the ribs. I had them so rarely growing up, just that one time every year, so now that I’m grown I cook them as often as I possibly can. I had to give up Chinese style ribs when I developed my soy allergy but with the soy sauce substitute (see sauces), I’m now experimenting with some of my favorite Chinese dishes like ribs. The recipe is very simple to make and prep time is short but cooking time is longer to get that bone tender rib that we all love.

You’ll need for 2 servings, depending on how many ribs you can eat!:

1 full rack of ribs (I prefer the St. Louis style, more meat, less bone)

6 tablespoons chicken stock

2 tablespoons soy sauce substitute (or use real soy sauce if it doesn’t bother you)

3 tablespoons rice vinegar

6 tablespoons date syrup (or agave, coconut nectar, etc.)

1 teaspoon molasses

1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

Cut the ribs into individual sections. If you have a cleaver, you can chop them into 3 pieces for each rib but this isn’t necessary. Mix the liquid ingredients together.

If you have a crock pot, you can cook them on high for 2-4 hours. Put the ribs in the pot then cover with the sauce. If you don’t, like me, preheat your oven to 350 degrees, spray your casserole or oven safe dish with olive oil, add the ribs and the sauce. Use a covered dish so that the sauce doesn’t all boil away during cooking. I turned them every 20 minutes since my dish didn’t allow them to all be completely covered. Cook in the oven 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Once cooked, pour the remaining liquid into a saucepan and boil down until syrupy. Pour over the ribs to serve. At this point, you can top them with sesame seeds or chopped green onions.

HINT: Ribs can be very fatty. I cooked mine, poured off the liquid and then refrigerated them separately overnight. The next day, dinner prep was simple. I heated the ribs in a low oven while I removed most of the fat from the sauce and then boiled it down. I then poured it over the ribs, and heated them at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Honey Mustard Pork Chops (Dairy-free, gluten-free, sugar-free)

My mother used to make pork chops covered with onion-soup mix and cream of mushroom soup. I loved those pork chops and have been trying for years to find a recipe that I could eat that would produce such juicy, succulent pork chops. And I think I’ve finally found one! This recipe adds some spice (I like to use spicy brown mustard) along with a slight sweetness to a juicy chop. I serve it with some of my celery root and parsnip mash that’s been reheated in a skilled until crispy brown.

This recipe is for 2 chops but can easily be doubled or tripled depending on how many chops are needed.

In a small bowl mix:

1/4 cup spicy brown mustard
2 tablespoons honey (I like to use raw organic honey)
2 tablespoons olive oil

Grease a 6×9″ baking dish. Trim excess fat from the pork chops. Add the chops and spread with half the honey mustard mixture. Turn over the chops and spread with the remaining mixture. Marinate at least a half hour but I’ve left them as long as overnight. The vinegar in the mustard will tenderize the pork so the longer you let them marinate the better.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake the chops for 10-15 minutes depending on the size of your pork chops and then remove and turn the chops over. Be sure to test with your finger or a spoon to determine if the chops are cooked (a done chop with have no give when pushed with a spoon or finger). If my chops are almost done after turning over, I put them under the broiler to brown the top for 3-5 minutes. A 1-bone chop takes roughly 20 minutes total. Let sit for 5-10 minutes to rest before serving.

Shredded Pork Sliders with Cole Slaw (dairy-free, gluten-free, egg-free)

One of my more recent discoveries, pork sliders are so good as a meal if you eat several or as an appetizer for a party. People love them. I made these first last Christmas for a party I went to and they disappeared. A large pork roast will make 30-36 sliders but for a meal for my husband and I, I use a smaller portion. Great use of leftover pork roast.

Combine:

1 cup shredded pork (I use my food processor to break up the pork)
1/4 cup barbecue sauce (such as Organicsville Agave Barbecue Sauce or home-made)

Heat in a skillet for several minutes and place on gluten-free dinner rolls (or if you have a leftover bagel, that works as well). Top with several tablespoons of cole slaw (see recipe under Soups and Salads). The cole slaw adds a great crunch to the slider.

Spaghetti and Meatballs (dairy-free, gluten-free, egg-free, sugar-free)

A throwback to my earlier life cooking for my best friend and my son, and sometimes for her parents as well, this recipe holds lots of memories. The marinara sauce is a remake of my Aunt Jean’s sauce while the meatballs are an off-shoot of my meatloaf recipe. If you prefer, a jarred sauce works just as well if you have one your family especially likes, and it sure is a lot quicker and easier than making a sauce from scratch.

Marinara Sauce:

1 medium onion diced
1 bell pepper, any color, diced
2 garlic cloves diced
1/2 cup grated carrot
64 ounces of pureed tomatoes
16 ounces diced tomatoes
1/4 cup red wine (or stock if you can’t use wine)
1/2 cup tomato paste
fresh oregano, thyme, and parsley (about 2 tablespoons of each)
monk fruit powder, stevia, or agave nectar if needed for additional sweetness

In a large skillet, saute the onion and bell pepper for a few minutes and then add the diced garlic and the grated carrot. Saute until softened, about 3 minutes over medium heat. Add the red wine and cook off the alcohol. Add the pureed and diced tomatoes and cook over a low heat, covered, for approximately 1 hour. Uncover and cook an additional 15 minutes. Add the fresh herbs along with salt and pepper to taste and the tomato paste. If needed, depending on your taste, add additional sweetener. Simmer over low heat until ready to add the meatballs.

Meatballs:

1/2 pound ground turkey
1/2 pound ground pork
8 ounces mixed mushrooms, pulsed in a food processor until small dice
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried herbs (I used an herb mixture such as Mrs. Dash)
1/2 teaspoon dry parsley
1/2 cup sugar-free ketchup (such as Organicsville Agave Ketchup) OR 1/3 cup tomato paste
2 slices of gluten-free bread crumbled

Preheat oven to 400 degrees; grease an 8×10 baking pan with olive oil. Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl until combined but try not to overmix so that the meat mixture stays tender. I use a soup spoon to measure out the meatballs so that they are all about the same size. Mine were approximately 1 1/2 inches in diameter and the recipe made 24 meatballs. Bake in the prepared pan for about 45 minutes, in the middle of the oven so that the bottoms of the meatballs don’t burn. Add the meatballs to the sauce.

Prepare your favorite pasta. I use the red lentil and quinoa linguine which takes just about 8 minutes to cook and my husband thinks tastes good even though he doesn’t realize its gluten-free and contains protein. After you drain your pasta, put it back in the cooking pot, add sauce and mix thoroughly. Serve with the meatballs and feel free to sprinkle some grated mozzarella (non-dairy of course) over the top.