Tender ribs in under an hour

As I was marinating the mess of pork loin ribs that I plan to freeze and take on an upcoming camping trip, I realized that I had neglected to plan for dinner, which would be happening in about an hour or so. 

So I cut off six big ones and put the others back in the fridge to marinate overnight. I marinated the six for about a half hour, cut them apart, then pulled out the pressure cooker. I put 2 tablespoons of oil in the pan, put it on a medium hot burner and when the oil was slightly smoking, cooked the ribs on three sides, leaving the bone side raw. I then added a mixture of tamari, unseasoned rice vinegar and red wine to the pan after draining out the fat and wiping the inside with a paper towel. I put the ribs in, put on the cover, waited for the steam to build up, then set the timer for 15 minutes. 

I then cooked the corn on the cob in the microwave, and added it to the warming oven, where I had some mac 'n' cheese. When the ribs were done, dinner was served. Easy peasy, and delicious!

Lori K's Hot Rub and Ribs, pressure cooker edition

Ingredients

Two racks of pork ribs

Lawry's garlic salt

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

Rub:

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon of ground cumin

1 teaspoon of ground thyme

Pressure cooker liquid:

3 tablespoons tamari (wheatless) soy sauce

2 tablespoons unseasoned rice wine vinegar

2 tablespoons dry red wine or dry sherry

Instructions

Rinse and dry ribs and set them meaty side down on a jelly-roll pan. Lightly sprinkle the bones with garlic salt. Turn the ribs over.

Mix 2 tablespoons of oil and the spices thoroughly, then rub into the meaty side of the ribs. Sprinkle the meaty side with garlic salt and let stand for at least a half an hour before cutting off six ribs. (Cover pan in plastic wrap and save the rest for grilling the next day; they freeze well after cooking if wrapped tightly.)

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a pressure cooker (15 psi) over medium high heat. When smoking, add the six ribs to the oil and brown on the three meaty sides. Remove the ribs from the pan, drain the oil and wipe out the pan with a paper towel, being careful not to burn yourself. Add the liquid mixture to the pan, then the ribs, cover and turn up the heat a bit until the pressure comes up. Lower the heat to medium and cook for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and when the pan has cooled a bit, release the steam valve and open the cooker. Serve immediately. 

If you prefer your ribs falling off the bone, add 2 tablespoons of water to the liquid mixture and increase the cooking time 5 minutes. If you like them even spicier, add a teaspoon of cayenne pepper to the rub.

Dreaming of another trip to Hawaii

Travel will be just a fantasy until we get a vaccine for COVID-19, the Spanish flu of our century. But being in semi-quarantine has provided me with more time for research. Here is a review of a Hawaiian cookbook I wrote 17 years ago I thought I'd share.

"Kona on My Plate" Cookbook review, Sacramento Bee, May 2003 Wed, May 14, 2003 – 57 · The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, California) · Newspapers.com

A healthy breakfast quiche

Quiche is a favorite brunch item for many people, but most contain stuff that negates the healthful spinach and other vegetables, namely cheese, cream, butter and bacon, in a rich pie crust.

But can you have a flavorful AND healthful quiche? Sure you can. The one below is an example, but you can substitute in vegetables to your own taste, and even use lower-fat bacon pieces if you'd like (I keep a bag of them in the freezer). I used a half of a beef kielbasa sausage because I needed to use it up. Use less salt if you use bacon; less pepper if you use a sausage.

Lori's breakfast quiche

Serves 4

Ingredients
1 cup shredded potatoes (squeezed dry) or reconstituted hash brow
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
12 leaves fresh chard (cut off stems and chop, leave leaves whole)
About ¼ cup chopped cooked sausage or lean bacon or ham (optional)
3 eggs
1 cup low-fat plain Greek yogurt
Garlic salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
Heat oven to 450 degrees F. Mix the potatoes and oil until well coated, then press them in the bottom of a 9-inch glass pie plate. Season with garlic salt and pepper. Cook for 10- to 15-minutes until the edges are brown.

Meanwhile, sauté the chard stems in a tablespoon of oil. When nearly soft, season with garlic salt and pepper.

Put the chard leaves on a microwave-safe plate and microwave them for 2 minutes. Turn the plate over on an old, clean dishtowel, fold the sides over the chard, then roll up tightly and twist to squeeze the moisture out of the leaves. Chop the leaves into ½-inch pieces and set aside.

Mix the eggs and yogurt well.

Pull the hash browns out of the oven and turn it down to 325 degrees F.

Sprinkle the chard leaves over the cooked potatoes, then the stems, then the meat (if using). Spray the sides of the pie plate with olive oil, then pour the egg mixture evenly over the vegetables. Salt and pepper the top if desired. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Serve immediately. Leftovers can be reheated in the microwave the next day or so.

Roux that doesn't make you rue the day

Roux, how I love you. You take plain ol' white flour and oil and turn it into a deep brown well of flavor and texture that cannot be matched.

But what I don't love is the time it takes to make you, the attention that you crave, and your ability to turn, after a long session of fretting and whisking, into a burnt mess with no warning. And now, I've found a way, although far from foolproof, to keep my schedule intact and my right arm from repetitive strain injury and still make a mighty fine roux.

I read where you could make roux in a microwave. Unfortunately, the person who posted the instructions had a much fancier microwave than mine, which has only one power setting, so my first batch came out of the first 6-minute cook time with a telltale black bubble that of course ruined the roux. Tried again, this time for 4 minutes, then adding 30 seconds, stirring after each round, until it came out as dark as I dared make it. And I was able to do it in a glass measuring cup, which made it easy to pour back into a cast-iron skillet, bring it to smoking and add the Cajun Trinity (chopped onion, green pepper and celery) for a surprisingly quick gumbo.

By the way, roux also makes the best turkey gravy in the world, and you can use the fat rendered off the cooked turkey instead of the oil, if you can separate it without getting any broth in the fat. Use the fatless drippings along with broth to make the gravy.

Lori's cheap and quick gumbo

Serves at least 10

Ingredients
2 cups onion, medium dice

1½ cups green pepper, medium dice

1 cup celery, finely diced

2 whole bay leaves

2 teaspoons kosher salt

½ teaspoon white pepper

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (can leave out if using andouille sausage or tasso)

¼ teaspoon black pepper

½ teaspoon thyme leaves

¼ teaspoon ground oregano

¾ cup flour

¾ cup canola oil

1 tablespoon minced garlic

6 cups chicken broth

1 pound andouille sausage or tasso, or a good smoked sausage like kolbassa, sliced

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cooked and sliced

3 cups of hot cooked rice (1 cup of uncooked rice)

Filé (dried powdered sassafrass leaves)

Instructions
Prep the vegetables, put together in a bowl and set aside. Mix the bay leaves, salt, three kinds of pepper, thyme and oregano, put in a small bowl and set aside.

Mix the flour and oil, with a whisk until there are no lumps, in a glass 4-cup measure. Microwave at 100% power for 4 minutes, remove and stir. Continue cooking in 30-second intervals, stirring after each, until it turns a deep red-brown. If any black specks appear, it is burnt and you will need to start over. Do not get any of this on your skin; it's called Cajun napalm for a reason.

Pour the roux into a cast-iron skillet and heat over medium heat until lightly smoking. Add the vegetables and the garlic and cook until they are soft, about 3-5 minutes. Mix in the seasoning mixture from the small bowl until well combined and set aside.

Put the broth in a large pot and bring to a boil. Add the roux to the broth by spoonfuls, whisking until each addition is dissolved. When it all is combined, add the meats. Cook at least 30 minutes.

To serve, put about ¼ cup of rice in a bowl, then sprinkle a teaspoon of filé over it. Ladle the gumbo over.