Pork | theclothesmakethegirl

Mar 5, 2013 Posted by Mel

Bora Bora Fireballs

Clearly, I’ve got balls on the brain. We’ve been testing meatball recipes for Well Fed 2, and we have finally settled on the 15 (Yes! Fifteen!) varieties that will be included in the new cookbook. In honor of bringing the testing phase to a close, I thought I’d share a favorite of mine from the first Well Fed: Bora Bora Fireballs. These meatballs came to me in a dream. I woke up with... read more

Mar 1, 2013 Posted by Mel

Old School Italian Meat Sauce

In college, I had a 100% Italian-American boyfriend, and I was partially adopted by his very traditional family. His mom was about 4’10″ and a spitfire, and every week, she had a cooking schedule. A certain day of the week meant soup, another day was always a roast, and Sunday was spaghetti and meatballs. She’d make the sauce on Saturday afternoon so it could simmer until after mass on... read more

Dec 20, 2012 Posted by Mel

Pork Belly… Come ‘N’ Get It

The good people at Tendergrass Farms know just what to say to make a paleo girl’s heart go pitter-patter, stuff like… “We have a surplus of pork bellies right now. How would you like to offer them to your readers?” Are those, or are those not, magic words? (And do you remember when they let me give away a free, pastured turkey?! They’re a stand-up company with a cool premise;... read more

Oct 16, 2012 Posted by Mel

Slow-Cooker Italian Pork Roast

There was a cosmic convergence among five factors to bring this recipe post into your kitchens: 1. Nom Nom Paleo did a cooking demo of her incredibly, lusciously delicious Slow Cooker Kalua Pig at our paleo throwdown in Estes Park, Colorado — and her 3-ingredient recipe inspired me to think about how I could adapt her technique to some other flavors. 2. I’ve had to jettison spices this month while... read more

Feb 23, 2012 Posted by Mel

5-Spice Slow-Cooker Pork Ribs

As much as I enjoy playing in the kitchen, I like to balance “project recipes” (I’m looking at you, Paleo Chicken Bastila.) and dead-simple dishes that require almost no work with a big flavor payoff. This is my first in a series of Super Simple recipes that are made with minimal fuss, just a few ingredients, and produce leftovers that can be used in other dishes. I don’t know... read more

Jun 21, 2011 Posted by Mel

Chinese Pork Fried F’rice

You know what used to be fun? Picking up the phone and having a pile of Chinese food delivered. There were times that Dave and I ordered so much food, the restaurant would include six sets of chopsticks and six fortune cookies. Yeah, that’s right: they thought we were throwing some kind of dinner party, rather than feeding just the two of us while we watched a movie in a heap on the couch. I loved... read more

Jun 10, 2011 Posted by Mel

Paleo Al Pastor Tacos

Geniune al pastor tacos originated in Central Mexico and in spirit are more like Greek gyros or Lebanese sharwarma than the recipe below. They’re carved from a giant slab of pork that’s been mixed with other ingredients (potentially non-paleo ingredients) and roasted over a spit. Much as I adore the notion of adding a personal rotisserie spit to my kitchen arsenal, the only realistic way for... read more

Nov 11, 2010 Posted by Mel

Crazy-Good Barbecued Pulled Pork

Everywhere I look online lately, I’m tempted and delighted by Thanksgiving recipes – and trust, I will share some of my own with you in the coming days. But Thanksgiving is just one day. One awesome, delicious day… but one day, nonetheless. There are 364 other days this year on which we need to eat. For your consideration: Crazy-Good Barbecued Pulled Pork. This tasty hunk o’ meat will... read more

Oct 30, 2010 Posted by Mel

Vampire-Fighting, Paleo Style

I recently re-read the Elizabeth Kostova’s book The Historian. I am freaked out by how much I LOVE THIS BOOK. It’s an old-fashioned, can’t-turn-the-pages-fast-enough swashbuckler told through letters, diary entries, postcards, and reminiscences. It combines history, romance, adventure, and an abiding love of books – and there are secrets among secrets among secrets. Deliciously... read more

Oct 25, 2010 Posted by Mel

Paleo Czech Meatballs

I really wanted a cute name for these meatballs. I tried for, like, 10 minutes to come up with a workable play on caraway seeds. Get Carried-Away Seed Meatballs? I’m Caraway’d Meatballs? Caraway’d Away Balls? Dave grimaced. His contribution: “Czech Out My Balls?” And that is how we settled on the not-very-creative, but accurately-descriptive and patently-inoffensive... read more

Aug 8, 2010 Posted by Mel

Paleo Egg Foo Yung

Egg Foo Yong is one of the recipes in my cookbook Well Fed: Paleo Recipes For People Who Love To Eat. I updated this post with the new-and-improved recipe. Enjoy! Egg Foo Yong the all-American Chinese treat — PREP 10 min | COOK 20 min | SERVES 2 Egg Foo Yong has a deliciously confused identity. It’s not quite an omelet, almost a pancake, and somewhere beyond a fritter. It has become a 100%... read more

« Previous Entries

reading is sexy
Reading right now...

The Redbreast: A Harry Hole Novel
I'm about two-thirds of the way through this detective thriller, and I'm hooked. It's set in modern Norway with flashbacks to WWII (catnip for me!) and features a somewhat grim hero that engenders empathy. I can't help pulling for the guy as I watch him struggle with his case and his life. The cast of characters is a realistic but motley crew, and it reminds me of other favorites set in cold, snowy climes: the Millenium Trilogy and Smila's Sense of Snow.
Recently finished...

The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million
I picked up this book after reading an interview with Lee Child (author of the Jack Reacher thrillers). He referred to The Lost as "the book of the century" and since I devour as much as I can about the Holocaust to try to make sense of it all, I decided I needed to read it immediately. Part memoir, part detective tale, this book was thoroughly engrossing. It's intelligent, annoying, moving, frustrating, and ultimately, rewarding and beautifully written. It challenged me in ways I didn't expect, and I was sad when it was finished.