Polish Cucumbers (Ogorki) and Cream Salad

The fact that I'm almost 100% Polish means that I often have cravings for vinegary foods. I love dill pickles, oil and vinegar coleslaw (maybe I'll post that recipe someday), but my favorite cure for the vinegar craving is this cucumber salad. I grew up having this dish quite often. Every Christmas, my mom and I make an extra large bowl of the salad so we can have a midnight snack once the company has left and we're in our pajamas.

The fact that the dish is mostly cucumbers also means that it's pretty much guilt-free. My friends at work know that I can devour a large tupperware of this salad for lunch and not think twice about it.

Ingredients:

-3 large cucumbers peeled and sliced thinly (by hand or by mandolin)

-1 small onion very thinly sliced

-1/2 cup sour cream

-1/3 cup white vinegar

- salt and pepper

1: Slice cucumbers and onion as thinly as you can. A mandolin will give you the best results, but if like me you're terrified of that blade, just use your knife to make thin slices. 

2: Toss cucumbers and onion in A LOT of salt and a bit of pepper. You will get rid of most of the salt later, but right now you need the salt to get the water out of the cucumbers.

3: Let cucumbers sit for 20 minutes, then squeeze the water out of them and set them aside. 

4: In the empty bowl, mix the sour cream and vinegar together. Then mix in the squeezed-out cucumbers.

5: There should be enough residual salt on the cucumbers, but it's best to taste the salad to make sure it's properly seasoned. I usually have to add a bit more pepper at this point.

That's it! Simple and delicious!

Thai Coconut Curry with Chicken

Spicy, salty, a little sweet, and so good! This curry is full of fresh veggies and healthy chicken breast. Using light coconut milk helps cut down on the insane number of calories in most coconut curry dishes. Admittedly it's not as creamy as what you'd get in a restaurant, but all the flavor is there!

Ingredients: (makes about five servings)

-About 4 cups of fresh vegetables like broccoli, tomatoes, bell peppers, carrots, celery, green peas, or green beans chopped in 2- or 3-inch pieces.

-2 large chicken breasts (cubed)

-1 large onion (chopped)

-4 cloves or garlic (minced or mashed)

-2-inch piece of ginger (minced)

-1 can light coconut milk

-1 tbsp sesame oil

-1/4 cup soy sauce

-1 or 2 TBSP of red curry powder or paste (there are hundreds of types of curries good for this recipe. You can find a basic red curry powder or paste in the asian foods aisle of your grocery store. When you're ready to experiment, go to an asian market and find green curry, masaman curry, or yellow curry.)

-Sriracha sauce to taste

-Chopped green onions (optional)

1: Begin by sautéing onions with a bit of salt and a drizzle of sesame oil. Once onions are transluscent, add ginger and garlic and continue to sauté. 

2: Add curry powder or paste and continue to cook until you start to smell the curry browning.

3: Add your fresh vegetables and stir together with onion mixture. Add a bit of salt and allow to sweat for a few minutes.

4: Pour in the can of coconut milk and soy sauce and stir well to combine with all the spices and vegetables. If more liquid is needed, add some chicken broth (or water and bouillon).

5: Bring everything to a low boil and then add the raw chicken. Cover and let simmer until chicken is cooked.

Give the sauce a taste and add some Sriracha if you want a little more spice. Serve with steamed rice (white or brown, or even basmati) and top with a few chopped green onions for a fresh crunch! 

Beer-braised Pork with Onions and Mushrooms

A friend introduced me to this tender, juicy preparation for pork and I've added a few ingredients on different occasions. Aside from the seasonings and the beer, the pork and onions are really the only necessary items. Redskin potatoes, carrots, and mushrooms all make wonderful additions to this.

I've never tried this recipe in a slow cooker, but I feel that it would probably be a great recipe for morning prep and evening enjoyment. I'd suggest browning the meat, then adding the onions and other ingredients and letting everything cook on low for the day.

The recipe here takes around two hours. Honestly, the longer you let the pork braise in the beer, the more tender it will be. I usually use lean pork loin for this, but if you have a nice bone-in chop or another cut with a bit more fat, that would work great as well!

I apologize for the lack of good photos in this recipe. I was rather eager to eat, and I forgot to take a picture of the final product! This image is from the second-day left overs. I added carrots at the last minute to soak up more of the delicious juices!

Ingredients: (makes three servings)

-Three pork loins (or other cuts of pork) with the fat left on them
-One very large yellow or white onion (cut in large half-circles)
-One pint mini portabello mushrooms (halved)
-five cloves of garlic (minced or mashed)

-Two 12-oz bottles of a dopplebock beer (I prefer Spaten Optimator, but have also used ShinerBock and even good medium-bodied malty brown ales)
-One TBSP Worcestershire sauce or Kitchen Bouquet (you could also you 3 TBSP soy sauce)
-Two beef bouillon cubes
-2 TSP italian seasoning


1: Rinse and at dry pork loins. Heat a large non-stick or ceramic pot on the stove and brown the pork on both sides. You do not need to add any butter or oil to the pan, as the fat on the pork will keep the meat from sticking.

2: With the pork still in the pot, add the onions, mushrooms, and garlic. Add a bit of salt to get the sauté started. Let them sauté for a few minutes, stirring a few times but not lifting the pork off the bottom of the pot.

3: After you get a little steam going from the mushrooms and onions, add the beer and Worcestershire sauce. Add enough water to allow everything to have a bit of swimming room. As the mushrooms cook they will release a good amount of water, so you'll be sure to have enough juice in the final dish. Add some pepper and the italian seasoning at this point.

4: Now is when you get to sit back and forget about the food for a while. Let everything simmer for at least an hour, if not two. Dish out

Dish out the pork and veggies and serve with crusty bread to soak up the juices! Open up a nice cold beer and enjoy!