Bringing In The Green?

I’m enjoying the indoor greenery, but I’m not talking about bringing a tree into the house. I know many people are putting up their Christmas trees at this time, or have already done so. I’m not one of those. Since we’ve been spending the holiday season with our daughter and family in Florida, my artificial tree hasn’t been out of storage for years.

My shooting star Hoya has been trying to bloom for the past six weeks, but kept dropping the buds before they opened. I decided the cause was lack of proper drainage. I purchased clay beads (recommended by our youngest daughter, the one near Chicago) and put a layer of them between the pot containing the plant and the outer pot that doesn’t drain. That seems to have cured the problem. The current buds are really close to opening and not a one has dropped. I’ve also put a layer of these beads under all the pots that drain into the windowsill trays.

The herbs I brought inside (parsley, rosemary, and basil -but not thyme, I’m not that musical!) are all seeing use in my kitchen. A sprig of rosemary and a cutting of basil went into my pot of spaghetti sauce today. This is the first year those transplants have survived more than a month for me. I guess I potted them at the right time and got enough root for once. Perhaps the new grow lights I put in are helping, although they’re only on the rosemary. The others are getting natural sunlight through the French doors. Whatever, I’m thrilled.

So now it’s time for recipe sharing. I’m currently not doing the Whole Life Challenge, but I’m still trying to avoid added sugars as much as possible. So in this first recipe I subbed in coconut palm sugar for the brown sugar. Of course I used Sam & Jeff’s BBQ sauce (original). Since these are pork ribs (the country boneless were recently on sale) I subbed a scant teaspoon of Better than Bouillon (vegetable base) with water for the beef broth. The ribs were sautéed in the pot. Of course, you’ll need to remove the meat, add the liquid, then use a wooden spoon to scrape up the bits that stuck to the bottom of the pot before putting the lid on and pressure cooking.

Instant Pot Pork BBQ Ribs

Dry rub: mix together 1 Tbl dry mustard, 1 Tbl brown sugar, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp cumin, and 1/4 tsp cayenne

3# pork ribs

3/4 C beef broth (or water - could use part rum or whiskey)

1/2 C BBQ sauce (plus more for serving)

Spread rub on ribs, massage into meat. Pour broth in pot, add ribs, pour BBQ sauce overtop. Lock on lid, cook on manual (meat, high pressure), 45 minutes. Use natural release method (will take 15-20 minutes). Serve with extra BBQ sauce.

For mostly guilt-free treats, try making yourself a mug cake. If you aren’t cutting out sugar and wheat flour, look for recipes online. I really like this chocolate one. I found sugar-free chocolate chips at both Costco and Sam’s. There are sugar-free chocolate wafers at WinCo, plus the oat flour is there in their bulk bins (or from Amazon).

Lo-Cal, Hi-Protein Chocolate Mug Cake

In a coffee mug, mix together 3 Tbl oat flour, 2 Tbl chocolate protein powder, 2 Tbl coconut palm sugar, 1 1/2 Tbl cacao (or cocoa) powder, and 1/8 tsp salt. Stir in 1/4 C unsweetened almond milk. Fold in 1/2 Tbl chocolate chips, sprinkle 1/2 Tbl chocolate chips on top. Microwave 60-80 seconds, or until cake expands to the top of the mug. Watch closely. Serve hot.

Another guilt-free recipe follows. This dough is rather mealy, so you might not like the feel of it on your tongue. Perhaps a more finely ground almond flour is needed. I’m going to try it with the oat flour next time. The coconut milk is canned and quite thick, which is why it needs to be melted. A few seconds in the microwave gets that done.

Edible Brownie Batter

2 C almond flour

2 Tbl cocoa powder

1 scoop chocolate protein powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 C maple syrup (or honey)

2 Tbl canned coconut milk, melted

2 Tbl unsweetened almond milk

1 Tbl vanilla extract

1/4 C chocolate chips

Stir together the dry ingredients. Stir together the liquids, then stir into the dry. Mix until it forms a batter-like consistency. Fold in the chips. Store covered in the fridge.