MAY 22, 2012–SPICY DR. PEPPER PULLED PORK

Of all the recipes I have tried so far, SPICY DR. PEPPER PULLED PORK  (pg. 158) is my favorite.  It is easy.  It is a back-burner meal.  It is inexpensive.  It feeds a crowd.  It is simply good.

Before you panick and think that you add a whole liter bottle of Dr. Pepper, let me reassure you.   The recipe calls for two can of Dr. Pepper.  I decided to buy my Dr. Pepper in a two liter bottle and just save “two cans worth” for this recipe.  The only trouble is that the kiddos kept getting into the frig and drinking more.  Finally, I hid the Dr. Pepper in the freezer for a day, so that I would have some left for this recipe.  That is why I am trying to get a chunk of Dr. Pepper out in the photo above.

I had leftover Chipotle chiles in adobo sauce from some other PW recipe, so I added the rest of the can (about half a can).  Later, I wished I had added more heat (like the suggested 11 ounce can) as this recipe can handle it.

I put the SPICY DR. PEPPER PULLED PORK on the stove at noon, so that it would be ready at 6:00 tonight.  As usual, we had baseball practice.

What should I serve for lunch?  Everyone had allergies/runy noses, and no one felt like eating, so I made smoothies for all.  That is wheat grass that I have added.  I was first introduced to wheat grass at the Chicago Trade Show smoothie bar.  So when I saw some in the Home Depot gardening section, I planted some wheat grass in a container just outside my backdoor.

Wheat grass aficionados claim it can basically cure anything.  I doubt that.  Okay, I more than doubt that, but like any “vegetable” adding a little more green to our diet can’t hurt.  Here is what Web Md said:

“Despite all of the health claims, there is very little, if any, evidence that wheatgrass actually works to prevent disease, detoxify, or offers any of the other cures attributed to it. Most of what little research has been conducted focuses on the effects of wheatgrass on the digestive system. Here are some of the studies that have been published:

Ulcerative colitis. A 2002 study by researchers in Israel showed that treatment with wheatgrass juice eased the symptoms of ulcerative colitis — inflammation of the colon. The study was small (21 patients) and therefore not applicable to make broad recommendations, but it does point to possible benefits from wheatgrass.

Chemotherapy side effects. Although there isn’t any scientific evidence (aside from anecdotal reports) that wheatgrass can shrink tumors or increase survival in cancer patients, a preliminary study of 60 women with breast cancer did find that wheatgrass reduced some of the harmful effects of chemotherapy, primarily its tendency to affect red blood cell production in bone marrow. When patients in the study drank 60 milliliters of wheatgrass juice daily during chemotherapy, it appeared to reduce this side effect without altering the effectiveness of the chemotherapy treatment.

Here is a graph from Wikipedia that compare wheat grass to spinach and broccoli.  About the same.  Basically wheat grass is healthy stuff and most of us can use a little “healthy stuff” in our diet.  I read a little more about how wheat grass needs to be harvested right at “the jointing stage” for peak nutritional value.  Howsoever, I just trim it when it is getting long and don’t worry about the whole thing.

So here’s the deal.  You thought you were going to get to read about SPICY DR. PEPPER PULLED PORK and I hit you with a whole wheat grass thing.  Sorry.  We just weren’t feeling very well and needed a vitamin boosted smoothie.

And then a pedicure because nail polish cures everything.

This spa pedicure chair only sells for $2,595.00.  Wana buy it for me?

Little Man cuddled on my lap which means he wasn’t feeling too well either.  And yes, he is two and still has a bottle.  And yes, my pediatrician gave me “the talk”, and then I said that I didn’t think I could take away the bottle and keep my sanity.  To that my wonderful pediatrician said, “Sanity is very important.  Keep the bottle–a little longer.”  I love my pediatrician.

By supper time we were all ravenous.  We had only drunk a smoothie for lunch and then had smelled the wonderfulness of SPICY DR. PEPPER PULLED PORK all afternoon.

I snitched some as I was “pulling” it and was it ever good–sweet and spicy.

I loaded up my bun with SPICY DR. PEPPER PULLED PORK, sharp cheddar cheese, bread and butter pickles, and two chipotle chiles in adobe sauce.  MMMMmmmmmm!  Fresh corn on the cob and homemade apple sauce finished off the meal.

Smoothies, pedicures, and DR.PEPPER PULLED PORK = Feeling better!!

Just looking at these photos makes me want to eat this meal all over again!

–rebecca