Crock-Pot Peanut Porkchops

My family loves pork chops; I love peanut sauce. The two can be combined with surprisingly tasty results!

Based on a Betty Crocker recipe for "Thai Chicken Thighs." This recipe isn't Thai, but it is easy and tasty. Also, like a lot of slow-cook recipes, it's great "fridge velcro"- a way to use up odds and ends cluttering your condiment shelf.

Crock-Pot Peanut Porkchops
serves 4 plus leftovers

6 lean pork chops- I used boneless chops cut from a larger loin roast, about 1 1/2 lbs.
1/2 can coconut milk
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 jar salsa
2 tablespoons fish sauce or soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 T worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons grated ginger (1 thumb-sized knob)
zest of one lime

Rinse pork, and arrange in the bottom of a 2 qt. slow cooker. Combine everything else, and pour on top of the pork chops, coating them. Cook on high until the pork registers 160 on a meat thermometer-- for my 1" chops, it took three hours.

Serve the pork with rice and steamed broccoli, or other veggies. Good condiments are chopped cilantro, crushed peanuts, Sriracha or other hot sauce, lime wedges, and pickled veggies. There will be a lot of leftover sauce-- toss it with some veggies and rice noodles, and it's like a bonus meal.

Gluten-Free Fig and Lemon Scones

Before my partner was diagnosed Celiac, I was a baker for a small cafe in Somerville, MA. The biggest focus of our morning baking was scones-- and man, did we have fantastic scones. People came from Jamaica Plain for our scones. I was really proud to make them.

Now, I no longer work as a baker-- my partner is really, really sensitive to wheat gluten, and coming home covered in flour every day is not a good way to keep her healthy. However, I still love to bake, and I still make great scones.



Fig and Lemon Scones
makes 8 scones

Dry Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups Pamela's Baking Mix (any GF pancake-type mix will do, but this is the one I swear by)
1 teaspoon GF Baking Powder (Davis is fine)
1/3 cup white sugar
zest of one lemon

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) very cold unsalted butter, chopped into small cubes

Wet Ingredients:
1/3 cup half and half
1/3 cup milk
1 large egg, beaten

1/2 cup chopped dried figs

Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Cut in the butter with two knives, a pastry blender, or by pulsing the dry ingredients together with the butter in a food processor. Don't overdo it: you want the end mixture to look sort of gravelly, with some visible chunks of butter.

Whisk the wet ingredients together in a measuring cup. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and butter while stirring, or use a stand mixer on low. When the dough is nearly together, add the chopped figs, and stir to combine.

(Note: When baking gluten-free, your doughs and batters are going to be universally looser and stickier than in traditional wheat recipes. For this, your dough will be sticky, but you want to add extra baking mix if necessary to push the mixture firmly over the line from batter to dough. If you can pour it, it needs more flour!)

Line an 8" skillet with plastic wrap-- I use two pieces, arranged in an "X". Spoon the dough into this mold, cover with another layer of plastic wrap (trust me, it's easier), and press the dough into a more-or-less even disc. Invert your plastic-wrapped scones onto a plate, and chill in the fridge for at least two hours or overnight.

When you're ready to bake, preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Take out your scones, and cut them into eight wedges (you can do this with the plastic still on, just take it off before you bake them). Bake the wedges you plan on eating that day, and freeze the rest-- they freeze wonderfully, and they're so much better freshly-baked. Sprinkle the tops of your scones with a little bit of white sugar, and slide them into the hot oven.

The high heat will help them get brown on the outside and fluffy in the middle, but it's too high to cook them all the way at without burning, so reduce the heat to 375 after a minute or so. Bake for 15 - 17 minutes.