Quick Cashew Slaw

This weekend, the weather was so pleasant that Christian and I spent the day cleaning up the backyard and planting a plethora of herbs, flowers and other greenery.  By the end of it, we wanted to enjoy our sprucing, but couldn't handle grilling a feast.  So, we kept it simple with good old wieners, green beans and coleslaw.  Stupidly, we forgot to buy coleslaw dressing.  So, we pivoted and got creative in the kitchen with on-hand ingredients.  And what do you know - the coleslaw turned out better than most of the ones I buy in the store anyway.  Below is our concoction for Quick Cashew Slaw.  It's bright and tangy, with a hint of sweet heat and a satisfying crunch.

Quick Cashew Slaw

1 Bag of Shredded Veggies (cabbage, carrots, etc.)
1 Green Onion, thinly sliced
2 T. Cilantro, chopped
Handful of Salted Cashews

1/3 C. Mayonnaise
Juice of 1 Lime
2 T. Brown Sugar
2 T. Asian Sauce such as Szechwan (or, pinch of red pepper flakes)
Extra cilantro and cashews, to garnish

Toss the shredded veggies, onion, cilantro and cashews.  Set aside

In a small bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, lime juice, brown sugar and heat.  Taste and season accordingly.  If you like more heat, add more spice.

Spoon half of the sauce over the veggies.  It's better to toss as you go so you don't end up with a slaw that's too wet.  Use as much sauce as you want.

To garnish, sprinkle with extra cilantro and cashews.

Roasted Corn Pancakes with Bourbon Pulled Pork & Slaw

Dear fellow foodies, please help me in celebrating Natural Sugar's 100th post!  On such a special occasion, I thought I'd share a recipe with you that brings back one of my best memories from 2014.  Back in September, Christian and I threw a little dinner party.  It was meant to be a quiet dinner for 6 of our close friends.  It bloomed into a dinner extravaganza of 14 to celebrate the end of summer.  It.  was.  fantastic.  Great company combined with delicious food and wine plus wonderful conversation made it a total success.  

Today's recipe is the entree we served at our party:  Roasted Corn Pancakes with Bourbon Pulled Pork, Fresh Veggie Slaw and Spiced Popcorn.  It's a mouthful, literally.  It has several components and takes some time, but I promise you it's worth it!  This dish is whimsical, satiating and full of robust, fresh flavors.  The Roasted Corn Pancakes are soft and savory, the perfect pillow to catch the drippings of the sweet and smokey Bourbon Pulled Pork.  The Fresh Veggie Slaw adds bright flavors and the Spiced Popcorn finishes the dish off with a fun crunch.  Give it a try on a day when you've got time to spend in the kitchen.  You won't be disappointed.  

Roasted Corn Pancakes

1 C. Fresh corn, off the cobb (or frozen)

Olive Oil

S&P

Your favorite pancake batter

Butter

Preheat the oven to broil.  Spread out the corn onto a cookie sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil.  Sprinkle with S&P.  Toss to coat.  Broil until corn is golden brown.  

Fold the roasted corn and S&P into the pancake batter.  

Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat.  Ladle a spoonful of the pancake batter into the skillet.  Cook the pancake until bubbles form or until the bottom turns golden brown, about 2 minutes.  Flip and cook until the other side is golden, about 1 more minute.  Remove from heat.  Repeat with all pancakes.  

Bourbon Pulled Pork

1 lb. Pork Tenderloin (flavored is fine - go for teriyaki or garlic)

Olive Oil

1/2 Red Onion, sliced

1/2 C. Bourbon, divided (I like Bulleit)

Scant 1/4 C. Brown Sugar

S&P

Heat a medium skillet over high heat.  Drizzle olive oil.  When it glistens and the pan is very hot, add the pork tenderloin.  Sear on all sides.  Transfer to a slow cooker.  Add onions to the skillet with about 1/8 C. of the bourbon.  Cook for 3 minutes.  Transfer the onions and bourbon juice into the slow cooker.  Add the remaining bourbon, brown sugar and S&P.  Cook on low for 5-6 hours, or until the pork is cooked through and pulls apart easily with a fork.  Do not overcook.

Fresh Veggie Slaw

1/2 Yellow Pepper

1/2 Red Pepper

1/2 Red Onion

1 C. Fresh Corn

Cilantro, chopped

S&P

1 T. Vinegar (optional)

Thinly slice the peppers and onion and transfer to a medium bowl.  Add the corn and cilantro, S&P and vinegar.  Toss to combine.  

Spiced Popcorn

1 C. Popped Popcorn

Sprinkle of paprika

Sprinkle of cinnamon

To serve, top the roasted corn pancakes with bourbon pulled pork, fresh slaw and popcorn.  

Corn Three Ways:  Roasted, Fresh & Popped

Deepest apologies for such a long delay since my last post.  Since August, my life has completely filled up!  Huge back-to-back work projects + wonderful boyfriend + weekends chock full of fun = no time to talk about and take good pictures of food.  These great pieces of life continue still, but it's about time I jumped back into talking about, eating and photographing one of my favorite things:  FOOD!