Sunday cooking; not what you'd expect.

Here's what you expect from Sunday Cooking: homemade gravy, pasta, and meatballs.  8 quarts of simmering tomatoes with fresh basil, two hunks of pork and beef, and red wine from a jug.  Heavily salted boiling water waiting impatiently for 2 pounds of spaghetti, and dozens of meatballs frying on the stove filling the house with the scent of all things delicious.

Here's what you don't expect from Sunday Cooking: Homemade granola, pickled red onions, and pork shoulder carnitas!

So I've had this huge bag of old-fashioned rolled oats in the pantry for god knows how long and since I'm not a baker I've really had no clue what to do with it.  So since I'm jonesin' for some granola I decided to make my own.  It's real simple and I adapted and combined several recipes to get exactly what I wanted in there.. check out my version.

Granola Joe 

(all measurements are approximate - add a little more or less of whatever you like)

3 cups of old-fashioned rolled oats

Granola Ingredients

1 cup slivered almonds

1 cup pecans

1 cup raw sunflower seeds

1/2 cup of dried apple slices, diced

1 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup of plain apple sauce

1/4 cup of vegetable oil

3 tbsp of light brown sugar

3 tbsp of maple syrup

2 tbsp of cinnamon

1 tbsp of ground ginger

1 tsp of salt

Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl, add wet ingredients stir and spread evenly on a baking sheet. 

Reserve cranberries to mix in after baking.

Bake 250 degrees for appx 1hr, stirring every 15-20 minutes.

All the deliciousness mixed together

WOW this is delicious. My apartment smells like someone is trying to suffocate you inside a bag of cinnamon toast crunch cereal... not a bad way to go, in my opinion.  

This turned out to be very nutty & seedy - if you prefer less of an equal ratio, add another cup of oats!

Pickled Red Onions

stock photo - forgot to take my own =( 

2 red onions sliced thin rounds 

1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup sugar

2 bay leaves

2 dried red chili peppers

1 cinnamon stick

a few whole pepper corns

a dash of allspice 

slices of fresh ginger

Heat vinegar in sauce pot with all the spices until boiling, add in red onion rounds and simmer for 1 minute.  Onions will turn a bright pink color.  Remove from heat, pour into airtight jar, let sit until room temperature and refrigerate.  Onions will crisp in fridge and keep for several months.

Great on top of pulled pork-like dishes; avocado salads; with roasted beets; on a turkey sandwich or just by themselves! 

Speaking of pork...

I followed the David Lebovitz recipe for "Carnitas" from his blog Living the Sweet Life in Paris, almost exactly - with a few added specialty ingredients of my own that I simply will not disclose!
....OKAY FINE twist my arm... I added more cumin, used only Ancho chili powder, and instead of submerging the pork pieces 2/3 under just water, I added apple sauce - a little natural sweetness to counter balance those ancho chilies.  Make it, and taste for yourself how it turns out!

I'm pretty excited to eat this with some corn tortillas, crumbled queso fresco, avocado, cilantro, AND you guessed it: my pickled red onions!!  It all comes full circle baby.

Little piggies in a bath

MMmmmmm Carnitas

DETAIL!