BBQ Sauce-y Bits

Those of you that have been following this blog for a while may be familiar with the 'rustic' nature of the recipes we use. This one is no different! It's simple, uses just four ingredients for the sauce, and comes from a scrawled note (the recipe) that's been in my recipe folder for years. So, here is the recipe.You will note that the recipe refers to ribs... and the sauce does work well on pork ribs but the accepted family use of the sauce is now as part of Sauce-y Bits... where the 'bits' are actually pork shoulder. 450g of pork shoulder will usually need half of the quantity of sauce stated in the recipe... but we like it to be a sticky coating to the meat rather than a runny gravy type sauce. Just adjust amounts to suit your own likes/needs.

Having found all four sauce ingredients, sous chef J moved onto the next stage..... and mixed the ingredients together in a bowl.







Then the shoulder of pork was chopped into approx one inch cubes which were fried off in a frying pan. Once the meat was starting to brown, the BBQ sauce was poured into the pan and the whole lot was mixed well. It was then left to caramelise on a medium heat for about ten minutes (or longer) - remember to stir occasionally. This is the result! Serve with salad, broccoli or peas... green vegs look good with it as the colour contrast is appealing (or so sous chef J says).

Almond Crunch

When we first started on the GAPS dietary regime (which we follow to assist Chef J with his Dyspraxia and leaky gut), no sugar was allowed. So, we researched ancient recipes using honey as the sweetening agent. A few recipes seemed to use honey and butter to make a type of caramel/toffee and they also used nuts. Thus, one day we tried out a toffee, almond mix and our Almond Crunch was with us!

It has 3 simple ingredients. Butter, honey and flaked almonds. Initially, the crunch was literally thrown together but, to simplify things a bit, we finally worked out amounts of each ingredient.

To have a go at our Almond Crunch recipe, you will need 50g Butter, 2 Tablespoons Honey and about 50g Flaked Almonds.

First of all the honey and butter are melted over a low heat. Then the heat is increased (you need to watch the mixture as it can overcook easily) until it starts to bubble and turn a golden brown. At this point, add the flaked almonds and combine well. Stir the mix over a moderate heat for about 2 minutes (we use silicone implements) and then turn out onto a non-stick baking sheet (or silicone paper) to cool. There you have it... Almond Crunch (or "Not Dime Bar" as it's sometimes known here!)

It's a good idea to keep the cooling tray well away from little (and big) hands as the toffee retains its heat for quite a while.