Spring!!!

Wow, not a lot of time to post here... not a lot of time to make fabulous meals and desserts either :(

But it's spring today!!! Yay!

My Mom is a bit sad today.... it's the day her Dad, my Grandfather, passed away. He was the most amazing man I've ever met and I find myself forever comparing other men to him... I know I shouldn't. It's not really fair... but I do it. He was amazingly handy (I thought all men were until I started dating!)... he had a gentle nature about him with those he loved and could sometimes come off a little gruff.. though I rarely saw that side of him. I have such wonderful memories of him and am blessed to have had him in my life. Sending out a virtual hug to my Mom today (gently).

In other news I have finally found a reputable source for rough diamonds... pretty unassuming in the rough eh? I know that others could have done it in less time than it took me.... but I researched carefully in the time that I had. Having an online 'gig' is great when there's time but I find that my real life has been very full lately (which is really nice).

Charlie's birthday was on Saturday... he was a rescue so we got to pick his birthday! We knew approximately how old he was but didn't have an exact date when we got him. So the girls and I put our heads together and picked March 17th. He is now 2.

Carnitas a la Ange

We've had it pretty easy this winter. Although everyone said spring's coming, I knew that winter was coming back with a vengeance. It's baaaaaaaaack.... So I stumbled upon a blog entry on Smitten Kitchen for carnitas and instantly knew that I had to make some. Not only did they look yummy, but I knew right away that I could modify the recipe to a crockpot version that would make my house smell delicious and keep my kitchen warm all day long.
Fueled by the ingredients I have on hand I set out to make my own tasty version.

1 pork shoulder roast

3 blood oranges
6 navel oranges
2 limes

2 tsp cumin
3 Chipotle peppers in adobe sauce

8 cloves garlic

1 tsp sea salt
1 dash cinnamon

Cut roast into cubes.
Juice the citrus fruits and add spices to juice. Add garlic and chipotle peppers. Stir and taste. Adjust seasonings to taste.
Place pork into crock pot and add the citrus concoction.

Turn your cooker to low and let cook for 6-8 hours until meat is fall apart tender. Please don't stir it and fuss with it... You want the meat in chunks, not shredded... Unless that's how you like it.
At this point the meat could very well be served up on tortillas... But traditional carnitas have browned, caramelized meat on the outside and fall apart tender meat on the inside... So my solution is to gently pick the meat up and place it on a lightly greased cookie sheet... Then broil it for 7-10 minutes rotating it gently a few times along the way.
Serve this yumminess on tortillas with the condiments of your choosing. I chose to make a cabbage and apple slaw.