As an experiment I decided to use the Mole-Inspired Seasoning from the pork recipe on a whole chicken. After rubbing the chicken down with the seasoning, letting in marinate overnight, then slow roasting it in my dutch oven at 300 degree for 3 hours, my experiment was a success. You can see that by the look of sheer pleasure and happiness on my roommates faces.

Mole-Inspired Rub

3 tablespoon ancho chile powder

1 tablespoon dark brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoon cocoa powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1 tablespoon Kosher Salt

1 teaspoon sugar

4 garlic cloves minced

Use all of rub on out side and under the skin of 5lb organic free range whole chicken. Marinate overnight. Preheat oven at 300 degrees. Place chicken in dutch oven with 1 yellow onion, and 1 apple, both cut into quarters. Add 1 1/2 cup dry white wine. Roast chicken for 3 hours in the dutch oven.

Remove the chicken from the dutch oven and place in empty dish. Allow it to rest for about 15 minutes. Then remove the skin from the chicken is discard. Removed all of the meat from the bones and place in an empty bowl. Shred the meat with a fork.

While the chicken is resting, skim off as much of the fat from the juices left over in the dutch oven. Once this is done, place the dutch oven on the stove top and bring to a boil and reduce the juices to about 1/3 of the contents. Strain the juices and pour into your shredded chicken. Keep the onions from the dutch oven for lunch. They some extra flavors in your tortillas.

Now you are ready to create an amazing chicktastic lunch spread. You'll need flour tortillas, sliced avocado, sliced limes, sliced radishes, chopped up cilantro, and sour cream. Put it all out on the table and allow your guests to assemble their own tortilla creation.

Crowd Pleaser Pork

http://splendidtable.publicradio.org/recipes/main_roastedpork.shtml

This recipe, which I first was introduced by my dear culinary friend Alexis, will wow your taste buds and leave you wanting more. I recently made this pork dish up in Lake Tahoe for my ski house. I paired it with an Italian style baked mac and cheese. Delicious!!!

As recommended by Alexis, when making this dish use a 5 lb pork shoulder. To the rub add a heaping teaspoon of paprika and ground clove. If you are really feeling creative add a teaspoon of nutmeg. Marinate the pork at least for 24 hours. You'll know the pork is done when it shreds easily. The leftovers, if there are any, make for great pork sandwiches served with a slice of avocado!

Whoop! Whoop! to vinaigrette!!!

Has the winter got you down?? Cheer up and visit the Mediterranean sea for a moment as you chow down on a Greek salad dressed with the the most amazing vinaigrette made with the one and the only SHABBY PRESERVED LEMONS!!!!

1/4 cup chopped mint
1/2 cup chopped parsley
2 garlic cloves minced
1 chopped preserved lemon (pulp removed)
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 1/2 cup olive oil
juice of one lemon
Go ahead and WHISK away!!! It makes about 2 cups of dressing! Don't worry it's so delicious it won't last very long in your refrigerator.

For the salad you'll need lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, red onion, Greek olives, and feta cheese. Enjoy!!!!!

Get your LENTIL on!

Lentil Soup! Great source of protein. Great way to warm up on a rainy San Francisco day.

1 1/2 cup lentils
2 cups water
2 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
1/2 yellow onion chopped
2 gloves garlic minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cups chard chopped
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (add more if you want to kick it up!)
salt and pepper

Bring water and chicken broth to a boil add lentils. Bring water to a boil again, reduce heat and simmer for about 20-30 minutes or until lentils are soft. Saute onions and garlic in olive oil until soft and frequent. Add crushed tomatoes and stir at medium-high heat for about 3 minutes reducing some of the liquid from the tomatoes. Add mixture to lentils and slowly stir in chopped chard. Add cayenne, salt, and pepper till desired flavor achieved. Now you're ready to get your LENTIL on. To really dress this soup up add a dollop of sour cream and cheddar cheese. Enjoy.

Spicy Crab Spaghettini with Preserved Lemons

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Spicy-Crab-Spaghettini-with-Preserved-Lemon-242285

This might be one of my favorite things to do with crab and preserved lemons. If you don't have preserved lemons available for a tarter version you can use fresh meyer lemons. I also add grape tomatoes at the end so the heat from the past and sauce just slightly softens and cooks the tomato. Super easy to make yet quite impressive!! It's crabtastic.

Shabby Preserved Lemons!!

The Preserved Lemon! What a beautiful thing.

From Wikipedia: The preserved lemon is a citrus preparation that is technically a pickle, rather than a preserve. Common in North African cuisine, especially Moroccan cuisine,[1] it is also known as "country lemon" or leems. Diced, halved, or perfectly whole lemons are packed in a simple brine made up of a combination of water, lemon juice, and salt; occasionally spices are included as well.[1] The flesh of the preserved lemon can be used in stews and sauces, but it is the rind that is most valued.

It's a key ingredient in most Moroccan cooking. They provide and intense lemon flavor. Since they also provide salt to the dish, no extra salt is usually needed when cooking with preserved lemons. If you want to tone down the flavor you can also blanch them for about 30-60 seconds in boiling water.

My preserved lemons are currently sitting on the counter. Just a few more days of shaking till they can become part of my delicious creations. I bet Alexis is quite excited too. We shared the shabby lemon preserving experience together. Chris was our assistant.

For more information and a few recipe ideas check out
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2009/04/the-secret-ingredient-preserved-lemons-moroccan-recipes.html

What do make with the last few pints of strawberries left at the Farmer's Market

Emily's Yummy Strawberry Cake
(makes one 10 in cake)

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, plus one more for pie plate
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoon sugar
1 large egg
½ cup milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 pound fresh strawberries, hulled and halved

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10 inch pie plate. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together in medium bowl.

Mix butter and 1 cup sugar in mixer on medium high until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium low and mix in egg, milk, and vanilla.

Reduce speed to low, gradually mix in flour mixture. Transfer batter to buttered pie plate. Arrange strawberries on top of batter, cut sides down and as close together as possible, sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar over berries.

Bake cake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Reduce oven temp to 325 degrees, then bake cake until golden brown and firm to touch, about 1 hour. Let cool in pie plate on a wire rack. Cut into wedges and enjoy.

Cake can be stored at room temperature covered up to 2 days.

Emily cut this recipe a few years ago from Cooking Light. She’s talked a lot about making this strawberry cake, when she finally did we were all blown away by its’ light cake and delicious flavor. I made this same cake tonight with some strawberries I bought at the farmer's market last week. I think strawberry season might be coming to an end soon. Get them while they last.