Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot, nine days old! Ok, well maybe not nine days but there are dishes we make that we make big and then eat leftovers for a day or so, then maybe turn into something else, and then maybe still freeze some. Some weeks are like that – when we know we have a lot of other things to do (like home repairs, or dissertation deadlines), then we make a vat of something and live off of that for a few days. On big baking days, we have a hard time negotiating meals for ourselves – so something that doesn’t rely on the oven (and even sometimes the stovetop). Marvelous cooking vessels such as a Slow Cooker or Crockpot come in handy, or the Electric Roaster (which we generally use for celebratory events), and sometimes even the Rice Cooker with Steamer, along with our Toaster Oven (so handy).

It’s funny because I have always been annoyed by small appliances. I dislike the idea of tiny mechanisms all over my kitchen (requiring their own storage and for many, only performing one task that with a few extra minutes, I could do better myself – this obviously not meaning my darling Kitchenaid Mixer named Sasha). But after gutting our kitchen a couple of years ago and needing to make dinner in the living room with just a chair for a counter and an outlet, I became adept and admiring of a few handy items (like those above). As we expanded our homesteading preservation we also found that others made it into the modern kitchen (like the dehydrator, yogurt maker, and Food Processor – of which I have in various sizes; a coffee grinder, a spice grinder, a Bullet for smoothies, a small processor for home hummus and pesto, etc). I’ll never own a microwave but our brief love affair with our Bread Maker will probably someday be rekindled. Some of these have entered our life so that our little pea can add more to her kitchen repertoire, many have initially come free from our Transfer Station’s Swap Shop (community free stuff), or yard sales, and a couple we broke down and purchased for the homestead (we are officially a ‘Homestead Starter Kit’ with all of our little systems in place).

This dish was great to do in the Electric Roaster but in order to make it work best, I had to make a vat (you could do this in a slow cooker but it won’t get the crust that roasting will give that makes it extra special). Be prepared: This is a long roast. It was a great way to pull out that roast we’ve been saving for a special occasion (though ours was twice this size!) – the special occasion decided to be life in general (and what a lovely thing to celebrate every day!), and it had a reincarnation or two. This roast could work with a full chicken or duck, a lamb shoulder, any kind of substantial pork roast, or even a beef roast. It’s pretty adaptable to substitutions and amounts (my favorite kind of recipe) and only has a few ingredients (loosely based on a simple Jamie Oliver dish). I have never been able to cook dried chickpeas successfully and this recipe finally satisfied that for me. After an evening and another lunch of leftovers (resplendent with crusty Sourdough slices), we then added halved brussels sprouts, chopped carrots, parsnip, green pepper, and sweet potatoes, a generous handful of raisins and some chili pepper and a pinch of saffron (and water, to cook all together) and served with classic couscous as a Moroccan Couscous dish. Came out amazing. After we ate that for another dinner and lunch, we froze the rest for a quick dinner later in the month (just reheat and serve!). Nine days, indeed.

Roasted Pork with Chickpeas, Tomatoes, & Preserved Lemons
Serves 8

1 lb dried Chickpeas/Garbanzo Beans (yes, dried), rinsed
4-4 1/2 lbs Roast of choice (we used a bone-in Pork Shoulder)
2 1/2 lbs Plum Tomatoes (or 2 small cans of Whole Tomatoes, or frozen), quartered
2 whole Preserved Lemons
1 Tbsp Garlic (or 2 Large cloves) diced
1 cup Pearl Onions, or 1 Large Onion, peeled & chopped
2 heaping tsp Ras El Hanout spice mix
4-5 sprigs of fresh Thyme (or 1-2 tsp dried)
2-3 Tbsp Olive Oil
Sea Salt & Fresh Cracked Black Pepper
4 cups of Water

Pour the dried Chickpeas into a large roasting pan (16×12 or so). Scoop out the flesh and seeds from the Preserved Lemons, pulling away the stringy ‘veins’ and discard (in most preserved lemon recipes I will then rinse, but in this recipe I find that it is unnecessary and you may even want to use a glug of the brining liquid in the bean/tomato mix), slice into strips and add to Chickpeas. Add the Tomatoes, Garlic, Onions to the pan. Stir in with a Tablespoon (a glug) of Olive Oil, some S&P and then ‘bury’ the Thyme Sprigs in the mix.

If your roast has a substantial ‘fat cap’ – score this in a crosshatch style and make 1″ cuts occasionally all over the muscle. Rub with a glug of Olive Oil, S&P, and the Ras El Hanout getting into all the nooks & crannies. Nestle the roast a bit into the center of the Chickpea/Tomato mix then pour the 4 cups of Water around on the beans. Cover with Foil or lid and put into a cold oven at 325 degrees. Roast about 6 hours until the Chickpeas are tender and the meat pulls easily away from the bone, checking about halfway through to add more water if necessary.

When the roast is done and the Chickpeas are tender – plate up the lovely Chickpeas/Tomatoes, and it is here you could shred the meat a bit if you like or slice and serve over the vegetables. We also like to serve it ‘Family Style’ on a platter we share together. Drizzle with Olive Oil and Enjoy! If you need a ‘grain’ or starch to make this more substantial, it is great with bread or Fregola. This dish keeps well and the flavors meld even more after a day or two. Freezes and reconstitutes well.

There was a time in our life when Mrs. T’s Pierogis were a regular staple. Granted, it was when we lived in Boston for a few years – and we were miserable. We lived essentially at Cleveland Circle/Chestnut Hill Reservation at the juncture of Brighton, Allston, and Brookline. We worked at Coolidge Corners (yes, in the kooky clock building), together as professional testing proctors. There weren’t a lot of reasons we were miserable – we met some amazing people that we will know as friends for life (Spencer, Vanessa, Eric, Ben, Marcos & Denise – my dears, I miss you all so much), and had a couple of friends already there (Fisch & Will, Boo & Sayo, & Matty, the former pairs seemingly long lost but we love you bunches, and the latter came to Maine, as well – thank goodness you are here), some family lived near, and our jobs were fine. Not stimulating but fine. We saw shows all the time which was good, we ate and drank in fancy restaurants (or at least fancy to us), we walked around the reservoir, we made art and music in our tiny but lovely apartment.

We also ate and drank way too much (or at least, too much junk food) and though we walked to work, and hiked our groceries back in the granny-cart (uphill), we got fat and frustrated. There was nowhere for us to really grow – the people that weren’t our friends tended to be really rude, and the library was too far away though we do miss some of our favorite haunts (the crepe place below our office, the Brookline Booksmith, Boca Grande, the Thai Noodle place around the corner from us, the fancy pub halfway between home and work, the Pho place in Allston that had a second home in Cambridge, that great little spot for Margaritas on the backside of the Harvard Book Store, Trident Bookstore on Newbury – along with the Fluevog shoe store and Newbury Comics, the Allston Super 88 Asian grocery and the antiques building across from it – these were our regular jaunts around town besides shows at the Middle East/Paradise/Great Scott, etc).

But our favorite activities tended to be things like watching the rainbow of green/brown/purple snails come out in our neighborhood on rock walls and ledges, spying the swans and geese at the reservoir park, punctuated by watching the T (commuter rail) catch on fire one night (the windows melting right onto the tracks), and a few cars that would inevitably miss the carriage road median ending up stuck right on top of it, or the 20-man brawl erupting from the college boy apartment right below us (did I mention we were smack in between Boston University and Boston College?).

All that to say, we were relieved to find an escape route to Portland, Maine for a few years and then farther to our little outpost here at Rock Bottom. We’re happy to grow and support community foods and not eat boxes of frozen foods (when we weren’t galivanting around Boston-town). It’s honestly been years since I have had pierogi (or boxed chicken, for that matter – ahem) but we decided they sounded super exciting and delicious and homey these country snowy days. Jump in, they are easier than you think and oh, so satisfying.

The thing about pierogi is that you have such a great variety of good Winter stuffings to make. Classic mashed potato and caramelized onion/garlic/shallots, or potato and cheese: cheddar/jack/parmesan, or change up the potato adding sweet potato or roasted rutabaga/turnip/parsnip/carrot to the mix, savory herbs are a good match, bits of bacon/pork/sausage/turkey/chicken – ground or shredded, add some spinach or broccoli to the potato mix, or even apple or cabbage to give good texture and flavor. You could even mash or rice roasted cauliflower instead of potato. You could get wild and add mango chutney or green chili to the root mash. I think the key is too not make your filling too wet since you are wrapping it in a lovely pasta moon. Then boil, bake, and fry if desired. Serve with sour cream, red beet relish, horseradish, or even salsa depending on your lovely filling of choice or alongside classics like Polish Kielbasa and sautéed cabbage. Enjoy!

Pierogies for the People
Serves 6

For the dough:
4 cups All-purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1 cup Whole Milk
2 Eggs lightly beaten
1/4 cup Sour Cream

For the filling:
5 large Russet Potatoes peeled and quartered (or other roots, or a mix)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 Tbsp Butter, for Potato mash
1/2 – 1 cup Whole Milk, depending on desired creaminess of potatoes
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar Cheese
3 Tbsp Butter, for onions
3 large Vidalia Onions diced
1 Tbsp dried herb (Rosemary, Sage, or Thyme)

HOW TO MAKE PIEROGI DOUGH:
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, blend together the flour and salt on low speed.
Whisk together the milk, egg and sour cream. Slowly add the milk mixture to the flour in a steady stream.
Continue to blend the flour mixture together until a shaggy dough forms and the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
Cover the dough with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 1 hour.
This pierogi dough recipe is soft….the stand mixer makes it come together so quickly but you can totally do this by hand if you don’t have a stand mixer.

HOW TO MAKE PIEROGI FILLING:
Add the potatoes to a pot and fill with water to just cover the potatoes. Stir in the salt and bring the potatoes to a boil.
Turn the heat to low and continue cooking the potatoes until fork tender, approximately 20 minutes.
While the potatoes are cooking, melt the butter for onions in a large skillet over medium heat.
Add the onions to the pan. Cook until caramelized and golden brown, approximately 20 minutes.
Drain the potatoes and transfer to a large bowl.
Add the onions, milk, butter, cheese, and herb to the potatoes. Mash using a potato masher until well blended.
Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

To assemble pierogis: Knead rested dough lightly (but not too much), roll out to about 1/8″ thickness and cut into 3″ rounds (find a glass or storage bowl to use as cutter for evenness). Scoop 1-2 tbsp scoops of filling and put in center of round. Fold over edges and crimp with fork into hand-pie half moons. Set aside on lightly floured surface until ready to cook (or freeze, see Note below)

To cook your Homemade Potato Pierogi, you have a few options. Put pierogi into a pot of salted boiling water and cook until they float to the top, and then one minute more. Or you can simply pan fry your potato pierogis in a skillet with more caramelized onions (and Red and Green Bell Peppers) and lots of butter. The onion butter is a great sauce for your potato pierogi! OR you can do both….boil then pan fry for crispiness, if desired.

Note: You can also freeze them after assembling but before cooking – put them on a cookie sheet with parchment paper in a single layer and freeze overnight, then put into freezer bags. Do not thaw to cook – either boil as normal or put into skillet with a bit of water to soften and saute in olive oil or butter.