I use canned or bottled tomatillos more often than not in this Pork Chili Verde recipe but you can use fresh tomatillos. You can serve this in a bowl or over cheesed filled floured tortillas. Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Pork Chile Verde ================ 1 to 2 tablespoons oil 1 cup coarsely chopped onions 1 to 2 pounds lean pork cut into 1/2 inch cubes 1 to 2 tablespoons flour 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 2 cloves of garlic 2 cans roasted chili peppers 1 can/bottle of Tomatillos chicken broth cilantro Heat oil in heavy pot. Toss pork with flour, and brown. When all the meat has been browned, add the onions and garlic and saute for a few minutes. Add the cumin, the chili peppers, and the tomatillo sauce. Add some chicken broth. Simmer until meat is tender. Sprinkle with cilantro. Serve with flour or corn tortillas and sides of beans, guacamole, salsa, cheese,etc.. Lori's White Chili is delicious and so easy to make. Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Lori's - The Dove's Nest White Chili ========================== Source: Lori at All That Splatters 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 medium onion, chopped 3 cloves of garlic, minced 2-1/2 cups tomato, chopped or 2 cans (10 ounces each) of tomatoes with green chilies, undrained 6 fresh tomatillos, chopped 1 medium jalapeno, seeded, minced 2 cups chicken stock 1 7-ounce can green chilies, chopped 2 cups chopped cooked chicken 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin 1/4 cup (heaping) chopped cilantro 2 19-ounce cans cannellini or Great Northern bean, undrained 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice salt & pepper to taste sour cream shredded Monterrey Jack or Cheddar cheese Fried tortilla strips (optional) Heat the olive oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the onion. Saute for 3 to 5 minutes or until softened. Add the garlic. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes longer; do not brown. Add the tomatoes, tomatillos and jalapeno. Cook until the tomatillos are tender, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken stock, green chilies, chicken, oregano, cumin, cilantro, beans and lime juice. Cook until heated through, stirring frequently. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Ladle the chili into serving bowls. Serve garnished with a dollop of sour cream, shredded cheese and fried tortilla strips (if using). Yields 8 to 10 servings

Here's one of my favourite Spanish dishes - Although I have been making it for years the way a Spanish cook once showed me, this time I followed the preparation seen recently on a Spanish Cooking TV channel. Their ingredients included a small piece of or pork fat and a stewing chorizo (chorizo para guisar). If choosing a chorizo for this dish, be sure it is the right type which has the red pimiento colour. The small piece of tocino can be seen just to the right of the sprig of rosemary. Stewed Lentils (Lentejas Estofadas) 350 grams (1 1/2 cups) of small dark lentils - put them to soak the night before in water to cover 100 grams (3.5 oz) red stewing chorizo sausage - lightly pricked over with tines of a fork 50 grams (1.7 oz) salted tocino pork fat - cut into large diced pieces 1 TBSP flour 2 carrots diced fine 2 medium leeks, using only white stems sliced finely in rounds 1 lg clove garlic (this was optional but I wouldn't leave it out) - pass through garlic press 2 cups beef broth (I used 2 Knorr cubes) 1 bay leaf fresh rosemary - small sprig olive oil - about 1/4 cup 2 cups extra water to add after 1st hour 1. Soak lentils the NIGHT BEFORE in water to cover. * Note this if now often unnecessary with newer fast cooking lentils. 2. Next day drain and rinse lentils, put aside. 3. Heat olive oil in heavy cooking pot. When sizzling, add carrots, garlic and leeks. Lightly brown while stirring. 4. Add 1 TBSP flour and keep stirring for about a minute. 5. Add lentils, beef broth, whole chorizo, tocino, laurel and rosemary 6. Put on lid and simmer very gently for 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Check after 1st hour and add up to 2 more cups water as needed. 7. Adjust seasoning and serve. ***************************************** Lentil & Potato Potaje (Potaje de Lentejas y Patatas) 3 cups of presoaked lentils 4 medium potatoes - cut into large dice 2 slices of stale bread 3 cloves garlic vinegar salt Put lentils in large pot, cover with water and begin to boil. As soon as lentils have begun to cook do the following: In a frying pan with 1/2 inch of oil brown the garlic and then add the bread and fry until brown. Remove garlic before it's too dark. Put browned bread and garlic into a mortar and grind to a paste. During the early part of cooking the lentils add the paste from the mortar to the lentils together with the oil that's left in the pan After about half an hour and before lentils are tender, add the diced or quartered potatoes, salt and finish cooking until all is tender. Check and correct salt and a dash of vinegar before serving. Source: A cook friend from Mallorca. *************************************** LENTIL & VEGETABLE SOUP Ingredients: lentils - 250 grams (slightly over 1 cup) garlic - one whole head onion - 1 large - quartered Kasseler smoked pork chop - 1 large (or 250 grams other smoked pork or bacon) ham or pork bone as for making stock 4 medium carrots - sliced into coins 2 stalks celery - diced 5 medium potatoes - peeled and cut into 8ths 6 flowerettes of cauliflower green beans - handful sliced tomato puré - small 4 oz tin olive oil - 4 TBS fresh garden herbs: 1 bay leaf, several sprigs thyme, Italian flatleaf parsley 2 or 3 sprigs chicken stock 1 liter (4 cups) or water and 3 Knorr chicken stock cubes salt & fesh ground pepper water to cook lentils vinegar - 1 teasp garlic croutons - optional garnish Method: 1) Turn on oven to 350F. Put lentils in large heavy bottomed stew pot with water to cover plus about 2 inches, bring to boil and simmer 45 minutes. Check water level and add more as needed. 2) Meanwhile put whole head of garlic into shallow baking pan together with quartered onion, Kasseler or smoked pork and ham or pork bone, drizzle with olive oil and roast in oven at medium heat about 45 minutes. 3) Remove baking tray from oven when all is nicely browned and cut meat into small dice and add to lentil pot along with onion. Squeeze garlic from skin into lentil pot, adding ham/pork bone along with oil and juices scraped from roasting pan. 4) Add rest of vegetables to lentils, chicken stock (or water and stock cubes), tomato puré, fresh herbs and bay leaf, parsley - reserving one sprig, fresh ground pepper. Bring to boil and simmer about 1 hour until vegetables are done, adding more water if needed. 5) When vegetables are tender, remove ham/pork bones and any bare thyme stems from pot, check for flavour and add salt as needed. Add vinegar and stir. 6) Serve with a bit of chopped parsley and more fresh ground pepper. Homemade garlic croutons are also nice as a garnish. Source: Recipe as I learned from a Mallorquin housewife years ago. ******************************* Lentil Purée Convert leftover stewed lentils into a delicious purée by putting them into a food processor and adding the following: 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth 2 lg cloves of garlic crushed and browned in 1/4 cup oil in small frypan 2 slices brown bread broken in small pieces and fried in the garlicky oil until brown Processed the above until smooth and then heat it gently. Dice more pieces of brown bread and toasted them in the frying pan with oil and garlic salt for the croutons. SharonCb

Thanks for the comments! Annie, they are really good! They taste like cake donuts, but lighter in texture...not quite as dense. I ate one without the sugar coating and one with. I liked them both. The kids have all eaten them now and say they'd prefer them without the sugar coating. They loved the flavor and the texture. So, it looks like these will go into our muffin rotation, but next time, I'll pass on the coating.

Claire, it's so easy it's embarrassing, the first time I made one I was astounded, I was just sure it would stick to the towel and not unroll, or break apart or SOMETHING. Of course it didn't. I will point out, though, that you should roll it up in a smooth linen towel, not a terry cloth one, or you'll have a fuzzy pumpkin roll. Ask me how I know.....sigh. Mindy, I'll post the banana doughnut recipe on a new thread, so it doesn't get "lost". It was actually stepmom's favorite of the two. Annie