Cooking In, Dinner, Quick PostKerry Alaric Cheeseboroalcohol, bacon fat, beer, booze, butter, cabbage, cider, cooking, curry, curry powder, Dinner, garlic, ginger, mashed, mustard, No-Diet Sunday, nutmeg, onion, onions, parsley, pork, potato, potatoes, Quick Post, red, red cabbage, resolution, ribs, roasted, sauce, seasoning, simmer, simmered, slow-cook, slow-cooked, spareribs, spiced, spicy, stewed, sugar, vinegarComment

Oh, "Spare" Me...!

Cooking In, Dinner, Quick PostKerry Alaric Cheeseboroalcohol, bacon fat, beer, booze, butter, cabbage, cider, cooking, curry, curry powder, Dinner, garlic, ginger, mashed, mustard, No-Diet Sunday, nutmeg, onion, onions, parsley, pork, potato, potatoes, Quick Post, red, red cabbage, resolution, ribs, roasted, sauce, seasoning, simmer, simmered, slow-cook, slow-cooked, spareribs, spiced, spicy, stewed, sugar, vinegarComment
Curry·Ginger Spareribs | Mashed Potatoes, Red Cabbage

OKAY, SO I AM AT least smart enough at my age to know not to make New Year's resolutions that would be impossible to keep, and at least not capable of disappointing me out of any intended diligence I planned to maintain. These resolutions would be not about absolutes, they would be more about decisions.

And although I successfully cut myself off from daily intake of soda (I might have a ginger ale maybe once a month), I don't expect to have any success giving up something like bacon for months at a time. So I made a daily-themed dietary itinerary to better round out my culinary intake. It goes as follows:

MEATLESS MONDAYS | A novelly popular concept that I would worry more about if I couldn't maintain it.

TUNA TUESDAYS | Yes, out of a can, but at least it keeps me in fish at least once a week.

WHATEVER WEDNESDAYS | Whatever I want, but still responsible. If I want pasta, just a smaller portion, and no cream in the sauce. A burger would instead be made out of ground turkey or minced Portobello mushrooms.

THAWED THURSDAY | I often pick up stuff at the supermarket I never had any intention of buying, it was just on sale or only seasonally available. So I bring that food home and forget about it until they've turned into gray icebergs of barely recognizable freezer space. So Thursdays, whatever is in there, winds up on a plate and not in the trash.

FISH FRIDAY | Any seafood will do, and not from a can.

SALAD SATURDAYS | Greens, greens, they're good for gut; the more you eat, the better your strut...! And, not at all least...

NO-DIET SUNDAYS | Not alliterative, but that just speaks to the "I don't care" spirit of this day's meals. I take care of my body for six days, I appease and placate my spirit and soul for just one.

And that Devil-may-care allowed me to take a full rack of pork spareribs, seared them in some rendered bacon fat, simmer them in a large pot with four bottles of beer, chopped onions, minced garlic, a load of curry powder and ground ginger, and some nutmeg and cumin, for two hours.

I then removed the spareribs from the liquid and let them finish in a large skillet in the oven for another hour, all while making a perfect un-fussed with mash of potatoes, salt, pepper, and butter, and red cabbage stewed in water, cider vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper.

The final outcome was a grand plate of homey, comfy, spicy, heart-warming goodness that probably undid a day or two of my healthier eating. But it tasted so good, I could not have cared less, making the full intent of No-Diet Sunday a complete success!

Curry·Ginger Spareribs

Curry·Ginger Spareribs

Curry·Ginger Spareribs

Curry·Ginger Spareribs

Mashed Potatoes

Red Cabbage

Curry·Ginger Spareribs

Curry·Ginger Spareribs

Curry·Ginger Spareribs

Bun Apple Tea!

KAC

Curry·Ginger Spareribs | Mashed Potatoes, Red Cabbage