I bought a 4 pound pork shoulder because it was a good price. For whatever reason I typed in “Cuban pork roast” into google and was pleasantly surprised. I found this recipe that was actually inspired by the pork in the movie “Chef”. Have you seen Chef? I saw it months ago and LOVED it. I felt very excited to create something that was made in my beloved film. Of course I did it in the slow cooker because I’m a busy gal who can’t be at home waiting on her pork to cook in the oven. Here is the super fun recipe!

http://www.recipetineats.com/juicy-cuban-mojo-pork-roast-chef-movie-recipe/

I omitted the cilantro because Matt hates it but I would put it in there if I were you. Otherwise, I followed the recipe and let my pork marinate for 24 hours before putting it (along with the marinade) in the slow cooker on a bed of sliced onions for 5 hours on high (8 on low).

I also made this delicious cauliflower rice, because for some reason I seem to have been avoiding carbs this week. It wasn’t on purpose!

http://ourfullplate.com/recipes/grain-substitutions/

Again, I opted out of the cilantro. This cauliflower rice is so delicious and simple to make. I’m so happy to be using my food processor instead of letting it rot in the cupboard! I also accompanied it with some make-shift Cuban black beans. (sautéed canned black beans, diced tomato, garlic powder, cumin, salt, pepper, lime juice, olive oil, gently mashed!)

What a treat this was! The pork pulled apart beautifully and the sauce gave it moisture and flavour. We had so much leftover pork that I had to get creative over the next few days because I refuse to waste!

The next day Matt and I went on a hike at Webster falls in Hamilton and I made us Cuban-ish sandwiches. Cuban sandwiches traditionally have the roast pork, sliced ham, pickles, swiss cheese and dijon. I did mine with roasted pork, spicy salami, spinach, dijon and mozzarella on a ciabatta bun. It hit the spot after a 2 hour hike!

We still had a ton of leftover pork the next day and I had the idea of tacos. My taco idea turned into cabbage roll tacos when I realized I had nappa cabbage in the crisper. I boiled the cabbage leaves for 1 minute in salted water with a dash of cider vinegar. I re-heated the pork in a pan with some of those slow cooker juices, extra cumin, garlic, lime juice and cayenne pepper for kick. I also made a pickled carrot slaw using grated carrot, dash of orange juice, red pepper flakes, lime juice, salt and pepper. I know the colours look kind of funky but these were delicious. There was the right amount of crunch and acidity. Also, you didn’t feel like a pile of garbage because you were eating cabbage instead of corn or flour tortillas!