Shanghai Shrimp

This summer has been, needless to say, hectic so far.  But in the most fun sorts of ways!  My birthday was a blast!  We had a great yoga class with my favorite yoga teacher out on the lakeshore path.  There are lots of photos up on strangeplaceforyoga, so head over there and check them out.  We followed it up with an awesome (and plentiful) sushi dinner with friends (and my baby brother!) which made me smile.

I have also been traveling for work, and even though it may feel like I'm always on a plane, when I travel I get to do my favorite part of my job and I've enjoyed all of the interesting things I've been learning.

A couple weeks ago, we were able to spend a day up out on a friend's boat on Lake Geneva which was an absolute blast!  We've also been taking advantage of the many summer festivals in Chicago.  Last weekend we went to Country Fest, where we were able to lay out in my new birthday hammock all day and enjoy the great weather and music.  Last weekend I also had my first trip to Ravinia, where we had a great night with Darius Rucker, Rodney Atkins, and Jana Kramer.  I had the best night singing, dancing and picnicing!



The summer is only ramping up from here!  Soon I'll be headed on my last work trip of the summer (I hope) followed by a visit to my parent's house in NH.  I'm ready to get out on the lake and waterski, as well as spend lots of overdue time with family.  Once I get back, it will less than 2 weeks until our big trip! We're headed all over the Pacific Northwest and then flying down for a few days in San Diego to cap off the end to of the Monkey Scientist's last summer break.  I couldn't be more excited.  If you have any advice please share!



Hopefully between all of the travel and fun I'll have time to share another recipe with you soon.  In the meantime, this recipe was PERFECT for my crazy hectic lifestyle lately.  Aside from the produce, we had everything we needed in the house, which is always a plus for me.  Although the prep takes a little while, once the vegetables are chopped and the liquids are measured out, it doesn't take very long to come together.  Plus, the boys were happy because it made a LOT of food!  It was perfectly finished with a little watermelon for dessert, and I still had time to make Chipotle Brownies (man, does that post need to be updated) for the Mexican-themed party we're going to tonight!



Shanghai Shrimp
from Family Circle

Ingredients
1 7 ounce package rice stick noodles
3 tbsp canola or vegetable oil
3 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce (divided)
3 tbsp rice vinegar (divided)
1/4 plus 1/8 tsp salt
3/4 lb mini sweet peppers,tops trimmed, quartered
8 oz sugar snap peas
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 1/2 lb raw cleaned shrimp (thawed if frozen)
1/2 cup sweet chili sauce
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 - 2 tsp Asian chili-garlic sauce (sambal oelek)

Instructions
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the rice noodles and cook for 3 minutes, then drain.
2. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large wok over medium high heat. Add the cooked rice noodles, 1 tbsp of soy sauce, and 1 tbsp of rice vinegar. Cook, stirring frequently, for 2-3 minutes or until the noodles just start to brown from the heat and the sauce is evenly distributed.  Remove the noodles from the wok onto a large platter.
3. Add the remaining 2 tbsp of oil to the wok and heat over medium high heat.  Add the sweet peppers, sugar snap peas, and onion to the wok and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes or until the onions just start to soften.  Add the shrimp and 1/8 tsp salt. Cook, stirring, for an additional 4 minutes or so, until the shrimp are opaque.  Whisk together 2 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar, the sweet chili sauce, lemon juice, and chili-garlic sauce, then add to the wok and cook for an additional 1 minute.
4. Pour the vegetable and shrimp mixture over the noodles, with all of the sauce in the pan, and serve.

Butternut Squash Risotto

When I first met the Monkey Scientist, he was taking his MCAT and getting ready to apply for med school.  I knew when I met him that he probably wouldn't be staying in DC, but I think it only took about 3 months of dating before I agreed I'd probably move wherever he went.  The main reason being that I knew he was from Chicago and therefore that's where he'd probably end up.  After college, a whole bunch of my friends moved to Chicago (and my baby brother is here for college), so I'd actually been contemplating a move here long before I met him - he was just giving me the push I really needed to make it happen.

Lucky for me, this is exactly what happened.  By the time we moved here, some of my Chicago friends had moved on to other places, but some were just moving here and others were contemplating moving back.  It's been so wonderful being close to family and friends, even though it's meant leaving some DC friends behind. This week was a great example - we had my college roommate and her boyfriend over.  She's one of my favorite friends and we went through a lot together in college, so it feels like old times when we eat with her.



For this particular meal, I decided to make one of my favorite comfort foods - risotto.  My college roommate and I learned to make risotto when we shared a tiny bedroom in our first apartment. It was so small, we could lie in bed and hold hands - despite our twin beds being up against opposite walls.  We would often lay in bed late at night or on a lazy Sunday and watch Food Network.  That year was a huge learning experience for me cooking.  It was my first time living on my own in a place with a kitchen and we spent loads of time experimenting with all different recipes.

The risotto we made in college always started with shallots and was pretty simple, but the basic technique for this was the same.  This version is just perfect for fall, though.  It fit well with ingredients I had leftover from making this pizza a few days prior (but with bacon instead of proscuitto, duh).  The butternut squash adds the perfect bit of sweetness to risotto.  The smell of grated butternut squash mixed with the chopped sage smelled perfectly like October.  And now that it's getting cold outside, risotto is just the perfect stick-to-your-ribs food.  We all really loved this recipe and I'm sure your family will, too!



Butternut Squash Risotto
very slightly adapted from Recipe Girl

Ingredients
4-6 c low-sodium chicken broth (use vegetable for vegetarian)
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh sage
1 small butternut squash- peeled, seeded, and grated (about 4 cups)
1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2 c Arborio rice
1 c dry white wine
1/2 c freshly grated Parmesan cheese
juice of 1 lemon

Instructions
1. Warm the broth in a small saucepan over low heat. (Seriously, keep it on low.  Do not turn it higher.)
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, salt and pepper and cook for 4 minutes or until the onions become translucent. Add the chopped sage and cook for 1 minute. Add the grated squash and garlic and cook until the squash begins to soften, about 3 minutes.
3. Add rice and cook, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes, or until the rice becomes somewhat translucent. Add the wine and cook, stirring frequently, until the liquid is absorbed, about 3 minutes.
4. Keeping the stove on medium to medium low, add the broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring as you add more and then occasionally while it's absorbing. Waiting until it is absorbed before adding another 1/2 cup.  To tell when it's time to add more, I like to push the rice to the side so I have a little well in the middle where I can see the bottom of the pan.  If that well has liquid in it, stir and wait a minute.  If it's really dry, time for more liquid. It should take about 30 minutes for all of the broth to be absorbed.  Start with 4 cups and taste it.  If the rice is still really hard, keep adding until it has a bite but doesn't taste uncooked.  When it's almost done, squeeze the lemon juice in and stir to absorb.
3. Remove from heat and stir in the Parmesan. Spoon into individual bowls. For presentation, you can garnish with chopped sage (or in my case, chopped chives).

The BEST Brisket

I have owed you this blog post for a long time now.  I actually made this brisket for Rosh Hashana... which somehow became nearly a month ago.  Time has been slipping away from me so quickly - I can't believe it's mid-October.  Anyways, even though it took me a long time, I had to share this recipe with you.  It's probably the best piece of meat I've ever cooked.



Although I've hosted a few Passover dinners, this was my first time hosting Rosh Hashana.  Now that we're living in Chicago, we are lucky enough to be able to share the holidays with the Monkey Scientist's family.  We had his parents, brother, and brother's girlfriend over for Rosh and it was the best time.  They're all so nice and wonderful to be around.  And the food was beyond plentiful.  We had enough to feed at least 10 more people!  I guess that's what happens when you literally cook from Friday night until Sunday night for just about every waking hour....



The star of the meal was definitely this brisket.  I hid it behind some tzimmes (which wasn't so popular at Rosh night 1, but was a hit when I brought the leftovers to a friend's house for night two!), but it still managed to shine.  Although this recipe takes a long time, Nach Waxman is the man to trust when it comes to brisket.  After all, he owns the largest food-related book store in the country!

 

I should warn you, however,  that you have to slice 8 onions for this recipe. EIGHT.  For anyone who knows me, you know I have the wateriest eyes in the world when I chuckled.  When I chop one onion I'm sobbing.  When I chop 8? I actually couldn't close my eyes for a good 12 hours.  I might recommend buying onion goggles.  They have to work better than the torture I put myself through!!

 

I haven't eaten a lot of brisket in my life, but this is far and away the BEST brisket I have ever tried.  (Yes, better than my old favorite, the Southwestern Pulled Brisket, but that's wonderful in it's own way). It is tender, juicy, and just takes like beef should.  There's nothing frilly or sweet, it's just perfect.  And the best part? It gets better in the fridge for the next day or two.  That is, if there are any leftovers.  It's a lot of work, but your family will love you if you make this.  I promise.

Nach Waxman’s Best Brisket Recipe

from Leite's Culinaria

Ingredients
One 5- to 6-pound first-cut beef brisket, trimmed so that a thin layer of fat remains
All-purpose flour, for dusting
Freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons corn or other mild vegetable oil
8 medium onions, peeled and thickly sliced
3 tablespoons tomato paste
Kosher salt
2 to 4 garlic cloves, peeled and quartered
1 carrot, peeled and trimmed

Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Have ready a large ovenproof enameled cast-iron pot or other heavy pot that has a lid and is large enough to just barely contain the brisket snugly.
2. Lightly dust the brisket with flour, then sprinkle it with pepper. Heat the oil in the pot over medium-high heat. Add the brisket to the pot and cook on both sides until crusty and browned areas appear on the surface here and there, 5 to 7 minutes per side.
3. Transfer the brisket to a platter. Turn up the heat under the pot a bit, then add the onions and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon and scraping up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Cook until the onions have softened and developed a rich brown color but aren’t yet caramelized, 10 to 15 minutes.
4. Turn off the heat and place the brisket on top of the onions. Pour any juices that accumulated on the platter over the brisket. Spread the tomato paste over the brisket as if you were icing a cake. Sprinkle the brisket with salt and pepper, then add the garlic and carrot to the pot. Cover the pot, transfer it to the oven, and let it cook, untouched, for 1 1/2 hours.
5. Transfer the brisket to a cutting board. Using a very sharp knife, thinly slice the meat across the grain into approximately 1/8-inch-thick slices. Return the slices to the pot, overlapping them at an angle so that you can see a bit of the top edge of each slice. The end result should resemble the original unsliced brisket leaning slightly backward. If absolutely necessary, add 2 to 3 teaspoons of water to the pot.
6. Cover the pot and return it to the oven. Lower the heat to 325°F and cook until the brisket is fork-tender, about 2 hours more. Check once or twice during cooking to make sure that the liquid hasn’t bubbled away. (Mine had more than enough liquid, maybe from not trimming enough fat.) If it has, add a few more teaspoons of water—but no more. Also, each time you check, spoon some of the liquid on top of the roast so that it drips down between the slices.
7. It’s ready to serve right away with its juices, but it’s even better the second day. Let the brisket cool, cover it loosely with foil, and refrigerate it overnight to serve the day after. Skim any fat from the surface of the liquid and reheat the brisket, covered, in an oven turned to 325°F for about an hour.

Chicken with Pepperoni Sauce

One of my favorite parts of DC is the number of former Top Chef contestants who are always buzzing around.  The really famous chefs, like Jose Andres, might leave their signatures on the menus, but these chef-lebrities are around town - at Nat's Games, walking down the street, and often at their restaurants.  It's a lot of fun!

Mike Isabella was not one of my favorites on his first season of Top Chef, but by the time he was on All Stars, I was a fan.  Since then we've seen him a number of times around town.  He just opened a new Mexican tapas restaurant, Bandolero, so we're going to visit for my birthday dinner tonight!  However, last night, we made our own Mike Isabella dinner - we whipped up his famous pepperoni sauce.  This could be spread on almost anything and it would be absolutely delicious.  We put it on some pan seared chicken and it was a delight!  Hopefully tonight's dinner will be just as good - maybe I'll even get Mike Isabella to sing Happy Birthday to me!



Chicken with Pepperoni Sauce
from Mike Isabella at Graffiato

Ingredients
6-oz. pepperoni, cut into thin slices
4-oz. yellow onion, sliced thin
2 cloves garlic, sliced thin
1 teaspoon chili flake
1 teaspoon fennel seed, toasted
4-oz. crushed San Marzano tomatoes, chopped
4-oz. chicken stock
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 lb chicken breasts, hammered until thin
1 tbsp olive oil

Instructions
1. In a pot, sweat onions in olive oil for five to seven minutes. Add garlic and continue to sweat for two minutes.
2. Add the pepperoni and cook for about three more minutes. Add spices and cook for an additional minute.
3. Add the crushed tomatoes with the juice and cook for five more minutes. Lastly, add chicken stock and simmer for 40 minutes.
4. Remove the mixture from heat and puree in a blender. Season with salt and pass it through a fine china cap. Finally, add the splash of vinegar.
5. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Pan sear on each side until just cooked through. Top with pepperoni sauce and serve immediately.

Carnitas Pizza with Guacamole

The Monkey Scientist and I have been experimenting with carnitas lately. There is nothing like delicious shredded pork. We've tried making it in both the Dutch oven and the CrockPot but I haven't decided which tasted better. Since we had so many leftovers, we decided to make a carnitas pizza!



I have to admit (and maybe you've noticed) that I'm not a huge fan of Mexican food. It's surprising since I love spicy food, but between the cilantro and corn tortillas there are so many things I don't like at all. I was excited that this recipe let me bring in all of the Mexican flavors I like in a familiar favorite - pizza.

I loved how this came together. The Monkey Scientist picked up the dough at the Italian market in Cleveland Park. It has wonderful flavor and came out nice and crispy on the edges. The pizza was the perfect combination of spicy, cheesy and tangy. I liked the hot pizza topped by the cool guacamole as well, it was a nice contrast. This is the guacamole recipe I always use (usually with chips of course) and I adore it! Next time we may try to make this pizza on the grill like Mom does - I bet it would be fantastic!



Carnitas Pizza with Guacamole
carnitas adapted from My Baking Addiction
pizza adapted from What's Gabby Cooking?
guacamole is a yelleBELLYboo original

Ingredients
Carnitas
1 large Vidalia onion, thinly sliced
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 pork butt (ours was 2 1/2 lb)
3/4 c cider vinegar
4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 can chipotles in adobo, roughly chopped
2 oranges, juiced
1 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 bottle beer
Pizza
1 batch pizza dough
1/2 jar salsa
1 bag shredded Mexican cheese
1/2 can fire-roasted chiles
2 tbsp adobo sauce from chipotles in adobo
Guacamole
2 ripe avocados, diced
2 tomatillos, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lime, juiced
Salt and pepper
Dash cayenne
Dash cumin

Instructions
Carnitas
1. Rinse pork under cold water and pat dry with paper towels.
2. Place onions in Crock pot. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, paprika, salt and pepper. Rub to cover the roast. Place roast on top of onions.
3. Mix remaining ingredients and add to Crock pot. Add water to just cover pork.
4. Cook on low 10-12 hours.
5. Remove meat and onions from Crock pot. Chop or shred meat and onions. Add a bit of the cooking liquid for flavor.
Pizza
1. Preheat the oven to 500.
2. Carefully stretch dough to the size of your pizza pan or cookie sheet.
3. Top with salsa, then cheese, chiles, and adobo.
4. Bake 8 minutes, remove from onion. Top with shredded carnitas (maybe 2/3 c worth).
5. Return to oven and bake an additional 4 minutes.  Let rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing.
Guacamole
1. Add all ingredients to a medium bowl.
2. Mash with a potato masher or the back of a fork until well combined.
3. Smear on top of each slice of pizza.

Pasta Alla Vodka

I would like to welcome back one of my favorite guest bloggers for a post today.  From the city with the worst weather in the US, here's another great recipe from Jeff.



With Dani's new job consuming all of her time, it's lucky that she has such great friends to guest blog for her. One of my favorite pasta sauces is Vodka sauce, and I found a recipe definitely worth sharing. Plus, this took max 30 minutes to make and the pasta can be cooking at the same time. Add this recipe to your list of quick weekday meals.

I found this recipe from one of the most popular bloggers out there,The Pioneer Woman. Her pictures are awesome and she has a picture for every single step. You can literally match up your pot to hers to see if they look the same. As awesome as the blog may be though, it's missing the Dani, uh, unique tone and commentary we all love so much...

100% stealing this photo idea from Pioneer Woman, here are your ingredients:



You can absolutely cook your pasta while making your sauce, but I pre-made my sauce earlier - gotta love working from home.

First step is chopping up your onion and garlic. You'll notice I only used half an onion and I thought it was plenty, if not still too much - depends on your onion tolerance. For me and my mom it's next to zero. Unless you live in Eugene, Oregon where apparently she has found magic onions that don't destroy your tongue.

Anyway, speaking of onion breath, I hate garlic fingers. Despite being marginally OCD, this tip just makes good sense. I always wear a latex-free glove when handling garlic. Your hand stays clean and you get 10 minutes of Michael Jackson fantasy. iPod, glove... check and check.

Roasted Cauliflower and White Cheddar Soup (Lightened)

The weather may have started warming up in DC, but it's still snowing back home in New Hampshire and that means I get to keep making soup.  Right?  There is something about roasted vegetables pureed into soups that just tickles my fancy (remember this guy?).  I love using my immersion blender and the flavor, so this soup absolutely needed to be tried.



Do you have an immersion blender? They aren't that expensive, but they're so much fun and convenient to use! I felt like a shark attacking cauliflower fishies while I made this soup.  Usually I can just submerge the top of the blender and stir around, but the size of the cauliflower meant I basically had to stab the cauliflower with the blender and rip it to shreds.  Doesn't that sound like a blast?  It really was!



The original recipe called for aged white cheddar and either cream or milk.  I decided to lightened it up with Cabot's 75% reduced fat cheddar and skim milk.  Being a good New England girl, I have always loved Cabot cheese, so it only seemed appropriate to use it here. Despite the lower fat content, this soup was still quite rich and delicious.  The pureed cauliflower made it thick and I think the Monkey Scientist was shocked at how filling it was.  The magic part was that all the low-fat dairy didn't bother my slight lactose intolerance!



We totally loved this recipe.  The Monkey Scientist enjoyed it too, even though I'm not sure he thought he was going to.  Like all pureed soups, it is substantive, filling, and loaded with flavor.  I used smoked salt instead of regular which gave a nice smoky flavor throughout.  If you wanted to use bacon grease instead of oil it would have the same effect.  The roasted cauliflower has a deep complex flavor and is complemented well by the cheese.  This is an easy and delightful pureed soup that you can make any day of the week!



Roasted Cauliflower and White Cheddar Soup (Lightened)
adapted from Closet Cooking

Ingredients
1 small head cauliflower, cut into florets
3 tablespoons oil, divided
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon dried thyme
3 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups Cabot 75% reduced fat white cheddar, shredded
1 cup fat free milk
salt and pepper to taste (I used smoked salt)

Instructions
1. Toss the cauliflower florets in the oil along with the salt and pepper and arrange them in a single layer on a large baking sheet.
2. Roast the cauliflower in a preheated 400F oven until lightly golden brown, about 20-30 minutes.
3. Heat the oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat.
4. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
5. Add the garlic and thyme and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
6. Add the broth and cauliflower, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.
7. Puree the soup until it reaches your desired consistency with a stick blender.
8. Mix in the cheese, let it melt and season with salt and pepper.
9. Mix in the milk and remove from heat. Serve immediately.

Mini Chicken Meatball Soup

My mom, since she's so wonderful, sent me a Valentine's Day care package.  I felt like I was at camp again.  It was amazing.  Does everyone else feel totally special when they get a package in the mail?  Even if I order something from Amazon, I get excited when it comes.  But when Mom sends something, that's the absolute best.



This Valentine's Day, she sent heart-shaped Junior Mints, a special pack of Starburst, the adorable red slotted spoon below, and the absolute cutest pasta I have ever seen (above).  Check it out - little hearts!  I've been saving it for a special occasion, and when I saw a recipe that called for small pasta I thought it was just the time to break it out.  Fortunately, this recipe only calls for a little bit of pasta, so I still have some left for a second recipe!



This recipe called to me because of the little meatballs.  Mom absolutely loves Italian Wedding soup, and although the kind that comes in a can just entirely freaks me out, I am a fan myself when it's fresh.  How can you not just love meatballs floating in soup.  It reminds me of matzoh balls, but with more flavor.  Fantastic.



I have to admit, I got a little bit wary adding water into this soup.  When I make soup, I like to use all stock. That's where all the flavor is at!  Next time, I probably would use all stock, but it was still really good.  The broth picked up a lot of flavor from the meatballs and veggies while it was simmering, plus I seasoned it well with Cajun seasoning, salt and pepper.  It was not the spice-fest that the Monkey Scientist loves, but it had a lot of flavor.



The most flavor in this recipe, though, came from the meatballs.  They were jam packed with flavor!  I had a jar of chicken seasoning in my pantry for a while now, and I was excited to get to use it.  It really brought out the meatiness of the chicken and made the meatballs hearty and delicious.  Even though it wasn't a soup day (it was in the mid 60s in DC), I was glad we squeezed this recipe in before soup season ends.  We both thought it was quite delightful.

Picadillo and Eggplant Soup

After I made Stuffed Pepper Soup, I wanted to keep turning my favorite recipes into soup.  So where better to turn next than to one of my favorites - Picadillo Eggplant Boats?  So that's exactly where I headed.



Even though I hate tomato soup, I loved the tomato base of the Stuffed Pepper Soup.  Since the original recipe called for tomato paste, I figured it wouldn't be too far of a stretch to use the same liquid base as in the stuffed pepper soup, while keeping everything else nearly identical to the Picadillo Eggplant Boats.  I also used the same general methods of the Stuffed Pepper Soup, since it was super simple and came out so great.



As for the eggplant, I suppose I could have served the soup in boats - but I felt like that'd be a bit messy.  Instead, I chopped them up... OK, the Monkey Scientist chopped them up... and we threw them in to cook down and add more substance to the soup.  I was nervous at first that they wouldn't cook enough, but they turned out pretty close to perfect.



I was nervous about how this soup would be, but we both ended up loving it!  It was hearty, despite it's lack of a grain, and loaded with a unique flavor.  I would never think to add raisins to soup, but they added the perfect bit of sweetness and puffed up so they actually looked like beans.  The balance of sweet, spicy, and umami made this soup a perfect winner for a winter soup.



Picadillo and Eggplant Soup
adapted from recipes I posted for Picadillo Eggplant Boats and Stuffed Pepper Soup

Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
1 lb ground pork
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 medium sized yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small graffiti eggplant, diced
2 cans (14.5 oz each) cans petite diced tomatoes
2 cups tomato sauce (I used one 14.5-oz can and 8-oz can of Hunt's)
2 cups reduced sodium, fat-free chicken broth (I used Cottage Inn)
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp molasses (it helps to spray the measuring spoon with Pam)
1/4 c raisins

Instructions
1. Heat olive oil in a dutch oven or large, heavy pot over medium-high to high heat. Add ground pork and cook until brown, seasoning with cinnamon, oregano, red pepper flakes, allspice, salt, and garlic powder.
2. Reduce heat to medium or medium-low and add onion, garlic, and eggplant. Cook for 5-8 minutes until beginning to soften.
3. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, chicken broth, apple cider vinegar, molasses, and raisins. Cover and simmer on medium-low to low heat for 30 minutes. Serve immediately.