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orange soy braised pork ribs

Wednesday, March 24, 2010 by alana

I’ve been thinking about my grandmother a lot lately.
Maybe it was Turkey. She loved to go to interesting places, and while her friends would go hang out at their condo in Florida, she and my grandfather would be off on a folk dancing trip to Bulgaria. When it came to travel, she was a woman looking for real experience.
Or maybe it has something to do with what has been going on since I got back. A few days after my return, Joey and the girls and I went out to be part of a group photo to support a local library which may soon be extinct. As we were leaving the library and heading over to take Sadie to dance class, a few friends called me over.
“You know how you were thinking about running for the town select board a few years ago?”
It was true. I had considered it, but it just hadn’t felt like the right time.
“Well,” one friend said, “it’s time.”
So here I am, running for the select board of my little town. Although I usually end up frustrated when I attend town meetings, I’m going to attempt to step away from apathy and see what happens if I can get a seat at that table. It’s a small town, but it is my town, after all.

My grandmother loved Great Barrington with all her being. She and my grandfather moved up here in the early 70’s to start their bed and breakfast, and they both lived here until the end of their lives. They were all about participating in their community- between the two of them, they were centrally involved in everything from arts organizations to adult literacy, to the formation of our local co-op market.

I grew up here, and I never thought I’d come back after college. I was at the middle school when the occurrence of knife fights and eighth grade pregnancies was at its highest, and I just couldn’t roll my pants or fringe my bangs the right way. But it turns out that as an adult and a parent, this is actually a pretty great place. My children were both born here, and this is their world, too. I’m here for good, and like my grandparents, I’m feeling inspired to put some time into it.
Still, I must say, seeing my name on the ballot at the caucus last night was totally surreal. We went into the fire station after dinner, and the girls cheered that we were “going to vote for mommy!” I know it’s a small thing, but I’m just getting used to the idea. The final vote will be on May 10, and I’ll be doing my best to refrain from holey jeans when I walk down main street until then. And when people question my sanity for getting into this process, I just think to myself that I’m channeling my grandmother, at least a little bit.

If I’m going to be doing my grandmother’s work, I need to be eating my grandmother’s food. I think that I’ve shared this with you before, but it bears repeating: My grandmother was a vegetarian who ate ribs. She never cooked them at home, as my grandfather was a vegetarian who did not eat ribs, but when ever she had the opportunity to sit down in front of a messy stack of ribs, she would roll up the sleeves of her button down shirt and get to work. There was not an ounce of squeamishness in her when it came to ribs- she would suck every thing off those bones, gnaw on them a bit, and then go back to being an avid vegetarian. It was her way.
The night before I left for Turkey, I made these ribs. We ate them with rice and a big pile of greens, and as Sadie sucked on the bones just like her great grandmother Shirley, I knew that they would nourish her through the ten days ahead of pizza and grilled cheese and whatever else lay before her.

Orange Soy Braised Pork Ribs
adapted from Gourmet, January 2005

serves 3-4

2 1/2 pounds pork ribs, separated
2/3 cup fresh-squeezed orange juice
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons grated ginger
a tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 tablespoon freshly ground pepper
1 cup water

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and place rack in the middle of the oven. Sprinkle ribs with salt.

Bring orange juice, soy sauce, sugar, ginger, garlic, and pepper to a boil in roasting pan over medium high heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Add ribs in to the pan, using tongs, turning to coat, and cover pan with a lid or foil.

Braise ribs in oven until very tender, about 2 to 3 hours.

Before Serving: Reduce oven temperature to 200°F.

Transfer ribs to a baking dish, arranging them in 1 layer, and keep warm in oven. Make glaze by boiling liquid, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until syrupy and reduced to about 3/4 cup, about 15 minutes. Brush glaze generously on ribs.

Filed Under: Family, Mains, Pork Tagged With: dinner, Food and Memory, Grandma

« car snack 1
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Welcome!

I’m Alana, and I write about food, family and the wonderful chaos that ensues when the two combine. If you’re new to the site, here are a few good places to start, or learn more about me on my about page.

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Instagram post 2337331591407595410_13442450 Sending off my taxes today with intention and prayer that they will be used to support programs for the most vulnerable, and that my little contribution will join with others to help move us towards the country I know we can be. #taxmagic ✨
Instagram post 2335726864949371764_13442450 Goodies en route to @north_plain_farm today for pickup! Word about town is that LOTS of moolah was raised for BRIDGE in this little #bakersagainstracism bake sale. Thanks to North Plain Farm and @raisinporpoise for the organizing, to everyone who bought and bid, and most of all to BRIDGE for the essential work they do. (Want to learn more about BRIDGE? Head to the link in my profile.)
Instagram post 2332756427273440195_13442450 So technically you’re not supposed to send food when trying to find an agent, but I did it it. 10 years ago, my granola helped seal that deal, and he insisted I send it to publishers when we were selling The Homemade Pantry (another general publishing no no) That Landed-a woman-with-no-platform-a-book deal Granola is up for grabs in this amazing bake sale, as well as goodies by some of my very favorite bakers (@madeinghent , @raisinporpoise , and @thedooryard to name a few). Oh and maybe my favorite item in there are the magical @susanspungen ginger chocolate cookies I mentioned a few weeks back, made by Sadie herself. All of this is to support the work of @multiculturalbridge , and the order form is up in my bio. Get to it! #bakersagainstracism
Instagram post 2330317921708403058_13442450 My friend @afgoldfarb has been part of a team of people working on this vital project. The link to learn more and help out is in my profile.
Instagram post 2330131706816229761_13442450 I’ll be baking up a storm for this! Local bakers- there’s still room for more! Let @north_plain_farm know that you want IN.
Instagram post 2324845496300301430_13442450 To those who ask here? In Great Barrington? YES. In Great Barrington.
Instagram post 2324091364266290851_13442450 I know there are so many resources out there right now, but I want to share one that’s been really helpful for me in the last several months. There are many seasons of this podcast, but I recommend Season 2 on Whiteness as well is Season 4 on Democracy. #sceneonradio
Instagram post 2322615811734696638_13442450 Black lives matter.
Instagram post 2319329508599466327_13442450 I did not bake these cookies, as I am no longer the cookie baker in this house. But this is the second time that  Sadie has made @susanspungen ‘s Triple-Ginger Chocolate Chunk Cookies (and also the second time I’ve talked about a recipe Sadie has made from the #openkitchencookbook), and I think these might actually be the best cookies I have ever had. I’m often looking for the perfect ginger cookie and this is it, and I’d also choose it over a chocolate chip cookie (or let’s be honest-any other kind of cookie) any day.
Instagram post 2316311882260313364_13442450 No matter how many rulers and pizza cutters and other magical tools I use, it seems that the straight line will always elude me.
Instagram post 2314127252740427104_13442450 Living it up. 💥
Instagram post 2312088043104000827_13442450 Every day my neighbor’s yard gets prettier.
Instagram post 2311325683330503572_13442450 @paulaperlis sent us @susanspungen ‘s new book and of course the first recipe Sadie picked is marked with the *project* heading. She’s been cooking all afternoon and the house smells like ✨✨✨ (With gorgeous images by @gentlandhyers ❤️)
Instagram post 2311141543964321092_13442450 When I took on a day job a few years ago, I found that the first thing to go was all the homemade stuff I’d been making and writing about over the years. I’m still going out to work most days, but I’m finding now with a full and captive house and more downtime in general that those things I love to make are back. For me, it’s granola, yogurt, bread. Hello, old friends!
Instagram post 2308503311808232748_13442450 All the things in the house pasta: roasted cauliflower, a few sad leaves of kale, one jar of fancy tuna saved for a special occasion (how about Wednesday?), Rosemary, homemade breadcrumbs from the freezer fried in butter, crispy sage leaves, pasta water, salt, so much pepper. Success!
Instagram post 2307412630968777107_13442450 @artbywoodgy made this beautiful thing for me for Mother’s Day. All the veggies are on Velcro so I can plan to my hearts delight.
Instagram post 2306345003953662730_13442450 Happy Mother’s Day to my brave and beautiful mom, who birthed two different humans in such different times in her life. With me she was so young, and she figured it all out just as she was learning how to be an adult. This picture was taken nineteen years later, when she was pregnant again and I was almost an adult myself. Thanks for keeping at it, Mom, and for always showing up with love. ❤️
Instagram post 2304888771283579843_13442450 What we do for cake.
Instagram post 2302665269449083186_13442450 It’s a magnolia year for sure.
Instagram post 2295808104927071821_13442450 A long time ago, Joey talked about his crush on this particular alien-like flower with a good friend of ours. Months later, little bulbs arrived in the mail. We put them in the ground last fall, and now they are everywhere. If that isn’t some kind of magic, I don’t know what is. ✨ (🙏🏻 to @wildflowers1 for the cool vase, too.)
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