Tomatillos, Pork, and Mango Lassi Ice Cream, oh my!

Everybody loves a slow cooker recipe - the general belief is that they cut down on prep time and make the cooking process a piece of cake. While this is true 80% of the time, the remaining 20% I am consulting the Gourmet Slowcooker by Lynn Alley. The meals in this book are fantastic go-tos, especially if you don't mind the two hour prep time generally required.

This week's Saturday night dinner featured Pork and Tomatillo Stew from the Gourmet Slowcooker. This is one of our favorites and we included the tomatillos, white onions, garlic and peppers from this week's crop. Tomatillos are covered in a slightly gummy husk that requires removal and lots of hand soap.

The recipe called for three pounds of the fruit, which gave me the opportunity to pull out my new kitchen scale for measurement. Once the tomatillos were roasting in the oven, it was time to chop the onions, garlic and pork.


Unlike many slow cooker recipes, this one requires browning the pork before putting it in the crock. This helps keep the meat moist and creates a slightly richer flavor. Add to that the sauteed onions and garlic and you have a complex layering that tastes amazing!

The sauteed and roasted veggies then went into the blender with a corn tortilla and some chicken broth. Once blended, the sauce went over the pork in the slow cooker and it was time to go about our day. The resulting dinner included stew, arugula salad with pistachios and cumin-infused black beans!

Once again we have adventurous friends ready to try the CSA-based stew as well as the CSA-based cocktails. This week we used the bonus basil, fresh cucumbers, and some store-bought mint (and I HATE buying mint when it grows wild in so many front yards) to create a refreshing, crisp vodka cocktail. With a little top off from the sodastream, it was just right!

After we relaxed and digested a bit, it was time to tackle dessert. I pulled out the Cuisinart ice cream maker (thanks Wesley jumble sale!) and tried out a mango lassi frozen yogurt recipe. With cardamom, rosewater, and saffron, it was rich, layered, and scrumptious.

Go ahead and give it a try!

1 mango
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/8 teaspoon saffron
2 cups Greek yogurt
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon rosewater
1 tablespoon vodka (optional, supposedly helps with keeping it creamy when frozen)

puree mango in food processor, add and pulse the rest of the ingredients
freeze in ice cream maker

since this ice cream has a high fruit content, it freezes pretty hard and starts crystallizing after a few days, so it is best if enjoyed same day.