Pumpkin Seed Cheddar Crispbreads, Spanish Dry-Cured Meats & Smoked Gouda

I bought Doctor Kracker’s Pumpkin Seed Cheddar Crispbreads at Publix last week as an impulse buy.  I had never heard of the company, but they looked like a tasty snack.  They are organic and a great source of protein, fiber, and whole grains.  I love that they have so many whole pumpkin seeds – they are very hearty crackers. 

Then while picking up some beers from ABC, we noticed their Campofrio Tapas were on sale for $1.75 so we decided to give it a try.  It contained a trio of traditional Spanish dry-cured meats: ham, pork loin, and chorizo sausage seasoned with smoked paprika.  I especially liked the chorizo. 

And yesterday, we stopped by Trader Joe’s to pick up a few snacks.  We always get some sort of cheese while we are there – they have a huge selection and the prices are amazing for such gourmet cheeses.  This time we chose the Dutch Smoked Gouda – which is one of our favorites.  It has a smoky flavor and creamy texture. 

We put all these products together for a fancy cheese, meat, and cracker spread…probably the first time all 3 of these were combined on one plate, but they paired perfectly together!

Crock Pot Pork with Peaches

Peaches were on sale this week at Trader Joe’s, so we bought a 4 pound box.  Since we have so many peaches, I looked up recipes to incorporate them into our dinner. 

This one was inspired by the Williams-Sonoma recipe for Grilled Pork Loin with Peaches.  Unfortunately we don’t have a grill (besides our little George Foreman) so we adapted the recipe for the crock pot instead.  I’ve had peaches with pork before (I tried out this Summer Peachy Pork from my friend Leslie’s blog and it was great!)

The original recipe called for fresh thyme & oregano, but since I already had rosemary and mint growing on my patio, I swapped for those herbs instead.  I ran out of plain balsamic vinegar, so in my recipe I used Cinnamon Pear Balsamic that I had purchased from Joe & Son’s Olive Oils.  If you haven’t been there, it’s worth a trip to check it out.  They have a huge selection of olive oils and vinegars, and they let you taste as many as you want.  I actually had a Creative Loafing deal, so I got $40 worth of fancy oils and vinegars for only $20. 

I still want to try out the grilled version of this recipe at some point, but the crock pot version was super easy to make and tasted amazing!  It was very juicy and shredded like pulled pork.  We ate it by itself in a bowl, but I’m sure it would taste great on a sandwich as well. 

Crock Pot Pork with Peaches

Ingredients:

• 1 boneless pork loin roast, about 3 1/2 lb
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar (mine was cinnamon pear balsamic)
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 2 Tbs. firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 Tbs. fresh rosemary
• 1 Tbs. chopped fresh mint
• 1/2 Tbs. dried thyme (or fresh if you have it)
• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 2 1/2 lb. small peaches, pitted and quartered (we used 8 peaches)

Directions:

1. Cut your peaches in quarters and arrange about half of them in a layer along the bottom of the crock pot

2. Rub the pork with the balsamic, mustard, brown sugar, herbs, salt & pepper. 

3. Place the pork in the crock pot and top with the remaining peaches.  

4. Turn your crock pot to low setting and come back to enjoy 8 hours later! 

There will be a lot of juices from the peaches in the crock pot, so when serving you may need to use a slotted spoon to dish out the meat & peaches.  

Enjoy!