The Salty Marshmallow’s Instant Pot Pulled Pork

Using an Instant Pot is still quite new to me but I’m really glad to have tried out The Salty Marshmallow’s Pulled Pork recipe. It is easy to make and it took less time than in a slow cooker. The meat was tender and easily fell apart when shredded with forks.

---

---

I adapted the below from The Salty Marshmallow’s recipe. Minor changes are denoted with an asterisk (*).

Instant Pot Pulled Pork

Ingredients

• 1 Tablespoon Packed Brown Sugar
• 2 Teaspoons Paprika
• 2 Teaspoons Garlic Powder
• 2 Teaspoons Onion Powder
• 1 Teaspoon Salt
• 1 Teaspoon Pepper
• ½ Teaspoon Cumin
• ¼ Teaspoon Chili Powder, Optional*
• 3 Pound Boneless Pork Roast, Cut into 3-4 inch cubes
• 2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil*
• ⅓ Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
• 2 Cups Barbecue Sauce, Divided (I used a mix of two BBQ sauces, 1 cup of each)*
• 1 ¼ Cup Chicken or Beef Broth

Steps

1. In a large bowl, mix together sugar, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, perpper, cumin and chili powder.
2. Cut up pork and add to the spice mixture. Toss and coat pork and set aside.
3. In a bowl, mix apple cider vinegar, 1 cup BBQ sauce, and 1 cup of broth.
4. Turn on Instant Pot to “Saute” function. Allow to heat up, it will indicate “Hot” on the display when ready. Add vegetable oil.
5. Add in half of the pork and brown all sides. Remove browned pork and repeat with remaining pork.
6. Press the “Keep/ Warm/Cancel” button. Add in remaining broth and using a wooden spoon or silicone spatula, scrape the bottom of the pot to loosen the brown bits.
7. Add all the meat and BBQ mixture (from step 3), to the pot.
8. Close the lid and set the release valve to “Sealing” position.
9. Press “Manual” button to high pressure and set timer for 40 mins. It will take some time for the pot to build up pressure before the countdown starts. Once cooking time is complete, allow pressure to release naturally for 10 mins, then set the release valve to “Venting” position. Be careful of the initial steam. Wait until there is little to no steam coming out of the valve before opening the lid.
10. Transfer meat to a large bowl and shred with 2 forks. To keep it moist, you can add some of the cooking juices and the remaining cup of BBQ sauce. Serve on buns with your favourite coleslaw recipe or see below fore more suggestions. Enjoy!

---

Notes:

• Instead of using 1 BBQ sauce, trying using a mix of BBQ sauces such as combining a sweet one and a smoky one to get the best of both worlds.
• Adding some of the cooking juices back into the shredded pork kept the meat moist and juicy.
• It takes time for the Instant Pot to build up pressure so the total cooking time will be more than the set time.
• If you want an easy coleslaw recipe, you can try this one from Budget Bytes.
• Ways to eat pulled pork: in a sandwich with coleslaw (what I did), make a poutine (fries, cheese curds, more BBQ sauce), burrito with all the fixings, or eat it on its own with some baked beans. The possibilities are endless!

Tamal Ray’s Lemon Cookie Crumble

I love lemons and lemon flavoured foods. This recipe for lemon cookie crumble from Tamal Ray definitely hit the spot for an afternoon snack. I paired them with with some Greek yogurt, homemade lemon curd and cookie crumbs leftover on the baking sheet – it was heavenly!

---

---

Things I learned:

• If you don’t have golden caster sugar, you can use light brown sugar like I did or these other substitutes.
• I used a tablespoon to put the egg into the mixture instead of free pouring, which allowed me to control the amount of egg going it.
• I lightly pressed the cookie mixture together since I don’t think my clumps were large enough to clump on its own. Will have to add a bit more egg on the next batch, because there will be a next batch!

---

---

I adapted the below from Tamal Ray’s recipe. Changes are denoted with an asterisk (*).

Lemon Cookie Crumble

Ingredients

• 100g light brown sugar*
• 2 tsp lemon zest, grated* (I ran out of lemons, so only had 2 tsp available)
• 58g unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes*
• 67g unsalted margarine, cold and cut into cubes* (I ran out of butter so substituted with margarine)
• 200g All-purpose flour
• 1 medium egg
• 1-2 tbsp icing sugar, to dust

Steps

1. Add lemon zest and brown sugar to the food processor bowl. Pulse for 10 seconds so that the zest and sugar are mixed. Add in cubed butter and margarine and flour and mix for 30 seconds, until it has a breadcrumb texture.
2. Whisk the egg in a bowl and add one tablespoon at a time to the mixture and mix until it starts to clump together without being sticky.
3. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and spoon mixture into 2 inch circles. If the mixture is really crumbly, use your fingers to lightly press and form them into more solid circles. Chill in fridge for 15 mins.
4. Preheat oven to 390F (190C).
5. While oven is preheating, remove your cookies from the fridge and sprinkle the cookies with icing sugar. Bake for 12 mins, or until the edges are browned (mine took 15 mins). Remove and cool. Enjoy!

---

Dumpling Connection’s Chinese Scallion Pancakes

Chinese scallion pancakes is something I’ve always wanted to try to make but it felt intimidating until I came across Dumpling Connection’s recipe. They have a video that goes through the steps and the instructions were easy to follow.

---

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

---

Things I learned:

• Prepping your work surface and ingredients ahead of time will ensure a smooth process.
• I’m still learning to roll out nice circles (mine were a little skewed), it takes a lot of practice
• If you spiral too tight, when rolling it into a disk, the scallions might explode out, which is what happened with mine.
• You can also freeze the rolled out dough in between sheets of parchment or wax paper and then cook later on.

---

---

This is Dumpling Connection’s recipe – I didn’t make any changes to it.

Chinese Scallion Pancakes

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 1/3 cup cold water
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil, (for brushing inside the pancake)
• 2 cups scallion greens, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder

Steps

1. Dough – Mix flour and salt together in a medium mixing bowl. Make a small hole in the centre and add boiling water. Wait for 10 minutes and stir in the cold water and vegetable oil. Use chopsticks to mix the dough into a shaggy mass. Cover and rest for 5 minutes.
2. Place rested dough onto your counter or table, sprinkle with flour, and knead until very smooth (around 3-5 minutes ). If the dough is too wet, sprinkle in extra flour until you have a dough that doesn’t stick to your hands. You’ll know the dough is ready when it is well mixed and quite soft. Cover, and let it rest for 20-30 minutes.
3. Assembly – Divide the dough into four equal pieces. Roll the first piece into a large disk (~ 8 inches). Brush sesame oil on top and cover with half a cup of scallions, leave a 1/2 inch border around the edges. Sprinkle on some Chinese five-spice powder.
4. Start at one edge and roll it up into a log. Starting at one end of log, roll it into a spiral like a snail’s shell. Gently press down and roll it out into an 8 inch disk again.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 before moving onto the cooking stage. Separate each pancake with parchment or wax paper or a sprinkle of flour to keep them from sticking to one another.
6. Cooking – Heat a non-stick pan on medium heat. Add some oil into the pan and place your first pancake in. Cook for 2-3 mins until the bottom is golden brown. Flip, add more oil (if needed), and cook for another 2-3 mins.
7. Cut cooked pancake into wedges (I did quarters) and serve it up with your favourite sauce or eat it plain. Enjoy!

---

Tomato Goat Cheese Puff Pastry Tart

Tomatoes and goat cheese, what is not to love about this combination? A friend had shared a recipe for an fresh heirloom tomato tart from Pastry with Jenn but I already had puff pastry in the freezer so I searched for a similar recipe using puff pastry. Found Chef John’s Tomato Tart one and decided to combine the two, since I liked things from both.

---

Slicing and removing excess liquid from tomatoes

---

Things I learned:

• You can play around with the spices in the cheese mixture – try oregano or parsley as in Chef John’s recipe.
• When pressing down on the partially baked pastry, be careful of steam coming from the pastry.
• Definitely salt and pat dry the tomato slices so that you don’t end up with a soggy tart.

---

---

I adapted the below from Pastry with Jenn’s and Chef John’s recipes.

Ingredients

• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
• 5-6 tomatoes, assorted colours and sizes
• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (5 oz, 156 g) ricotta cheese, drained, room temp
• 1/4 cup (2 oz, 56 g) goat cheese, room temp
• 1 clove garlic, grated
• 1/2 lemon, zested
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 pinches herbes de Provence

Steps

1. Start with slicing tomatoes into 1/4 inch rounds and salt on both sides. Place on a paper towel lined plate to remove excess liquid. Set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 400F (200F).
3. On a parchment line baking sheet, slightly roll out the pastry sheet with a rolling pin and then fold up the edges and press down gently to create a raised border. Place in freezer to firm up, ~10 mins.
4. Remove from freezer and using a fork, dock the dough (make holes in the dough), avoiding the borders.
5. Bake until lightly golden and partially puffed. ~10 mins. Remove from oven and gently press down the base only (avoid the border). Let cool for 10 mins.
6. Meanwhile, mix together the rest of the ingredients except for tomatoes.
7. When partially bake pastry is cooled, spread the cheese mixture evenly onto the base. Pat dry and arrange tomatoes on top.
8. Bake in the oven for 25-30 mins until well browned and crispy. Cool slightly before serving. Enjoy!

---

Spanakopita (Spinach Pie) Triangles

I have always loved spanakopita – with its flaky pastry and rich filling. Growing up near Greektown, I always went to Athens Bakery for them. Since we’ve been in lockdown at home, I figured it would be a great time to make some. Instead of a large pie, I decided to make the triangles so that they don’t have to be consumed at the same time (because I would eat them all in a sitting!). There wasn’t one recipe I settled on, so the following is a mix of two recipes.

---

This is the brand of phyllo dough I used

Mixing the filling

---

Things I learned:

• Keep the phyllo dough moist by placing a damp tea towel over the stack that you’re not using. If it gets too dry, it starts to crumble.
• Play around with the filling flavours – add and take away what you like. I might try adding lemon zest to the filling to brighten it up.
• It takes some practice to fold the triangles. Be patient and don’t worry if they aren’t perfect because they still taste delicious!
• I found that it took less time if you make these with someone else. You can have two stations going: one person buttering and cutting the strips and a second person filling and folding while you start buttering a second stack.

---

You can freeze them to bake at another time or eat them day of

Serving them with fries

---

I adapted the below from Weelicious’ and A Canadian Foodie‘s recipes.

Ingredients

• 1 10.5 oz (300 g) package of chopped frozen spinach, thawed and drained well
• 1/2 cup (100 g) feta cheese
• 1 cup (250 g) ricotta Cheese
• 1 egg, whisked
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tbsp dried dill
• 1-2 garlic cloves, minced
• Pinch of nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 package phyllo dough, defrosted (I usually leave it in the fridge overnight)
• 1 stick (113 g) unsalted butter, melted

Steps

1. Thaw and squeeze out all the moisture in the frozen spinach.
2. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl except for phyllo dough and butter.
3. Grab a baking sheet. Moisten a tea towel, set aside. Melt butter in microwave (20-30 second intervals).
4. Cut open phyllo dough package and unroll. Place one sheet on working surface and cover the rest with damp towel.
5. Using a pastry brush, butter the phyllo sheet. Then place a second sheet on top and butter again.
6. Cut sheets lengthwise with a sharp knife or a pizza cutter into four strips.
7. Add 1 heaping tsp of filling to the end of each strip. Fold over a corner to make a triangle and continue folding like a flag. A Canadian Foodie has great pictures showing how to fold them.
8. Place seam side down on baking sheet and lightly butter top with butter.
9. At this point, you can place the single layer trays in the freezer for a couple hours and then transfer to a freezer safe container if you’re not ready to eat yet.
10. To eat, preheat the oven to 400F and bake for 8-10 mins or until golden. Enjoy!

---

Tomato Egg Noodle Soup

Tomato egg soup is one of my ultimate comfort foods. Growing up, my grandpa would make it and we’d eat it with rice. However, I recently saw this Instagram post from Lucas Sin where he eats tomato egg with noodles and I needed to try it.

My mom’s version starts with boiling the broth first and then adding in the tomato and swirling in the egg at the end. Lucas’ method is a little different, he starts with cooking the egg first and then adds everything else. Try both ways and let me know which you prefer!

---

---

This is Lucas’ original recipe – I didn’t make any changes to it.

Ingredients

• 3 eggs, whisked
• 1-2 tomatoes (I used Roma tomatoes)
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 1 L (4 cups) broth, your choice
• Rice noodles – fresh or dried

Suggested toppings:

• Fried shallots
• More scallions (cut it on the bias – it looks so pretty)
• Chilli oil
• Sesame oil
• XO Sauce
• White pepper

Steps

1. Heat enough oil to cover the bottom of the pot.
2. Add in whisked eggs and scramble until they are almost cooked (I use chopsticks to move the eggs around). Add in tomatoes, broth, and chopped scallions.
3. Boil vigorously for 10 mins or until emulsified. Season as you please – salt, sugar, MSG, etc.
4. Meanwhile, if you are using dried rice noodles, prepare as per the package. If using fresh rice noodles, add it to the soup in the last minute of boiling it to loosen it up.
5. Pour tomato egg soup and noodles into your favourite large bowl and garnish with any toppings you want. I’ve listed some suggested ones above. Enjoy!

---

Ricardo’s Mango Squares

As a follow up to my adventures last week with a vegan mango bundt cake, I had leftover mango pulp so I found another use for it. Ricardo’s mango squares is a simple and delicious recipe that my family loved.

Making the crust – dough looks a little shaggy/grainy

Press the dough into the pan and bake for 15 mins.
Then pour filling in and bake for another 20 mins.

---

Helpful things that I learned:

• Definitely use parchment paper to line the pan since it stuck to the paper as it set (less mess to clean up)
• Maybe use fresh lemon juice instead of in a bottle because I found the square on the tart side, or add less bottled lemon juice – but don’t skip it!
• Depending on your oven, it may take longer to bake the filling – mine took 35 mins for it to set, instead of the 20 mins stated in the recipe

The sides did stick to the parchment but it was still delicious. Cut into 16 squares.

So much mango goodness!

---

This is Ricardo’s original recipe – I didn’t make any changes to it.

Mango Squares

Ingredients – Crust

• 1 cup (150 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup (55 g) sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup (75 g) unsalted butter, melted

Ingredients – Filling

• 1/2 cup (105 g) sugar
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup (250 ml) mango purée (see note)
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) lemon juice

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 350F with rack in the middle. Butter and line 8″ x 8″ square pan with parchment paper.
2. Combine all the crust ingredients in a large bowl until dough is grainy. Lightly press into prepared pan and bake for 15 mins. Remove from oven and cool.
3. While the crust is baking, make the filling. In a medium bowl, combine sugar and cornstarch. Whisk in eggs. Stir in mango pulp and lemon juice. When all combined, pour into crust.
4. Bake for 20-35 mins or until filling is set. Let cool on wire rack. Cover with plastic wrap, touching directly on the surface and chill for a minimum of 2 hrs in the fridge. Unmould and cut into 16 squares.

---

Domestic Gothess’ Vegan Mango Bundt Cake

I had recently bought a tin of mango pulp and wasn’t sure what to do with it until I came across Domestic Gothess’ vegan mango bundt cake. I love mangoes and this was a simple way to use it.

This is the tin of mango pulp I used

These are all the ingredients that went into the cake

Super easy to make, place all ingredients in one bowl and pour into the bundt pan. Cool in the pan for ~45 mins before flipping.

---

Helpful things that I learned:

• Grease the bundt pan all the way up because you never know how much it’ll rise
• I’m not sure if there’s a difference with using mango pulp instead of mango puree because it wasn’t too sweet with the pulp
• I substituted caster sugar for a combination of icing sugar and granulated sugar and it came out great
• Bake until it’s firm to touch instead of worrying about baking it beyond the recommended time in the recipe, mine took 55 mins.

---

This is Domestic Gothess’ original recipe – I made some small changes (indicated with an asterisk * below).

Vegan Mango Bundt Cake

Ingredients

• 440 g (3 + 2/3 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
• 200 g powdered sugar*
• 80 g granulated sugar*
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 600 g (2 + 1/3 cups) tinned mango pulp*
• 160 ml (2/3 cup) vegetable oil
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Steps

1. Preheat 350F. Thoroughly grease a bundt pan with spray or butter.
2. Whisk together flour, sugars, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
3. Add mango pulp, oil and vanilla and whisk until there are no dry lumps.
4. Pour batter into bundt pan and spread level. Bake 40-55 mins until it is firm to touch and the skewer comes out clean.
5. Cool in pan on rack for ~45 mins, then flip over onto rack to finish cooling. Slice and enjoy!

---

Learning to Make Bread: Sweetened Condensed Milk Bread

Bread making is something I’ve been scared about because it’s working with yeast. However, through the baking challenge, it has lessened that fear and I’m ready to try breads from around the world. I recently saw Andrea Nguyen’s vegan sweetened condensed milk bread recipe on Instagram and decided to give it a go.

After the first proof and second proof, you roll out the dough into balls.

Since the dough is made with yeast, it went through three proofs before going into the oven. My proofing times were:

• First Proof – 1 hr: in a warm spot (I put it in the oven with the light on)
• Second Proof – overnight (~12 hrs): in the fridge
• Third Proof – 1.5 hrs: in a warm spot (I put it in the oven with the light on) **This is supposed to be ~1 hr but it was cooler in my kitchen so I proofed it longer.

After rolling out the balls, let it sit for a third proof and look how much they increase in volume.

Brushing diluted condensed milk and then again after baking.

---

Helpful things that I learned:

• Since I also didn’t have a stand mixer, I kneaded the dough by hand. It was quite sticky so I kept on dusting it with flour as I kneaded it for 10 mins. I think the dough needed to be rested prior to kneading, so will try that next time (as noted in the recipe that I glanced over).
• Pull and tuck method was a lot of fun and takes a bit of practice to get it right.
• I had to put the buns back in the oven after the 25 min. mark because they weren’t golden brown yet. Bake it to the indicator rather than time because all our ovens are different.
• Some of my family members found the extra glaze on top to be too sweet so if you don’t like sweet buns, don’t add it on.
• Reheating them for 20 secs in the microwave is a great way to eat them warm.

Look at that bread pull!

---

This is Andrea’s original recipe – I made some small changes (indicated with an asterisk * below). Please note that I made the dough by hand, Andrea also has steps for making dough with a stand mixer.

Sweetened Condensed Milk Bread

Ingredients

• 1 (4.2 g) tsp. sugar
• 1 cup lukewarm water
• 2 1/4 tsp. (10.5 g) instant yeast
• 2/3 cup (204 g) sweetened condensed milk*
• 1 1/2 tbsp. (22.5 g) coconut oil (virgin or refined), melted and at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 3 1/4 cups (416 g) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting*
• 1 tbsp. sweetened condensed milk diluted with 2 to 3 tsp. water* 

Steps

1. Pour all ingredients into a large bowl except for the flour. Stir the flour in with a spatula. Rest the shaggy dough and then knead in the bowl until it comes together. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and hand knead for 8-10 mins until smooth and elastic.
2. Put dough in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm spot until double in size, ~1 hr. Punch dough down, then pull up each 4 corners and fold it over the centre. When done, turn it over so the folds face down. Recover and let rise again in a warm spot or overnight in the fridge. Bring it back to room temperature before shaping and baking.
3. Grease or parchment line a 9″ square pan (if you don’t have, use 8″ square pan and a loaf pan, like I did).
4. Turn dough onto your work surface and cut in half. Working with one half, shape the dough into a long rope ~1 1/2- 2″ wide. Cut the dough rope crosswise into 6 pieces. Roughly roll each piece into a ball, then pull and tuck and gather the edges towards the centre to form a smooth, taut ball (great video on the recipe page on how to do this). Put the balls seam side down and arrange them in rows. Repeat with other half of dough.
5. Cover with plastic wrap (Andrea’s tip – lightly oil the plastic wrap if afraid dough will touch) and then let it rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, ~1 hr. Start preheating the oven to 350F (rack in the middle) around 15 mins before proofing is done.
6. Mix 1 tbsp. sweetened condensed milk with 2 to 3 tsp. water to dilute milk. Brush dough with diluted milk. Bake for 20-25 mins, until golden brown on top (this took 33 mins for me).
7. Cool in pan, on rack for 5 mins before brushing remaining diluted milk. let cool for 20-30 mins before removing from pan. Finish cooling on rack and enjoy!

---

Spinach Lasagne with Meat

I made this spinach lasagne with a meat sauce for my brother’s birthday and the recipe came from the back of the lasagne sheet box (brand is Italpasta). It was super easy to make, delicious, and somewhat healthy since the lasagne sheets were spinach.

Assembly time!

---

Helpful things that I learned:

• Will definitely make again since it a a simple recipe to make.
• I wrote it out what each layer should be so that I didn’t have to try and remember: thin layer of sauce, noodles, sauce, cheese, noodle, sauce, cheese, noodle, sauce, grated cheese.
• The recipe does call for 3/4 cup (185 ml) Parmesan cheese but I only had mozzarella, so that’s what I ended up using and it tasted great.

Final result, you can kind of see the layers.

---

I did add/change some ingredients and they are marked with an asterisk (*) below.

Italpasta’s Spinach Lasagne with Meat

Ingredients

• 1 pkg (375 g) spinach lasagne, cooked and drained
• 1 jar (680 ml) pasta sauce
• 1 lb (450 g) ground beef
• 1 cup (250 ml) water – I used pasta water
• 2 Tbsp. dried basil*
• 3 Tbsp. dried oregano*
• 1/2 onion, diced *
• 3 cloves garlic, minced*
• 1 lb (450 g) ricotta
• 1 egg, beaten
• 410 g mozzarella, grated and divided*
• 1 Tbsp. dried parsley
• Dash of nutmeg
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Steps

1. Cook lasagne sheets: boil water, cook uncovered at medium boil for 7-9 mins, stirring occasionally. Drain and set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 375F (200C).
3. Dice onion and mince garlic.
4. Brown meat and drain fat. Add in pasta sauce, water, oregano, basil, onion and garlic. Bring to a boil and then remove from heat.
5. In a large boil, mix ricotta, egg, 280 g mozzarella, parsley and nutmeg. Add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Assemble: spread a thin layer of meat sauce on the bottom of a 9″ x 13″ pan. Layer noodles, 1/2 cheese mixture and 1/3 meat sauce. Repeat x2. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella on the top.
7. Bake covered with foil for 40 mins. Remove foil and bake 15 mins more or until top is browned to your liking. Let stand for 5-10 mins before serving.

---