Harvest Day

With our dear, story-telling and world-traveler South American friend Naikoa who came to visit during a business trip, Husband and Number Four harvested the sweet potatoes and basil yesterday! We had Cuban Sweet Potato and Pork for dinner, and Pesto too. It was a fulfilling, delicious Harvest Dinner, with many other garden fruits: eggplant, onions, garlic, and an apple crisp--with great friends Tom and Sandy, and good wine!

Here is the recipe we have used again and again and passed around many times:



Cuban-Style Pork and Sweet Potato Slow Cooker Stew: a slightly spicy, slightly sweet stew.

(My variations: Skip the cilantro, cumin and lime juice at will, sub chopped onions for scallions, and I have used any cut of pork except for ham. I have used fresh tomatoes and peppers form the garden instead of Rotel. Perfect for crockpot, but I have done it in a stock pot for much shorter cooking time as well!)

Ingredients
1 large sweet potato(es), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 1 lb)
1 pound lean pork loin, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 4 1/2 oz canned diced tomatoes, with green chiles (Rotel)
1 medium garlic clove(s), minced
1/4 cup orange juice
2 medium scallion(s), chopped (green parts only)
1/2 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
2 Tbsp cilantro, fresh, chopped

Instructions
1. Place potato, pork, tomatoes, garlic, orange juice, scallions, salt, cumin and pepper in a 4- to 5-quart slow cooker; cover and cook on low setting for 7 hours.
2. Stir in lime juice and cilantro; cover slow cooker and cook for 5 minutes more. Yields about 1 1/2 cups per serving (including some cooking liquid.)