A recipe - Birthday ribs and broccoli slaw

 I have been trying to write this post forever.  I had time the other night but Blogger was down.

My birthday was a couple weeks ago and instead of going out for dinner, which I have found to be rather hit-or-miss since I've become spoiled with fresh, nutritious paleo food, I wanted to cook up a rack of ribs and make one of my recent side dish favorites. 

Birthday deliciousness!

I found this rib rub recipe from Cosmopolitan Primal Girl but used a slightly different method:

Birthday Ribs

1 rack (pork) baby back or loin back ribs
3 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
ground pepper

Preheat oven to 200 degrees f.  Or don't.  With the long cooking time, does it really matter?  Rinse ribs and pat dry.  If there is a sheath of connective tissue on the underside of the ribs, do your best to remove it.  Combine all spices and sprinkle over ribs, then use your fingers to pat the spice rub all over the meat.  In my opinion the thicker the spices, the better!

Cover a cookie sheet large enough to hold the rack of ribs with foil, then wrap the spice rubbed ribs in foil and seal it up as well as you can.  My rack was meaty side down, but I don't know if it really matters.

Place the ribs in the oven and forget about them for 4 to 5 hours.  I checked mine at about 4 and a half, flipped them over, and basted the meaty side with some of the cooking juices.  By 5 hours, they were falling apart tender so I turned the broiler on and basted them a couple more times to make the spice crust a little crisp.

Cut into 2 or 3 bone sections to serve.  Don't they look fabulous?

Meaty and tender

Broccoli slaw with avocados and blueberries

I don't know what it is about this combination but I can't get enough of it.  I've been making broccoli slaw this way for months now and it seems like I never get sick of eating it. 

2 12 oz bags of broccoli slaw
3 oz homemade mayo (it tastes great with more, too!)
1/4 c apple cider vinegar
1 tsp prepared dijon mustard
1 1/2 tsp poppy seeds
1 1/2 tsp celery seeds
5 drops liquid stevia (optional)

fresh blueberries and diced avocado as desired (I don't add these to the big bowl of slaw)

Place the bags of slaw in a large mixing bowl.  Combine all other ingredients and pour over slaw, toss to coat.  It has quite a bit of bite at first but will mellow a little bit in the fridge.  Add blueberries and diced avocado at serving time.