Therapeutic Cooking Blueberry Ribs

What can you do when you are held hostage in your house, along with an entire terrified city? What can you do when you are sick at heart and in spirit, and you wonder how a seemingly good person could have gone so very deeply and horrifyingly wrong? When your body is exhausted and your eyes are sore and raw and endlessly glued to the television and the sound of the video of the gunshots and explosions is repeating over and over in your head, while the silence of a deserted city hangs outside your window?

You take out a chopping board, and a sweet onion. You grab some garlic and a big pot. When you slice into the onion the tears are already there. You get the big bottle of olive oil, and the meat you had taken from the freezer the night before, before this day. You go through the motions, and the onion smells good and house warms up, and your mind quiets and you feel more grounded, and your tears salt the sauce. But your heart is still heavy.

Blueberry Ribs

(This recipe works well with country style pork ribs or beef short ribs. I cook this in a LeCreuset casserole that can go from stove top to oven. If you want, you can brown everything in a stovetop skillet and then put it in a covered casserole, pouring the sauce over and making sure to scrape in the good stuff from the pan.)

2 ½ -3 lbs. country style pork ribs, or beef short ribs

1 TBSP olive oil

SeaSalt, pepper to taste

1 tsp each thyme and tarragon

1 onion, chopped

3-4 cloves garlic, crushed

1 gala apple, finely chopped

2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)

¾ +  cup white wine

½ cup apple cider vinegar

1 TBSP Dijon mustard

1 TBSP molasses

3 TBSP maple syrup

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees.

Season the ribs with salt, pepper, tarragon and thyme. Heat olive oil and brown the ribs on medium heat in a wide shallow skillet that can fit them in one layer, about 3 – 5 minutes on each side. Remove to a plate. Add onions and garlic and cook a few minutes until browned slightly. Add apples and cook a couple of minutes, stirring and scraping the pan to keep from burning. Add blueberries and toss till starting to wilt. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer, scraping the bottom of the pan. Add the meat back in or put all in an oven proof casserole. Cover. Cook in 325 degree oven 2-3 hours until meat is tender and sauce is thick. Add ½ cup water periodically as needed if sauce gets too thick or starts to burn.

Serve over rice with a green salad.