We are healthy eaters, most of the time. Vacation is another story. When we went to the beach for a recent weekend getaway, I packed a ton of food to help us stay on track. I figured the more good food we had with us, the less tempted we’d be by the chips and cookies that usually figure heavily in our travels. Full disclosure: we still treated ourselves to one dinner out (mmmmmm shrimp po’ boy) and some chips while we were on the road. And I had an ice cream float one night- it’s the beach! I consider it a success, both the food and the trip overall. The key was bringing healthy foods we couldn’t resist.

This super simple slow cooker pulled pork recipe is such a treat. It is one of my favorite recipes to serve at a big gathering, to take on a road trip, or just to indulge. The flavors are inspired by the Hawaiian method of roasting a pig in the ground. I’ve actually roasted whole pigs in the ground several times and it always comes out amazing. This slow cooker recipe is amazing too. It is juicy, tender, and flavorful.

I have a confession to make. My lard didn’t come out pure white. “Oh no!” you’re thinking, “I expected so much more from you!” Well, maybe you weren’t thinking that, but I was thinking it about myself. I know what went wrong, so I hope you will still trust my tips on rendering your own lard. I blame it on my 11-year-old slow cooker. It has been cooking too hot lately and I vowed to replace it soon. But we ran out of lard and I decided it was time to make it again, overheating slow cooker be darned! The result was lard with a yellow tint and porky flavor. Fat that has been cooked more gently renders into white lard with little flavor, which is perfect for baking. The more flavorful and colorful lard will still be excellent for savory applications, but will lend a pork flavor to everything.

I stuffed this little pie pumpkin full of ham, cheese, onion, and basil and it was delicious! Most stuffed pumpkin recipes I’ve seen include bread and milk or eggs. I wanted something lower carb and less rich. Something that felt decadent but still fit within my diet. So I left out the bread and milk, and I think it’s better this way. The flavors of each ingredient really came through.