So after a prolonged leave of absence, I simply could not wait much longer to try to garner inspiration for a new post. Of course there could be no better source of inspiration than fresh, local, and seasonal products available at this time of year. If I'm completely honest though I would have to admit that what provided for today's encouragement was a necessary organization of the freezer, which seemed to have accumulated a phenomenal variety of local meat products, including but not limited to a rack of lamb, grass-fed ground beef, ox tail, calves' liver, chicken liver, and so on. Although any of these proved tempting I had half a recollection that somewhere buried amongst this selection were a couple of pound of Hogwash Farm's baby back ribs. As it was still morning at this point, I knew I had hours ahead of me before dinner needed to be on the table, so I seized the opportunity to suggest slow-cooked baby back ribs. At this point it was just a matter of determining a side for the ribs, and as we were still in the pre-market hour of Saturday, we had an abundance of local options to choose from for a veggie accompaniment. I decided upon coleslaw, as I'm always partial to salad-type sides especially at this time of year, and much to our pleasure Hurricane Flats was our go-to stand for a juicy, crisp green cabbage. However as I'm not such a fan of the mayonnaise variety, I went with vinaigrette. Incidentally the flavors I added to the cooking marinade for the ribs, comprised the same base for my vinaigrette. And because who doesn't love a good french fry from time to time, we opted for pomme frites as our starchy second side. For dessert, perfectly ripened and sweetened first-of-the-season strawberries from Killdeer Farm.


Ribs 
2 lbs baby back ribs
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Preheat the oven to 225 degrees Fahrenheit.
Set the ribs in a glass baking dish, combine the remaining ingredients and pour over as much or as little of the marinade as you like - leave enough for the coleslaw dressing if you're making the side. Cover the baking dish with a piece of foil, and put the ribs in the oven. Bake for 3 1/2 to 4 hours until the meat could fall off the bone.
 
Coleslaw
1/2 green cabbage, chopped finely
1 large carrot, grated
1/2 shallot, chopped finely
Up to 1/2 cup vegetable oil

Add  the vegetable oil to remaining marinade ingredients so that the vinaigrette is to your taste. Combine the vegetables together in a large salad bowl, and add the dressing when you're ready to serve. Toss to combine.