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Now that Fall is officially here, the days are getting cooler and nights are coming earlier. Getting dinner on

the table is becoming more of a challenge now that my children are involved in more after school activities. Our piano lesson on Tuesdays finishes up right before dinner time, so by the time we get home, the kids are usually starving. I have found that the crock pot is a fantastic tool on days like these – in just a few moments I can get dinner started early in the day and then our meal is ready when we are. In honor of the Eat Local Challenge this month, I decided to indulge my daughter’s new love affair with “saucy ribs” last night by making pork baby back ribs from Prather Ranch in the crockpot.

I have to be honest. With the exception of bacon, I don’t eat read meat. (I won’t get into that here…) Regardless of my odd eating quirks, I usually tend to have issues with eating meat. I don’t believe that it is an efficient use of our agricultural land, and too often, animals are not treated well in the meat industry. I usually choose to vote with my fork and simply avoid the stuff. But with Prather Ranch, I can actually feel good about buying their products. Their animals are humanely raised, eat better produce than most people I know, and get to live on pastures as was intended for their kind. Not a bad way to go!

Now, for the recipe, which was inspired by one in Everyday Food.

Sweet and Sour Ribs

1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 tablespoon mustard powder
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2.5 pounds baby back pork ribs, separated into single ribs
Barbecue sauce, for serving (optional)

Directions

1. In slow cooker, whisk together ketchup, sugar, vinegar, mustard powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
2. Add ribs to slow cooker, and toss with sauce. Arrange ribs, bone side up, in a single row. Cover; cook on low, 7 hours
3. Serve ribs drizzled with pan juices and, if desired, barbecue sauce.