August 10th, 2008

Tagine

Well Brian and I haven't gone away on holiday this year, so I thought I would treat my self to a new kitchen gadget and maybe have an exotic meal right here at home. So I bought a Tagine from Lakelands. First off for those who don't know what a Tagine is, it is a Moroccan stew and you cook it in this funny shaped pot. The purpose of this weird shape is to keep the stew moist because the liquid steam actually ends up running back down into the cooking vessel keeping the food moist while it is cooked slowly. While I was at it I also treated myself to a new spice blend. It comes from Bart and is called Baharat. If you haven't tried this spice blend I can recommend it. Wow!!!! It is spicy and sweet and exotic all wrapped up into one. I have fallen for it in the short time I have used it and I know it will be used more often in my cooking.
I read the little pamphlet that came with the tagine. And one of my French cooking magazine to see how you go about using this pot and cooking a tagine. And came up with my own recipe with things I had on hand. Alot of tagines combine meat, vegetables and fruit it seems.... So this was my very first one....


First I made some meatballs by taking a packet of mince and putting the mince in a bowl. To this I added about a tablespoon of the Baharat spice blend, a teaspoon or so of cinnamon, some smoked paprika, a crushed clove of garlic and about 1/4 cup or more of bread crumbs and mixed all together by hand. Shape into meat balls and fry in a non stick skillet with a little olive oil.
Now in the base of the tagine, I opened a can of chopped tomatoes and put those in and sprinkled over some sultanas. Then put the cooked meatballs in. Then next I added some sliced onion wedges and some green and red pepper slices. A handful of green olives that had been pitted and the juice and zest of a lemon. I cooked this at 190 for about 45 minutes. I think it could have gone for a bit longer, but it was really lovely served up with some hot basmati rice. And some fresh garden vegetables served alongside.

These lovely beans are from my friends allotment. She asked me to watch over it while she was away and to pick some of the veg. Aren't these beans just a beautiful colour!!!!

The next night I had to try this tagine cooking again. Brian wasn't overly keen on the first recipe, but this one he complimented me on it, saying he would have that again.

Pork Chop Tagine

Okay this one I started by coating the pork chops in some of the Baharat spice blend and pan frying them in a little olive oil. While they were browning I chopped up three carrots and put in the base of the tagine. The added chopped onion, some dates, some dried apricots, some lemon slices some whole almonds, sprinkled over some of the baharat spice blend and then added two quartered tomatoes. Then the chops on top. The pan I deglazed with a little brandy and water. Poured this over the chops and vegetables and then baked in a 180C oven for about 1 and a half hours. This I served with mashed potatoes. And it was a definite winner!!!!

I think possibly this combination would also be nice with lamb. And as if this weren't enough to eat we had some summer pudding for dessert. Let's just say I had a very hard time sleeping that night from being over stuffed.

Just for information the tin of Baharat spice blend says it contains Paprika, Coriander, Black Pepper, Cumin, Cinnamon, Cayenne Pepper, Cloves, Nutmeg, and Cardamom.


Little Yellow Plums
Last year, my friend Fiona over at Cottage Smallholder had written a blog about hedgerow gathering and plums that made me envious. I had spied some little yellow globes of fruit that year too on one of our walkways around the estate, noticing them just rotting on the ground. So I questioned her and her commenters as to what these could be. I had never seen yellow plums. To me plums are purple or red. These little gems are upon closer study are called Mirabelles or Mirrabelles in German cooking. I think either Fiona or a friend called them Cherry plums. Well this year I wasn't going to let them all rot on the ground. Brian said I would get into trouble taking them as they belong to the school whose property they are growing on. But they overhang the fence and these were on the pathway. To me fair game, besides school isn't in session and I don't think they even know they are there if they did want to come in and pick them. Besides I only had about a cup or two of them. Not like I picked all the trees clean.

Once I brought my little treasures home the thinking of what to do with them started.... Fiona said back then why not pick them and do something special..... Well I did. I found a recipe for a plum chutney and I cut it in half. Besides if it wasn't going to taste very nice who would want all that chutney?
So here is my recipe for my special plums. The original says it makes 2 lbs of chutney, but I got one and a bit of a jam jar with my version.

PLUM CHUTNEY
151 g. cooking apple (I used 2 small to med sized braeburns)
76 g. onion chopped
76 g. sultanas chopped
227 g. chopped plums
95 ml malt vinegar
1/4 tsp nutmeg(I probably used a bit more)
1/4 tsp each ground ginger, cayenne pepper and dry mustard powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp allspice
2 whole cloves
30 g. soft brown sugar
Peel and core and chop roughly the apples. Peel and chop the onion. Place each in separate sauce pans with lids and put in a bit of water and boil at a simmer until they are translucent and soft. Chop the sultanas and stone and chop the plums. Place onions, raisins, plums and apples into one of the saucepans(I used the larger of the two pans). Add 1/2 of the vinegar, all of the spices and salt. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer very gently, uncovered, stirring frequently for about 45 minutes.

Next add in the remaining vinegar and the brown sugar and continue cooking as before for a further 45 minutes to an hour, or until thickened. Remove the cloves. (I still have mine in!!!)

Pour the hot chutney into hot dry jars and seal.


Now I know you need to let chutney mature..... so I have stuck mine into the fridge for a week or so before we try it. But if the pan scrapings are anything to go by.... This is going to be very nice with a bit of cheddar cheese and biscuits and a nice glass of wine.

March 23rd, 2008

Hi all, sorry for not blogging more..... But this has been a bit of a hectic month. You can see some of the reasons why I haven't been here over on my other two blogs.
I have been cooking, but not like my big meals in the past. Trying hard to loose a bit of weight here, but not doing starvation dieting either. But the meals haven't been all that exciting.
I did attempt to make a watercress soup.... We ate it. But nothing really that great. Think it is something to work on or to give up on personally as I feel watercress is probably better eaten fresh.

Now I love a good fry up for Breakfast and do love a full English. I prefer savoury to sweet.... So I sometimes have some very unusual foods for breakfast. On this day I had some onion slices, asparagus spears, mushroom slices and some lean ham and cherry tomatoes all quick fried in a non stick pan with the tiniest amount of olive oil. Served on some wholemeal toast. Sometimes I top with a fried egg.

I have been watching the foodie shows on telly and Jamie Oliver's new series At Home, I am finding quite interesting. It combines not only cooking but gardening tips and hints too. In the episode I watched he made this lovely looking tart with asparagus. Mine is, well let's just say looks a bit more rustic. But the flavour is out of this world!!!! Thanks Jamie!!!
He starts out making mashed potatoes. You all know how to do that..... Boiled potatoes and then mashed with some butter and either milk or cream... Just the regular old everyday mash.
Then he takes and adds a couple of eggs (I think three) to the mash with some Lancashire cheese.... Mix well with some seasonings. I think next time I will definately be adding some garlic to this mixture and maybe even some sauteed onions. Next line your tart pan with some buttered phyllo pastry sheets. I used the whole pack, brushing with olive oil and butter and layering all around the tart pan. Next pour in your mash mixture and then top with some lightly blanched asparagus spears. Brush with some butter. Then into an 180 to 200 C oven for about 45 minutes. Making sure to put onto the lowest shelf. I started at 200 then turned down to 180 about midway through the cooking.

This tart is definately going to be made here again and again!!!! I will work on the presentation next time.

The tart was enough on it's own with a possible salad for a lovely meal, but I was already cooking another dish that night and said oh heck why not go for it. Yes, it blew the diet out the window but that happens and I will be good the rest of the week.
I had to try Katiez over at Thyme for Cooking's recipe for her Pork Medallions in White Wine Mustard Sauce!! It was sooooooo yummy!!!! I did make one alteration in using cider instead of the white wine.

Another reason for not cooking alot is it was my 50th Birthday this past month. So I have been taken out to eat a few times and have had other things to eat instead of normal healthy food.... Such as chocolates and chocolate cake!!!
My stepson and his partner took us out to eat at Caldesi's restuarant in Marleybone. That was one of the lovely meals out.... Then Hubby took me to Anacapri in Marleybone....another fantastic meal out. And we have been eating Hotel Chocolates as my friends got me their Deep Dark Chocolate Easter egg for my Birthday....... If you have never tried Hotel Chocolates and you love chocolate, you really should give them a try. I think it is the best chocolate in the whole world. I am willing to try samples of other chocolates anyone is willing to send me..... tee hee....

This is the top layer to the creamy filled eggs. The giant egg is just huge!!!!!!!!!! And Thick!!!!
And since it was my birthday I decided to bake my all time fav cake. A Hershey's Black Magic cake but with out the Hershey's cocoa. Oh well..... It was the first time I baked this cake in my new oven and well...... It didn't turn out perfect. Needs some more testing I think.... hee hee.
But it did taste lovely. I have put the the recipe link over on my main blog page. Along with how I make the frosting for this divine cake.

I prefer having this cake after it has been refrigerated. It is soooooooooo lovely.

Now for a recipe!!!
Okay it was late last night when I decided to fix supper. Looking through all the cook books for pork chop recipes.... But nothing much took my fancy. Had decided what to fix only to find the pork chops hadn't thawed out yet. Yeah I know I could have defrosted them more in the microwave or just cooked a bit longer, but by this time the pair of us were getting rather hungry. So I had a soup recipe I had been wanting to give a try....
The recipe comes from the Victory Cookbook by Marguerite Patten OBE

Oatmeal Soup
1 oz margarine
2 medium onions, grated or finely diced
2 Tablespoons medium oatmeal
1 pint cold water
salt and pepper
1/2 pint milk
3 medium carrots, grated
(I used butter instead of the margarine, you could also use olive oil)
I also used 1 chicken stock cube, some dried thyme, oregano and some fresh chopped corriander.

First heat the margarine in a pan and add the onions. Cook for about 5 minutes until tender. Making sure the onions don't brown. Blend the oatmeal with the cold water, tip this into the pan and stir as the mixture comes to the boil; season lightly. (This is where I added the stock cube and the dry herbs along with salt and pepper.)

It does thicken a bit. I stirred it quite frequently and simmered for about 15 minutes, her recipe calls for it to simmer for 30 minutes.

Next add in the milk and carrots and cook for a further 15 minutes.


For about the last 5 minutes of cooking time I added the chopped fresh corriander.

Served with fresh baked wholemeal rolls and butter.

I don't know if you have come across this cook book before, but I have a few of Marguerite's cook books. This one is about nostalgic food and facts from 1940 -1954 and covers what it was like to cook during the second world war. There are some very inovative recipes in these books. And I was quite surprised about the oatmeal in this recipe. And you know what, I think in future I will be adding Oatmeal to a few more of my soup recipes. It added body and flavour to the soup. This recipe was really yummy and I would say a very versatile recipe too. You could change it by adding other vegetables to it at the carrot stage and adjust your cooking times. Potatoe would be nice, as would broccoli or cauliflower and try different herbs too. Parsley or chives would be lovely. I love recipes like this that allow you to learn something and to inspire you to try new things with it too.
I think I may try another version later today with maybe potato as it is snowing outside and soup is lovely on a cold day!!!

February 24th, 2008

Sorry for not blogging sooner. Had a bit of a computer problem. My computer crashed!!!!! I think I have now got the programs reinstalled back onto it and recovered some things I lost, but mostly I lost some of my photos since December and some of my recipes I had saved from various sites. So word of warning to all - remember to back up your files!!!!
Another reason for not doing much blogging is I haven't really been cooking alot. I have been trying hard to loose a bit of weight and it seems if I cut back on food and wine and do a bit of exercise it does seem to work. So instead of eating alot I have been trying to get by on a little, so not too many fancy dishes here lately. Also just recovering from a virus myself that put me off food for a bit. But I am much better now, I have lost 5 pounds and my computer is running well so back to blogging again.

Sweet and Sour Pork

This recipe comes from my tried and true 1980 Bisquick cookbook that has definately been trough the wars of cooking. It is a recipe I find easy to make along with loads of flavour. This little book has alot of quick and easy and really yummy recipes in it using one of my fav things that I can get over here Bisquick. The thing is if I couldn't find it here I have several recipes for making a copy cat version of bisquick.

Sweet-And-Sour Pork
3 Tablespoons Butter/margarine
1 egg
2 Tablespoons water
1 1/2 pounds pork (I used tenderloin or you could use boneless chops) boneless shoulder, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 cup Bisquick baking mix
Sauce (recipe follows)
4 cups hot cooked rice
Heat oven to 400 F/200 C. Heat butter in a baking dish in the oven until it is melted. Beat the egg and water slightly. Dip the pork cubes into the egg mixture, then coat with the baking mix (shake the pork in a bag with 1/3 cup baking mix at a time). Arrange pork in pan. Bake uncovered for 35 minutes. Turn and bake another 15 minutes.

This is what it looks like when baked.

Meanwhile prepare the sauce and cook the rice while the pork is baking. I usually put the rice on during that 15 minutes after the pork has been turned. The sauce I start while it is initially baking.

Sauce
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
3 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 can (20 oz) pineapple chunks, drained(but keep the liquid)
3 Tablespoons vinegar
2 Tablespoons catsup
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 green pepper cut into 1 inch pieces
1 small onion, sliced
I added a sliced carrot too! You can add red pepper also to this along with the green for more colour. And at the end I added some whole cherry tomatoes but at the last minute.

Mix the brown sugar and cornstarch in a 10-inch skillet or a wok. Add enough water to your pineapple liquid to make 2 1/4 cups. Stir liquid into the sugar mix along with the vinegar, catsup and soy sauce. (I added the sliced carrot at this time to make sure it was cooked). Cook over a medium high heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture boils and thickens. Stir in the pineapple, green pepper and onion, reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. I didn't cover mine.


Add in the cooked pork and heat through....


And right before dishing up add the cherry tomatoes.

Serve on a bed of hot cooked rice and since I can't get crunchy chowmein noodles here I use Cashew nuts on top. Enjoy!!!!

Sprouts

I have been bitten by the gardening bug, but it is still too early to get out and plant anything here... So I decided to start some sprouts. Many years ago, I read in a magazine or book somewhere about sprouting lentils. All you do is wash them really well and place in a jar with a bit of cheese cloth over the opening and a rubber band. Rinse them daily and place in a dark place like the kitchen cubboard. And in a week or two you will have sprouts. That is all there is to it. The amount you have in your jar would depend on the jar size. I would say maybe a tablespoon or so to a pint jar. Just remember to keep them well rinsed everyday. I also lay my jar on it's side that way they are more distributed in the jar. They have a slight musty taste to them and are nice on sandwiches with cream cheese, grated carrot and beetroot. I also tried sprouting some mung beans in another jar at the same time and used those in a stir fry, but unfortuneately that photo is now in nowhere land.


Mein Deutsch Rezepte/My German Recipe
I found another recipe in one of my German cooking magazines that I wanted to give a go... And when I did it didn't look anything like the picture when I finished. Their's looks like a lovely cross between a lasagne and a moussaka and comes out in nice little layered squares. Well mine ended up rather soupy. So maybe I created a lovely Lasagne and Moussaka soup!!! The Aubergine/eggplant was a bit on the tough side too. So not sure if salting it was a good idea or not. Or maybe I should have sauteed it before putting it in the dish. The courgettes on the other hand were yummy, and maybe that is where the liquid came from. Anyway here is the recipe in German/Deutsch first and then what I did via Brian and I's translations of the recipe.

Würziger Auberginen-Zucchini-Auflauf
Zutaten für 6 Personen:
750 g Auberginen
500 g. Zucchini
Salz, schwarzer Pfeffer
2 mittlegroße zwiebeln
1 Knoblauchzehe
500 g. gemischtes Hackfleish
10 EL Olivenöl
1 Dose Tomaten (425 ml)
1 Töpfchen Oregano
2 El Paniermehl
3 Eier
500 g Kartoffeln
75 g Mehl
50 g Butter/Margarine
3/4 l Milch
100 g geriebener Parmesan-Käse
1. Auberginen und Zucchini in ca. 1/2 cm dicke Scheiben schneiden. Auberginenscheiben mit Salz bestreuen, ca. 15 Minuten ziehen lassen. Zwiebeln und Knoblauch fein hacken. 2 Esslöffel Öl in einer Pfanne erhitzen. Hackfleisch darin anbraten, Zwiebeln und Knoblauch zufügen. Tomaten in der Dose zerkleinern, ebenfalls in die Pfanne geben und kurz mitdünsten. Mit Salz und Pfeffer würzen.
2. Oreganoblätter von den Stielen zupfen und, bis auf etwas zum Garnieren, fein hacken. Mit dem Paniermehl und 1 verquirltem Ei zur Hackmasse geben.
3. Kartoffeln schälen und in scheiben schneiden. Auberginen abtupfen. Vorbereitetes Gemüse und Kartoffelscheiben portionsweise in 8 Esslöffel Öl goldbraun braten. Mehl in heißem Fett anschwitzen, mit Milch ablöschen und aufkochen. 2 Eier und Käse verquirlen. Mit etwas Soße verrühren und in die Soße rühren (nicht mehr kochen!) Anschließend die Soße mit Salz und Pfeffer abschmecken.
4. Kartoffeln schuppenförmig in eine gefettete, ofenfeste Auflauf-form (ca. 30 cm Länge) schichten. Mit 1/3 Soße bedecken. Hackmasse darauf verteilen. Zucchini und Auberginen im Wechsel schuppenförmig darauf legen. Übrige Soße daruber verteilen. Im vorge-heizten Ofen bei 175° C (Umluft 150 °C) ca. 45 Minuten backen. Auflauf mit restlichem Oregano bestreuen und servieren.

Okay now for my version that like I said turned into a soup. But a very tasty soup it was!!!
Recipe is for 6 people.
750 g aubergine/eggplant
500 g. courgettes/zucchini
salt and black pepper
2 medium sized onions
1 garlic clove
500 g. mince/hamburger
10 Tablespoons olive oil
1 can tomatoes (425 ml)
Oregano (fresh preferably but dry will do)
2 Tablespoons Breadcrumbs
3 eggs
500 g potatoes
75 g Flour
50 g Butter/Margarine
3/4 l milk
100 g grated Parmesan cheese

I started out with washing and slicing the Aubergine/eggplant and the courgettes/zucchini into rounds and placing in a collander and sprinkling on some salt. This was supposed to take out the moisture.

Next I browned the mince/hamburger in some oil along with the onion and garlic clove. I then drained the meat mixture and added the tomatoes. Now whether I should have used tomato paste rather than chopped tomatoes, might be part of the problem. Cooked until a bit of the moisture had evaporated. Then added in the bread crumbs, oregano and one egg.
Next I sliced my potatoes and put into a glass baking dish. and sprinkled on some olive oil (I didn't use 10 tablespoons as that seemed a bit extreme) and into the microwave for about 5 to 6 minutes to part cook the potatoes.
Then I made a bechamel/white sauce with butter, flour, salt, pepper, and milk. Added in the eggs once the milk was blended in and cooked on a low heat whisking all the time to keep it smooth until it thickened. Then I added in the grated cheese. (I felt the sauce was a bit bland tasting so added in a couple of tablespoons of soy sauce. This was an amazing transformation!! and I will be doing this with all future white sauces.)
Next came the layering after rinsing the aubergine and courgettes and giving them a really good squeeze to get all the moisture out (I must be a wimp!!! And this is where possibly the aubergine might have been better sauteed a bit to make it softer as it turned out rather tough the way I did it.)
With the partcooked potatoes on the bottom of the dish I next spooned on some of the white sauce, then the meat sauce next and then more white sauce and then the aubergine in the middle and the zucchini around the egde and finally the rest of the white sauce and a sprinkling of oregano and parmesan cheese.

Into the oven to bake.... and here is where I think there was another problem. It didn't cook at that temperature stated in the recipe above.....170 C /150 C fan..... So for an added 15 minutes I cranked up the oven temperture to 200 C and it finally started to brown. So possibly I would cook this at 180 or 190 next time. Might help again with the moisture.
It wasy rather yummy in flavour, but like I said a bit on the soupy side. So this recipe will need a bit more fine tuning.

September 9th, 2007

I would like to Thank Patricia over at Technicolor Kitchen in English for her lovely Melting moments recipe . These little beauties do melt in your mouth, they taste rich and buttery with a hint of lime and were super quick to make and bake. They aren't over sweet and you don't need to pipe them as she did. I just dropped mine from a teaspoon onto the baking tray. The flavour matures upon sitting and are great with a cup of coffee or tea or even a glass of milk!!! Thanks Patricia!!!!

I started back to work again this week and it can be tiring when you have had a long break....
So you come home from work and are tired so want something super quick to fix.....
Slice some courgette, onion, mushrooms and put on a pan of boiling water. Once the water boils pour in some pasta stir fry the veg with some cherry tomatoes and a few herbs....

Tip in the pasta and add a bit of pasta water, sprinkle over some dried chicken gravy mix add some grated cheese and stir similar to a rissotto, splash of wine or lemon juice..... And quick as that is supper!!!


Next night on the way home from work I stopped by the farm shop who on a Wednesday and Thursday has a fish monger trailer set up there. I decided I would treat hubby and I to some lovely fish and fresh veg and fruit. Also came home with a goodie to try later once I find some recipes for using it. Amaranth!!! And I got a large bag of spelt flour too!!! The fish I bought was two nice pieces of Halibut (supper that evening), some monk fish fillets and 6 large fresh prawns.
The monk fish and prawns have gone into the freezer immediately upon arriving home ready for next week's meals.

The corn was super fresh and still had the husks and silks on it. I haven't tasted corn this nice since leaving the US. Usually the stuff we get in the super market has been around a bit longer than it probably should be.

For the fish I took and skined the halibut fillets. Take some chopped onion, and garlic and fry in a little oil. Add some bread crumbs, chopped oregano, rosemary and parsley. Juice of half a lemon and some pine nuts. I added just a small grating of parmesan cheese too. You can also use some chopped red chili pepper with the onions. Place your fish into a baking dish which has been oiled, top the fish with the crumb mixture and bake at 200 for for about 25 minutes. While this is cooking make up a salad of fresh leaves and which ever ingredients you like really. Then take the juice of half a lemon and the zest of the lemon, put into a small bowl, add some chopped rosemary and oregano, 1 clove of garlic crushed, some chopped fresh parsley and more chili chopped(optional), add 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil and whisk all together. Once the fish comes out of the oven place next to the salad leaves and drizzle the dressing over the hot fish and the salad leaves. This can be used with other types of fish too. And is becoming my very favourite way to have fish.

Sourdough Next step.....
Once you make your starter and you have it in the refrigerator you need to check on it every day and give it a good stir. And once a week at least you must feed it..... I combined this step along with making some rolls.

First take out 1 cup of starter from your plastic container... This you will use in your recipe. You can use this in any bread recipe in place of 125 ml of water (1/2 cup) and 1/2 cup or 75 grams of flour.

My recipe I made rolls with is as follows and is for a bread machine. Place all ingredients into your bread machine pan.
1 cup Sourdough starter
1 egg
125 ml warm water
30 grams butter
1/2 tsp salt
3 tablespoons sugar(granulated)
445 grams flour(I used a mix of spelt, strong white and soft grains)
1 pkt yeast.
These I put in the machine on the dough setting and then once it was finished I proceeded to make rolls. You may need to add more flour or water according to humidity and such. This was a really sticky wet dough.

Once I turned it out from the bread pan, I knocked it back and with floured hands and board I made it into rolls.....

Placed them onto an oiled baking tray.

Let them raise till doubled in size. I used some scissors to snip a cross in the top of each roll. Just for decoration. Preheat your oven to about 180C (Fan) I would maybe go for a 200 without fan.
I brushed my rolls with a bit of water before baking.
Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes.


And the final rolls. They are very light and tasty!!!

Now while you have your Sourdough out of the fridge it is time to wash Herman's house and to feed him. So place into a large glass or plastic bowl your starter. Always try to do this with 1 cup of starter. And to this add 1 cup of warm water and 1 cup of flour. Sometimes I add a pinch of sugar as an added food for the yeast. Give it a good stir and let it sit at room temp again for a day or over night. Stirring down a few times. Again if he should turn orange or pink or have a really disagreeable odour then discard and try again. The smell should be yeasty and pleasant.

Don't worry about lumps.....

as they will dissolve as you can notice the little gas bubbles already forming.

This is about an hour after he has been fed....

And after another hour

See the lumps are almost all gone.

Don't be afraid if the flour and water separates a bit. You will get a clear liquid on top of your starter. Just stir it and it will combine again. Remember to make sure and feed him once a week and to stir him every day. And you should have a good friend to help with your baking. You will definately get rave reviews when you bake!!!!
Definately try using this recipe for making cinnamon rolls. I will post that maybe next week, depending on how the diet is going or not... Heee hee.......

I know I really must find a local butcher sometime and soon!!! I am getting tired of the supermarket's meat selection. But one bit of meat that I am really surprised by is pork tenerloin. This piece of meat if I were back home I would be paying a small fortune for and for some reason goes for a few pounds here...... So I was lucky to find a nice one in the store this past week.... I had seen James Martin on Saturday kitchen or some such show cooking some tenderloins with stuffing inside. I have chosen to stuff mine with some fried onion, bacon, apple, pecan stuffing.

Fry off some chopped onion and bacon and chopped apple in a little oil or butter.

In a small bowl add some chopped pecans, chopped rosemary and some dry bread crumbs. Season with salt and pepper. Add in the fried bacon onion apple mixture. Let cool slightly while you prepare the pork.

James had a couple of handy tips... First you must trim off the sinew so you don't get a tough stringy bit.


Then take and cut it down the centre but leaving some of the flesh uncut. And open it up a bit.

Now cut down on either side the same way part way through. Now at this stage I should have beat the meat out just a bit more...... But I forgot...

You want to make sure you don't have any holes. So be careful with the cutting and the beating. He used cheese and a chutney in his tenderloins. So he didn't want the cheese escaping. I didn't have to worry about that.... I next took some dijon and some grainy mustard and spread over the inside of the pork....

And then the stuffing goes in..... I don't know why but I always have way too much stuffing!!!

Roll up as tightly as you can. A tip here would be to use a sheet of oiled foil and then you could just put straight into the oven and roast that way. But I was trying to be a bit chefy so decided to wrap mine in some smoked back bacon and tie with a bit of string. Just remember to take off all the string before serving.

Then he browned his tenderloin in a hot frying pan on all sides and then put into an oiled roasting tin. I added some sprigs of rosemary to the bottom of the pan to help with the flavour. I then deglazed the pan with a bit of cider and a splash of brandy. And poured the juices over the meat in the tin.


I added some peeled halved potatoes to the tin too for roasting at 200 for about 30 to 40 minutes. If it is browning too quickly you can cover with aluminum foil.

Let the meat rest for about 10 minutes covered and make a gravy. I passed the pan juices through a seive into a sauce pan and reduced by about half. Added some cream and a teaspoon of mustard. Check for seasoning and adjust.

While it was resting I also microwaved some Romanesco that I bought at the farm market along with some sliced carrots and a dash of oregano and some chopped garlic.

I just love this vegetable!!! Isn't it just the coolest thing you have seen!!!

And although you traditionally have a roast dinner on Sunday this is our Roast dinner on Saturday along with fresh baked sourdough rolls!!!!