Jerry's Thoughts, Musings, and Rants!

Season's Eatings 2009

The wonderful Katie, owner of Thyme for Cooking, arranged a unique secret santa event for food bloggers. We e-mailed her our name and address. She paired people up and sent us an e-mail indicating to where and to whom we should mail our treat. We were encouraged to send some local delicacy or ingredient as well as a recipe that would assist the happy recipient in using it.

There you have it, secret santas for the digital age. It was such a blast last year that I decided to participate again.

Katie sent me the name of the person I was to send my local treat too - Linda, author of the blog Iced tea for Me, and I dutifully packed up a box of local treats and sent them off.

It wasn't long before I received a package of my own from Toni who lives in the San Diego area. Her blog is Daily Bread Journal.

Toni had sent off some rosemary and lavender from her garden. She included a lovely note about a wonderful day of hiking she had had back in November and then an amazing pork roast that she made upon returning home from the hike. Of course, the roast used plenty of rosemary and mixed in some fruit to balance out the flavours. This sounded wonderful so I decided to give the recipe a try.

This was an amazing dish - the rosemary paired so well with the fruit to take the flavour to a new level. Thanks so much for sending the herbs AND the recipe Toni!

Dry Brined Pork Tenderloin with Apples and Cranberries

2 pork tenderloins
3 tablespoons coarse kosher salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon butter
1 large clove of garlic, peeled and minced
1 medium onion, diced
3 cooking apples (I used empires) peeled, cored, and cut into wedges
1/2 cup whole fresh cranberries
1 tsp fresh thyme
4 large sprigs of rosemary
1 small red cabbage, cored and cut into wedges
1 lb small potatoes
3/4 cup apple cider

Combine the salt and sugar to make the dry brine. Rub it all over the pork. Let it sit for about an hour and a half.

Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Melt the butter in the pan. Saute the garlic and onion until translucent. Add the apples, cranberries, and thyme. Cook until the apples are tender.

Arrange the sprigs of rosemary in the bottom of a large roasting pan.

Wash the dry brine off of the pork. Place it over top of the rosemary in the roasting pan. Spoon the fruit mixture over top of the pork. Pour the apple cider over top.

Arrange the potatoes and cabbage around the pork.

Cover and cook at 350 for about 1 hour, or until the pork is done.

Jamie Oliver's 6 Hour Slow Roasted Pork Shoulder

One of the curious things about blogging is that everything that you type eventually gets released on the web. This means that anyone may access the information - if you're seeking anonymity blogging is NOT the pastime!

Most search engines search for individual words or strings of words. Given that most of the folks out there seem to use the Internet looking for porn inserting words into a post that will likely be used by the perverted millions will generate a good deal of traffic to your site. I won't suggest what those words might be - I am sure that your imagination will be able to fill in appropriate noun, adjectives, and verbs!

Most of my traffic comes from a different sort of searcher - the searchers who use the web as a huge cookbook. I count myself amongst that group. In my experience, nothing brings folks to your blog as much as a post about Jamie Oliver's slow roast pork. This search term (and a few variations) brings hundreds of hits per week to my blog. Clearly Jamie's roasted pork has hit a nerve out there.

At the risk of being accused of trying to generate even more traffic to my blog I am posting ANOTHER slow roast pork recipe that is courtesy of Jamie Oliver. No, I am not prostituting myself (there's a phrase that aught to bring the dirty minded folk here - won't they be disappointed!) as I couldn't care a less about the traffic. Paul made this roast for dinner last week and it was brilliant so of course I need to share!

If you make this you'll suffer through the most amazing smells wafting through the house. The pork almost melts in your mouth because It is so tender and the garlicky gravy . . . WOW. Yes, it is suffering to wait until the roast is finished slowly cooking in its own juices but it sure is worth it when you tuck into dinner.

We served this roast with mashed potatoes and braised red cabbages with apples. All in all it was a brilliant Sunday night dinner.

6 Hour Slow Roasted Pork Shoulder

 2kg bone-in shoulder of pork, skin on
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 red onions, halved
2 carrots, peeled and halved length ways
2 sticks of celery, halved
1 bulb of garlic, skin on, broken into cloves
6-8 fresh bay leaves
600ml water or vegetable stock

Preheat your oven to 220°C/425°F/gas 7.

Place your pork on a clean work surface, skin-side up. Get yourself a small sharp knife and make scores about a centimetre apart through the skin into the fat, but not so deep that you cut into the meat. If the joint is tied, try not to cut through the string. Rub salt right into all the scores you’ve just made, pulling the skin apart a little if you need to.

Brush any excess salt off the surface then turn it over. Season the underside of the meat with a few pinches of salt and pepper. Place your pork, skin side-up, in a roasting tray and pop in the preheated oven. Roast for 30 minutes, until the skin of the pork has started to puff up and you can see it turning into crackling. At this point, turn the heat down to 170°C/325 F/gas3, cover the pork snugly with a double layer of tin foil, pop back in the oven and roast for a further 4 and a half hours.

Take out of the oven take the foil off, and baste the meat with the fat in the bottom of the tray. Carefully lift the pork up and transfer to a chopping board. Spoon all but a couple of tablespoons of fat out (save it for roast potatoes!)

Add all the veg, garlic and bay leaves to the tray and stir them into the fat. Place the pork back on top of everything and return to the oven without the foil to roast for another hour. By this time the meat should be meltingly soft and tender.

Carefully move the meat to a serving dish, cover again with tin foil and leave to rest while you make your gravy. Spoon away any fat in the tray, then add the water or stock and place the tray on the hob. Bring to the boil and simmer for a few minutes, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon to scrape up all those lovely sticky tasty bits on the bottom of the tray. When you’ve got a nice, dark gravy,pour it through a sieve into a bowl or gravy boat, using your spoon to really push all the goodness of the veg through the sieve. Add a little more salt and pepper if it needs it.

Serve the pork and crackling with your jug of gravy and some lovely roast potatoes (As a treat you can try roasting them in the fat you spooned out of your roasting tray. Some stewed red cabbage and a dollop of apple sauce will finish this off perfectly).

Sunday Small Bites - Cranberries

The cooks on the slowtravel community forums have been working on a new cooking challenge - instead of each of us preparing the same recipe each week, we are preparing our own appetizer - or Small Bite - that uses a specific main ingredient. So far we have tackled shrimp, crab, sun-dried tomatoes, avocado, goat cheese, smoked salmon, pecans, pumpkin, olives, mushrooms, and ginger. This week Jan selected our ingredient and went with cranberries . . . just in time for American Thanksgiving!

Of course we went a wee bit overboard with our 'small bites'. We ended up with a selection of cranberry appetizers and a cranberry martini. As we sipped the martinis we enjoyed cheese and crackers, a cranberry pistachio pate, cranberry brie tartlets, and cranberry pear and blue cheese quesadillas. I started the pate before I headed off to Ottawa because it needed time to sit in the fridge before you sliced into it, the rest came together VERY quickly in less than an hour.

The pate is a recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens site. I noticed it a few years back and bookmarked it as something to make in the future but never did. With Jan selecting cranberries as the ingredient for the week I looked it up again and decided to finally try it out.

I am glad ended up making the pate because it was easy and the results were wonderful. No, this isn't a smooth pate like the ones that you buy that are full of chicken livers. It is however, a fascinating combinations of flavours. And did I say that it was easy to make? Easy + tasty = a perfect recipe in my books!

I was concerned that the texture would be coarse like a meatloaf and not very 'pate-like' but I was happy to discover that the process of storing it in the refrigerator under weights caused it to compact into a relatively smooth consistency. I did store it in the refrigerator under weights for three days unlike the one day suggested in the recipe.

The recipe suggests serving it with stone ground mustard. I tried it without and it was fine but the mustard sure added yet another layer of flavour when I sampled it with the pate. Even Paul - who is a strange fellow and hates mustard in all its many magnificient forms - enjoyed the mustard with the pate. Go figure . . .

Now to head off and see what the other slow travelers have made for 'Cranberry Week'.

Cranberry Pistachio Pate

Nonstick cooking spray
1 egg
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped shallots or onion
1/2 cup shelled, chopped pistachio nuts
1/3 cup port wine or cranberry juice (I used the port - in case there was any doubt :-) )
1/4 cup half-and-half or light cream
1/4 cup fine dry bread crumbs
2 teaspoons dried sage leaves, crushed, or 1/2 teaspoon ground sage
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound lean ground beef
1 pound lean ground pork
Stone ground mustard

Preheat oven to 350 degree F. Lightly spray a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.

Beat egg in a large mixing bowl. Add cranberries, shallot or onion, pistachio nuts, port wine or cranberry juice, cream, bread crumbs, sage, salt, pepper, and garlic; mix well. Add ground beef and pork. Mix well. Press mixture into prepared pan. Cover tightly with foil. Bakes 1-1/2 hours.

Remove pan from oven. Cool slightly. Uncover; carefully pour off drippings, leaving pate in pan. Cover pate loosely with foil. Place several heavy cans of food in another 9x5x3-inch loaf pan to serve as weights. Place pan on top of the covered pate. Chill overnight.

Remove weighted pan and foil. Loosen sides if necessary. Invert pate onto a serving platter or wrap in plastic wrap and chill for up to 2 days. Cut pate in half lengthwise and then into thin slices. Serve pate with stone ground mustard.

Lemon-oregano Pork Chops

Surely everyone has had breaded pork chops before. Lord knows they were a weekly staple in my house while I was growing up. Here the old favourite is taking to a new level with the addition of lemon and oregano. The cooked chop is then paired with a zesty aioli.

The result?

I shall quote Paolo . . . 'I think that these may be the best pork chops that I have ever eaten!'

You can't beat praise like that.

The recipe comes to us from Cuisine at Home's publication "Weeknight Menus".This magazine/cookbook features numerous weeknight menus that are short on preparation work and loooong on flavour.

If you're looking to change things up a bit around your house, give these delicious chops a try.

Enjoy!

Lemon-oregano Pork Chops

1 1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs (we used panko)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
zest and juice of one lemon
4 boneless pork loin chop (about 5 -6 oz each)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp paprika

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine bread crumbs, oregano, salt, pepper, and zest in a shallow dish. Set aside 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice for the aioli. Place the remaining lemon juice in another shallow dish. Dip the pork chops in the lemon juice, then into the breadcrumb mixture, pressing the breading into both sides of the pork.

 Heat the oil in an oven proof saute pan over medium heat. Saute pork chops on one side until brown and crispy, about 5 minutes. Flip pork chops.

Roast chops, uncovered, in the saute pan until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees on an instant read thermometer, about 10 minutes.

Carefully remove pan from oven. Tent pork with foil; let meat rest for 10 minutes.

Stir together the mayonnaise, garlic, paprika, and the reserved 1 tablespoon of lemon juice in a small bowl. Serve the pork chops with aioli.

Sunday Small Bites - Avocado

The Sunday Slow Cooks  are a group of cooks from the slow travel community message board. We have been bakers, scoopers, soupers, and tossers (yes, I know that is a derogatory term in some parts of the world ! LOL) No we have taken on a new challenge - instead of each of us preparing the same recipe each week, we are preparing our own appetizer - or Small Bite - that uses a specific main ingredient. So far we have tackled shrimp,  crab and sun-dried tomatoes. This week Annie selected avocado as the ingredient of the week.

In my mind avocados are closely tied with the foods of the SW that we love. I went through all of the various combinations of tacos, quesadillas, mini burritos, etc. and finally ended up with this unusual dish. Here a pork tenderloin is coated with a delicious SW rub and grilled. Once cooked it is sliced thinly and the slices are served atop a crisp tortilla chip topped with an amazing avocado cream sauce.

I wanted to make something that would fit the canape range of small plates. You know the things that you can picture waiters dressed in black passing about on silver trays while happy guests sip champagne and chat. Now, to be honest, I've never hosted such a celebration but if I did I would served these. *smile*

Paul LOVED them. In fact he ate the leftovers every night until that pork tenderloin was all gone. There was still some avocado cream left and I suspected he wanted me to grill up another tenderloin so that he could feed his addiction. Given that we are trying to 'eat up the fridge' before we head off to Greece - on FRIDAY I wasn't about to grill up anything else.

Another plus for this recipe - it is EASY! The cream sauce comes together in no time at all and it is the most complex part of the production. This recipe clearly gets put in the category of things you make with no fuss that people will think you're a master chef who has slaved in the kitchen all day.  Everyone needs a few of those in their recipe file. :-) 

You could serve this pork as a main dish as well (i.e. not on tortilla chips). It would be amazing with Judy's black bean salad that we made when we were tossing salads in the summer.

Enjoy!

Southwestern Pork Tenderloin with Avocado Cream

Avocado Cream:

1/4 cup sliced green onions
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 small ripe avocado. peeled, pitted and cut into chunks
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Pork:

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon each freshly ground black pepper and cayenne pepper

1 pork tenderloin, 3/4 to 1 pound
large round tortilla chips
cilantro sprigs and lime to garnish

Combine all avocado cream sauce ingredients in food processor, fitted with steel blade, and process until smooth. Remove to small bowl; cover surface with plastic wrap to prevent discoloration. Refrigerate until needed.

Combine garlic powder, paprika, salt, oregano, cumin and peppers in small bowl then rub over pork tenderloin. Wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Bring to room temperature before grilling. Grill over medium heat, turning frequently, for 15 to 15 minutes, or until internal temperature in thickest part reaches 160 degrees.

Remove from the grill. Tent pork with foil and allow to cool slightly.

Slice pork very thinly.

Serve slices on large round tortilla chips, topped with avocado cream sauce.

Garnish platter with lime wedges and cilantro sprigs

Bucatini All'Amatriciana

Since I've been trimming down Friday has been a bit of a 'splurge' night. I try and be really good all week and then on Friday I let my hair down (or I would if I had much left), open a bottle of vino and enjoy a hearty meal (although with a far smaller portion than I would have eaten this time last year).

Last week we tried a new version of Bucatini All'Amatriciana - this one by Canadian Food Network star David Rocco.  Rocco has a show on the food network called Dolce Vita where he travels around Italy, visiting relatives, and cooking up amazing food. Not unlike what Jamie Oliver did but Rocco was there first!

Bucatini all'Amatrician is one of our favourite pastas. This zesty pancetta and tomato sauce is commonly associated with Lazio and Rome, but is actually from the town of Amatrice, which was just over the border into the Abruzzo before Mussolini redrew the maps.

This is a delicious hearty pasta. The dish is full of delicious chunks of pancetta - the rendered oil from the pancetta also flavours the entire dish. because if this you want to use the best pancetta you can purchase. If you have access to guanciale, cured Italian pork jowl, grab it and use it instead. I've looked for guanciale for years and NEVER seen it. A fine pancetta works as well . . although we had the real thing when we were in Italy. WOW

Enjoy!

Bucatini All'Amatriciana

• 1 pound bucatini or thick stranded spaghetti
• 3 tb olive oil
• 6 oz pancetta or guanciale, diced
• 1 can (19 fl oz) plum tomatoes, crushed
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• chili pepper f lakes (to taste)
• salt and pepper to taste
• An abundance (a cup) of freshly grated Pecorino Romano

Set the pasta water to heat, salt it when it boils, and cook the pasta.

 

While this is happening, heat the oil in a skillet, add the diced meat, and cook until it browns, stirring the pieces as they cook. Add the onion garlic, and chili pepper flakes and saute until the onions soften. Turn down the heat to medium-high, add the tomatoes with a bit of salt and pepper and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

 

Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water. Drain the pasta while it's still a little al dente. Turn the drained pasta into the skillet with the sauce, cook a minute more more, stirring the pasta to coat the strands. Add water as necessary to bind the sauce to the pasta. Add the grated pecorino cheese, mix it together and serve.

Notes:

As I mentioned, Italians traditionally make Amatriciana sauce with Guanciale,salt-cured pork jowl. It is similar to flat pancetta, but not as lean, and therefore has a richer, more voluptuous feel to it. If you can find guanciale, by all means use it, though in its absence pancetta will work. Bacon is not a good substitute, because it is smoked and also contains sugar not present in either pancetta or guanciale.

Amatriciana sauce derives from a much older sauce called La Gricia which the shepherds used to make by sautéing diced guanciale so gently as to keep it from browning, and adding freshly boiled pasta, a healthy dusting of pepper, and grated pecorino Romano. The Amatriciana sauce, with tomatoes, was initially enjoyed by the nobility, because only they could afford tomatoes.

The people of Amatrice prefer to use spaghetti in preparing their signature dish. The use of bucatini is more a Roman thing. The different shapes do produce different textures, and which you prefer is up to you.

Daring Cooks - Chinese Dumplings and Potstickers

By now most folks who follow food blogs are aware of the Daring Bakers - that dedicated group of bakers who tackle a complex baking challenge each month. You might not know that the Daring Bakers have formed another group known as the Daring Cooks and there is a whole new website called The Daring Kitchen.

The Daring Cooks had their first challenge last month which I skipped - no good reason as I had everything I needed to make the recipe. When I saw this month's challenge I knew that I'd be joining the ranks of the Daring Cooks post haste!

The neat thing about being a Daring Cook is that you are given the opportunity to whip something together that you wouldn't normally attempt to make. This month's challenge is a perfect example of this! I've made dumplings and post stickers before but I've never thought to attempt the dough; it has always been easier to buy pre-made wrappers.

Jenn of Use Real Butter (you have to love the title of that blog - a cook after my own heart!) would have none of that! The dumpling dough was the one thing you HAD to make so make it I did!

Chinese Dumplings and Potstickers

Jenn's recipe and directions:

It's a basic concept; a filling inside a dough wrapper, sealed, and cooked. This delicious theme runs through many cultures and is among the more popular bites at Chinese restaurants - especially dim sum. The recipe I provide is based on my family recipe. There is a lot of wiggle room and I encourage you to explore. If you've made them before - great! Now try something different!

The process goes a little like this:

You can (and should) reference instructional photos and discussion on my blog post here.

Wrappers:Well yes, you could purchase pre-made dumpling wrappers at the store (NO WONTON WRAPPERS - they have egg), but they are inferior compared to homemade. The whole point of this challenge is to make the dumpling wrappers by hand. So here is the one requirement: the dumpling wrappers must be made by hand. It isn't all that hard, it just takes a little time and practice. People usually get the hang of it after making about a dozen.

Fillings:the beauty of the Chinese dumpling/potsticker is that the filling is very versatile. That's why there are so many different kinds of dumplings when you go to dim sum. The two most common are pork and shrimp. You can make them with other ground meats (beef, chicken...) or vegetarian (tofu, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, glass noodles, Chinese chives - oh yum!). The important thing to keep in mind is that the filling needs to "stick" to itself or else you will make your life incredibly miserable wrapping up filling that keeps falling apart. I think if I were to make vegetarian dumplings, I would sauté the cabbage and mash up the tofu for a better cohesiveness. It's up to you how you want to fill your dumplings and I say - run with it! Just keep it cohesive and no big chunks of hard ingredients (they poke through the wrapper dough = disaster). I realize it may be tempting to dump all of the vegetables into a food processor and give it a whir, but I caution against it. You don't want a slurry, you want a mince. Practice your knife skills and be careful.

Special Equipment: A rolling pin - preferably not tapered.

Time:Prep for the filling takes me 30 minutes - longer if peeling and de-veining shrimp. It will depend on your proficiency with a good sharp knife. Rolling and wrapping several dozen dumplings takes me 1 hour by myself. My parents can crank through it in 30 minutes when one person is rolling wrappers and the other is wrapping dumplings. Might be fun to get a second person to help! Cooking: I have to cook mine in batches. When steaming, I can cook a dozen at a time in about 10 minutes. Potstickers: 15 minutes per 2 dozen determined by the size of your pan. Boiling - 6 minutes per dozen or so depending on size of pot. My own personal preference is for potstickers - mmmmm! But they are ALL good.

Chinese Dumplings/Potstickers

pork filling:
1 lb (450g) ground pork
4 large napa cabbage leaves, minced
3 stalks green onions, minced
7 shitake mushrooms, minced (if dried - rehydrated and rinsed carefully)
1/2 cup (75g) bamboo shoots, minced
1/4 (55g) cup ginger root, minced
3 tbsp (40g) soy sauce
2 tbsp (28g) sesame oil
2 tbsp (16g) corn starch

[note: I used the pork filling - it was delicious]

OR

shrimp filling:
1/2 lb (225g) raw shrimp, peeled, deveined, and coarsely chopped
1/2 lb (225g) ground pork
3 stalks green onions, minced
1/4 cup (55g) ginger root, minced
1 cup (142g) water chestnuts, minced
1 tsp (5g) salt
3 tbsp (40g) sesame oil
2 tbsp (16g) corn starch

dough: (double this for the amount of filling, but easier to make it in 2 batches - or just halve the filling recipe)
2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (113g) warm water
flour for work surface

dipping sauce:
2 parts soy sauce
1 part vinegar (red wine or black)
a few drops of sesame oil
chili garlic paste (optional)
minced ginger (optional)
minced garlic (optional)
minced green onion (optional)
sugar (optional)

[note: I used soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, garlic chili sauce, garlic, and green onion - MMMMMM)

Combine all filling ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix thoroughly (I mix by clean hand). Cover and refrigerate until ready to use (up to a day, but preferably within an hour or two).

Make the dough, Method 1:Place the flour in the work bowl of a food processor with the dough blade. Run the processor and pour the warm water in until incorporated. Pour the contents into a sturdy bowl or onto a work surface and knead until uniform and smooth. The dough should be firm and silky to the touch and not sticky. [Note: it’s better to have a moist dough and have to incorporate more flour than to have a dry and pilling dough and have to incorporate more water).

As people worked on the challenge there were some comments that the dough was too dry. Jenn was quick to provide advice:

There have been two complaints posted about a dry dough and I realize that this rests in the problem of measuring flour which has a different density and hence weight for 2 cups depending on how you scoop it. That is why I also list the weight: 250g. Flour tends to settle over time, so when I scoop it out, I shake several cups' worth back into the container before taking a final scoop of soft, fluffy, flour and I get 250g for 2 cups. When you knead the dough, if it feels hard and dry, then you can add more water. [Warning: it will NOT be a soft bread dough, so don't expect it to be, but it shouldn't be a brick either.] It is perfectly fine to use more than the 1/2 cup listed in the recipe as everyone's climate and flours vary. Use your judgment - this is what being a Daring Cook is about. We are trying to cultivate a sense of intuition so that recipes are general guidelines from which you can expand your own style.

Knead the dough about twenty strokes then cover with a damp towel for 15 minutes. Take the dough and form a flattened dome. Cut into strips about 1 1/2 to 2 inches wide. Shape the strips into rounded long cylinders. On a floured surface, cut the strips into 3/4 inch pieces. Press palm down on each piece to form a flat circle (you can shape the corners in with your fingers). With a rolling pin, roll out a circular wrapper from each flat disc. Take care not to roll out too thin or the dumplings will break during cooking - about 1/16th inch. Leave the centers slightly thicker than the edges. Place a tablespoon of filling in the center of each wrapper and fold the dough in half, pleating the edges along one side (see images in post for how to fold pleats). Keep all unused dough under damp cloth.

To boil: Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add dumplings to pot. Boil the dumplings until they float.

To steam:Place dumplings on a single layer of napa cabbage leaves or on a well-greased surface in a steamer basket with lid. Steam covered for about 6 minutes.

To pan fry (potstickers): Place dumplings in a frying pan with 2-3 tbsp of vegetable oil. Heat on high and fry for a few minutes until bottoms are golden. Add 1/2 cup water and cover. Cook until the water has boiled away and then uncover and reduce heat to medium or medium low. Let the dumplings cook for another 2 minutes then remove from heat and serve.

To freeze: Assemble dumplings on a baking sheet so they are not touching. It helps to rub the base of the dumpling in a little flour before setting on the baking sheet for ease of release. Freeze for 20-30 minutes until dumplings are no longer soft. Place in ziploc bag and freeze for up to a couple of months. Prepare per the above instructions, but allow extra time to ensure the filling is thoroughly cooked.

To serve:Serve dumplings or potstickers hot with your choice of dipping sauce combinations.

Chicken-Ham Lasagna

I was inundated with leftover ham after Easter and this was one of the recipes that I selected to help use up all of that delicious ham. It is from the fine folk at Cooking Light and was part of their series they do where they take a high fat recipe and 'trim' it down. The original recipe had 735 calories and 47 g of fat! OUCH This slimmed down version weighs in at 235 calories and 7 g of fat. What a difference.

Now you might be sitting there thinking - when you loose the fat you loose the taste. I know who you are - I've said that myself. Believe me when I tell you that this is delicious and you'd never know it was low-fat. Not at all. This lasagna has all the comfort food qualities without the guilt!

 Chicken-Ham Lasagna

2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces, divided
3 cups 1% low-fat milk
1/3 cup all-purpose flour (about 1 1/2 ounces)
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Cooking spray
12 no-cook lasagna noodles (8 ounces), divided
8 ounces thinly sliced 96% fat-free deli ham, chopped, divided
Chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°.

Place broth and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a large skillet over medium-high heat, and bring to a boil. Add chicken; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until chicken is done. Remove chicken from pan with a slotted spoon; set aside.

Combine milk, flour, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a bowl; stir well with a whisk until smooth. Add milk mixture to broth in pan. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Cook 1 minute or until mixture thickens, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add 1 cup cheese and parsley, stirring until cheese melts.

Spread 1 cup sauce over bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 3 lasagna noodles over sauce. Spoon 3/4 cup sauce evenly over noodles. Top evenly with one-third ham and one-third chicken. Repeat layers twice, ending with noodles. Top with remaining sauce. Sprinkle evenly with remaining 1/2 cup cheese.

Cover with foil very lightly coated with cooking spray; bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Remove and discard foil; bake 10 minutes or until the cheese lightly browns. Sprinkle with parsley, if desired.

Spanish Pork Tenderloin with Olives

Because it is the new year and we always try to eat healthy to start the year (although this seems to go by the wayside by March), coupled with the fact that all of my pants are tight, I was searching for a low-fat recipe to try the other night. I also wanted to use up some of the food in the freezer; it seems silly to buy new meat when we have two freezers full of the stuff!

I found this recipe on the Cooking Light site for Spanish Pork Tenderloin with Olives. Now,in fairness, I have never been to Spain so I don't know if this is remotely 'Spanish' in any way. I do know that it tasted great! I was curious about the vinegar - 2/3 of a cup is a lot! It added a nice 'zip' to the dish without being overpowering.

The pork is dredged in a flavourful coating, browned, the pan deglazed, and then a mix of fresh vegetables is tossed into the sauce. Once you have the prep work done the meal comes together quickly. Paul loved it for the mixed bag of flavours. I sure appreciated that, but also liked that there were only 336 calories WITH the rice!

This recipe is going into to the 'make me again file'! It is enough to make me think a trip to Spain is in order.

Enjoy!

Spanish Pork Tenderloin with Olives

1  (5-ounce) package yellow rice (such as Bella)
1/2  cup  all-purpose flour
1  teaspoon  black pepper
3/4  teaspoon  dried oregano
1/2  teaspoon  dried basil
1/2  teaspoon  dried thyme
1/4  teaspoon  salt
1 1/2  pounds  pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
4  teaspoons  olive oil, divided
2/3  cup  white wine vinegar
3  cups  vertically sliced onion (about 1 pound)
1  cup  green bell pepper strips
1  cup  red bell pepper strips
2/3  cup  sliced pimiento-stuffed olives
1  tablespoon  sugar
1/8  teaspoon  ground allspice
6  bay leaves
3  garlic cloves, sliced

Cook the rice according to package directions, omitting fat; keep warm.

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and the next 6 ingredients (flour through pork) in a large zip-top plastic bag. Seal and shake to coat.

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large heavy skillet. Add half of pork; cook 4 minutes on each side or until done. Remove pork from pan. Repeat procedure with 2 teaspoons oil and remaining pork.

Add the vinegar to skillet, stirring to loosen browned bits. Add onion and remaining ingredients, and simmer 8 minutes or until tender. Return pork to pan; cover and cook 5 minutes or until mixture is thoroughly heated. Discard bay leaves. Serve over rice.

Spicy Green and Red Pork Loin Tostadas

Have you voted in the photo contest?

Four of our trip pictures have been entered in a photo contest run by the good folks at easycar.com. Oh happy day - all four photos are currently in the top 10 out of 344 photos. You can vote for each by clicking here, (remember 10 is a good vote! *smile*)  here, here, and here.

Yes, you CAN vote for all four photos.

You can only vote once from any given IP address - this means you can vote once for EACH pic from both at home and at work! If you have two computers networked at home, you can only vote on one of them, however. If you have a Blackberry though, that is a third vote. If you send these links to friends, relatives, or people who bug you with unwanted e-mails - just think of the of votes! It boggles the mind.

Heck, do what I do - vote at every hotel, conference centre, and friend's house in which you find a PC attached to the internet. Don't be shy at all. :-)

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Time to break from my political obsession to look at another obsession of mine - food!

It is no secret that we love Mexican food. It is one of the ethnic foods that is challenging for us to manage here in Canada. Because of this one of our favourite things to do when we are in California is to pop into a run-down looking Mexican hole-in-the-wall where the food stands out far more than the decor.

We also like to try out whatever recipe we can find that looks interesting. I found this one the other day on the Cooking Light web site and though 'hmmmm .  . .'

When I showed the picture to Paul his face lit up and I knew this was something to attempt.

This recipe was from the January 2002 Cooking Light. We enjoyed it because it provided a nice gentle heat - like all good Mexican food does. The salsa was unusual with the addition of apples but it certainly didn't overpower anything. Of course, being cilantro fiends we double the cilantro that was called for.

Another nice thing about this recipe is that it is low-fat which is often a challenge when it comes to Mexican food. If you follow the recipe as written, the dish contains 286 g of fat. We served it with some Mexican rice and a salad for a well-balanced meal.

Enjoy!

Spicy Green and Red Pork Loin Tostadas

Pork:
1 tablespoon ground red pepper
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 (1 1/2-pound) boneless pork loin roast, trimmed
Cooking spray

Salsa:
3 cups chopped yellow onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
1/2 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1 cup green salsa
1/2 cup diced red apple
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Additional Ingredients:
8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare pork, combine first 4 ingredients in a small bowl. Rub pork loin with pepper mixture. Place pork on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until meat thermometer registers 155°; cool and shred with 2 forks.

To prepare salsa, heat a nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Sauté onion and garlic for 2 minutes; add red bell pepper and next 5 ingredients (bell pepper through green salsa). Reduce heat to low; cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. Stir in apple and cilantro, and cook 5 minutes.

Warm tortillas according to package directions. Place 1/2 cup pork and 1/2 cup salsa on each tortilla; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon cheese and top with desired toppings.