Sunday Night Dinner - Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Strawberry Mango Salsa

We arrived back from a very relaxing week in Maui early this morning, after a red-eye flight. I'm not a huge fan of red-eye's, and this was the first one we took with a toddler. She did surprisingly well, but we all needed to go straight to bed when we got home. On days like this I usually opt for take-out or scarfing whatever is leftover from the box of mac and cheese I make for Molly. However, I was inspired today by a friend who is doing a 30 day challenge to eat clean. We were chatting about it earlier today and it made me think twice about my dinner. So instead I took a look at what I had picked up at the grocery store today, and decided to make a grilled pork tenderloin and put that together with a strawberry mango salsa. We had to buy mango's at the grocery store today because Molly fell in love with them in Maui. Now these ones definitely weren't as good as the ones in Hawaii, but paired with fresh local strawberries they really added a lot to our dinner.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin (all measurements approximate)
- 1 small pork tenderloin
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 2-4 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard

Mix all ingredients together, minus the pork, in bowl. Add pork and turn to coat. Let marinade for 15-30 minutes. When it is time to grill, use the following 7-6-5 method (adjusted if the pork tenderloin is larger). Preheat grill on high. Add pork and close lid for 7 minutes. Open lid, turn pork and cook 6 minutes with lid open. Turn pork, turn off BBQ, close lid and leave for 5 minutes. No further tenting required. Serve with salsa, recipe below.

Strawberry Mango Salsa
- 1 ripe mango, diced
- 4-5 strawberries, diced
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp honey

Mix all ingredients and let sit for 10 - 20 minutes while pork is cooking.

Easy Weeknight Dinner - Pork Medallions with Mushroom Sauce

Life has started to get a little hairy. I have 4 months of my MBA left, work is getting nuts, and life in general just seems in chaos at times. So it's nice to find a recipe that is quick and easy to put together on a weeknight. I had asked Brent to pick up a pork tenderloin for dinner sometime this week, not really sure what I wanted to do with it. So tonight I took a quick look in a 'Make It Tonight' Canadian Living cookbook and found a recipe that I actually had all the other ingredients on hand for! Made a few slight modifications, reheated leftover mashed potatoes and threw some broccoli in the steamer. Voila! A lovely Monday night dinner. Great way to start the year off right!

Post Easter Split Pea Soup

One of the things I miss about living at my parents house is soup after holiday dinners. At Christmas I'm usually home long enough to get in on the turkey soup, however I haven't had my mom's split pea soup in years. This year I decided to try and make my own. As I sometimes do I looked through a few different cookbooks and online recipes and came away with the basic idea, and went from there. The key for me was having saved the bone from the ham I roasted for Easter dinner, and using that to make the stock.

Meatball Lettuce Cups

I still remember the first time I ordered lettuce wraps, not fully knowing what they were. I was really confused when my delivery order came and it included half a head of iceberg lettuce. Years later, and I still love ordering lettuce cups or wraps at restaurants, a great way to enjoy a lighter option. I had never attempted to make my own until tonight, and these were a definite hit. While it seems to be a lot of steps, it was actually pretty quick to make. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to use fresh ginger in this recipe, it really does make a difference!

Shredded Pork Chili

Chili is such a great and versatile dish. It can really be thrown together with whatever you have in your pantry, and is fun to experiment with. I remember in University one of my roommates serving hers over rice, love that idea. This recipe uses the leftover pork I had from this recipe here. I had frozen the rest of the pork in 1 cup portions, and all I had to buy to put this together was a can of tomatoes and a can of kidney beans.

Mexican Pork and Rice Bowl

Canadian Living's November issue has on the cover 'The Comforts of Home: 20 Easy Slow Cooker Recipes'. It is a little misleading however, because it is really one slow cooker recipe for shredded pork that yields 20 different potential recipes. I decided to roast the pork one day, and then make two of the recipes. I will have some leftover, but it says it will freeze for up to 3 weeks. The pork recipe is super easy. You take a 1.35 kg boneless pork shoulder blade roast, trimming and discarding any excess fat. Put in slow cooker, with 1 1/2 cups beef broth and pinch salt and pepper. Cook on low for 8 hours, let cool slightly, discarding liquid. Using two forks, 'shred' pork, makes 4-6 cups.

The first recipe I made was a mexican rice bowl, and was very reminiscent of a burrito bowl at a Chipotle or Red Burrito. You could add avocado or cheddar cheese to kick it up a notch if you want. We added some fresh cilantro, which is key for any great mexican dishes.

Sunday Night Dinner - Pork and Broccoli Stir Fry

Because I love BBQ'ing pork tenderloin so much I often don't think about using it in other dishes. But pork tenderloin lends itself so well to a stir-fry, especially when you throw in some ginger and hoisin sauce.

Pork and Broccoli Stir Fry

- 1 pork tenderloin

- 1tbsp vegetable oil

- 2 cloves garlic, minced

- 1 tbsp minced gingerroot

- 3 cups chopped broccoli florets and peeled stems

- 2 carrots, sliced

- 1 red pepper, sliced

Sauce:

- 3/4 cup vegetable stock

- 2 - 3 tbsp hoisin sauce

- 1/3 cup of water

- 2 tbsp tamari

- 4 tsp cornstarch

- 1 tbsp rice vinegar

In small bowl or measuring cup whisk together ingredients for sauce. Set aside - you will need to whisk again before adding to stir-fry.

Slice pork in half lengthwise; cut crosswise into 1/2 inch thick slices. In large wok or skillet, heat oil over high heat; stir-fry pork until just a hint of pink remains, about 5 minutes. Transfer to plate.

Add garlic and ginger to work; stir-fry over medium-high heat for 30 seconds. Add vegetables and 2 tbsp water; cover and steam about 3 minutes, until tender crisp.

Return pork and any accumulated juices to wok. Stir sauce into wok and cook, stirring, until thickened and glossy, about 2 minutes.

At this point I add some Farkay noodles that I've already cooked and cooled. This would be great over rice as well.

Sunday Night Dinner - Market Ribs

What a full weekend! We hit up the new North Shore Green Market Friday night at the Shipbuilders Plaza before going to see Super 8. Saturday was work, a friends film preview, and watching Teen Wolf on TV while bbq'ing some steaks. Today was a whirlwind, highlights included a hike at Lynn Canyon Park, and dinner, put together from Farmer's Market finds. We had ribs courtesy of Gelderman Farms, picked up at the Main Street Market on Wednesday, mashed potatoes with new potatoes, and an awesome salad with fresh cucumbers, strawberries, and fabulous microgreens found on Friday night.

For the ribs we went with a super easy recipe, adapted from one of Michael Smith's. One of my favourite things about Michael Smith's recipes is the disclaimer:

A recipe is merely words on paper; a guideline, a starting point from which to improvise. It cannot pretend to replace the practiced hand and telling glance of a watchful cook. For that reason feel free to stir your own ideas into this dish. When you cook it once, it becomes yours, so personalize it a bit. Add more of an ingredient you like or less of something you don't like, try substituting one ingredient for another. Remember words have no flavour; you have to add your own!

Such good advice!

Oven-Baked Ribs

- 1 or 2 racks of pork baby back ribs

- 1 can tomato paste

- 1 cup orange juice

- 1 cup brown sugar

- 1/4 cup dijon mustard

- 1/2 cup red wine vinegar

- 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

- 1/4 cup Tamari

- 2 heaping tbsp's chili powder

Cut ribs into 2-3 rib portions. Place in large roasting pan. Whisk together all ingredients and pour over ribs. Cover with foil and bake until ribs are tender, about 2 hours.

Slow Cooker Ribs

It was a rainy Labour Day here in Vancouver, and I was glad I didn't have anything to do. It was also the perfect day for a nice slow-cooked rib meal. I've made ribs lots of different ways, but one of my favourites is done in the slow-cooker with a quick barbecue sauce. This recipe is adapted from Canadian Living, and lives up to it's name 'Fall-off-the Bone Ribs'.

Slow Cooker Ribs

- 2 racks pork back ribs

- 2 tsp chili powder

- 1 tsp cayenne pepper

- 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper

Sauce

- 2 cups ketchup

- 1/2 cup wine vinegar

- 2 tbsp granulated sugar

- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

- 1 tsp liquid smoke

Trim fat from ribs and cut into 2-3 rib portions. In small bowl stir together chili powder, cayenne and salt and pepper. I also added some seasoning I bought in Hawaii this time. Rub all over ribs. Place on pan and broil until browned, about 5 minutes each side. Transfer to slow cooker.

In bowl, whisk together all ingredients for sauce. Pour over ribs, scraping sauce from bowl. Stir to coat.

Cover and cook on low until tender, and falling off the bone, about 6 hours.

I usually use baby back ribs, but used spare ribs this time, and they were just as good!!!

Sunday Night Dinner - Dad's Peameal Roast

My dad has been telling me about this great peameal roast he makes, but I've never been home to try it myself. Knowing how much Brent loves ham, I thought I would try my hand at it for dinner tonight. So I called my dad, and got him to talk me through his recipe. Oh, and really, this must be served with Scalloped Potatoes. I used Canadian Living's recipe, it's not posted online, so maybe I'll post it later this week.

Dad's Peameal Roast
- 1 peameal roast (found in the ham section of the grocery store)
- 2 tbsp dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 6-10 clovesPreheat oven to 350F. Line small pan with tin foil. Place roast on rack on pan. Mix mustard, maple syrup and thyme together. Drizzle over ham, brushing to distribute. Save leftover sauce to brush on halfway through cooking. Place several cloves in ham.


Roast for about 1.5 hours. You can put this in at the same time as the potatoes. Halfway through brush with more sauce. Roast is ready when thermometer reads 170F. Let rest covered with foil for 10 minutes. This was a great meal for ham lovers, when there are only 2 or 4 people.

Pork Tenderloin

I'll start this post by saying this, if you don't have a cast iron frying pan, go out and buy yourself one. Mine was a gift from Brent a few years ago, and we have never been disappointed with the results. It is one of the best ways to cook beef and pork, searing to start, and finishing in the oven. The following is one of my favourite recipes.

Pork Tenderloin with Ginger Citrus Marinade
- 1 pork tenderloin
- 1/2 cup tamari or soy sauce
- 1/4 cup sesame oil
- heaping tablespoon minced ginger
- salt and pepper
- juice from sweet mandarin or half an orange

Mix everything but tenderloin in bowl. Add pork, turning to coat. Marinate for 30 minutes, turning once or twice.

Preheat cast iron pan over medium heat* with a tablespoon of oil. Place tenderloin in pan, searing on each side.

Transfer to 350F oven for 12 minutes. Once pork has cooked, let rest on cutting board tented with foil for 10 minutes, until pork is cooked through but still slightly pink inside.

Slice and serve with rice or potatoes and vegetables.


*Cast iron pans should always be heated to medium heat. This is the optimum temperature at which the pan will cook evenly.