Walnut Crusted Pork Tenderloin

 

 

This is another recipe from one of my top three cookbooks right now, The Whole30.  This recipe combines spices, such as mustard powder, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder (used my homemade one!), salt and black pepper in the PERFECT ratio.  The pork tenderloin is first  rubbed in the spice mixture and then rolled in finely chopped walnuts.  This masterpiece is then baked in the oven at 375 F, for 25-30 minutes, until the pork reaches 145 F.  After allowing the cooked pork to rest, it is sliced and served with a salad drizzled with a homemade balsamic vinaigrette.

 

 

This recipe was very delicious.  The spice ratio was PERFECT.  The texture of the walnuts with the pork was divine.   As an added bonus, there ends up being a bit of a "gravy" with the juices of the pork, spices, and nuts.  I was surprised at how moist the pork was baked in the coating.  We usually bbq our pork tenderloin, but I can see some more oven experiments with pork tenderloin coming our way.  I did find coating the tenderloin with the walnuts a bit tricky, but it all worked out in the end with lots of pressing!  My husband is not a fan of nuts in any type of meal and even he liked this recipe...enough said!  This recipe is another winner!

 

 

 

 

The Dipping Mixtures

Dinner: Walnut Crusted Pork Tenderloin

 served over a mixed greens salad drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette!!

Crusted Halibut

Spring and summer bring with them some great foods with one of my faves being fresh halibut!  We wanted to try something different.  My husband insisted that it had to have a crust, so I began yet another search for the perfect recipe.   Of course,  I liked aspects of two recipes, so I decided to combine them.  Here is where I started:

 

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/herb-crusted-halibut/ 

 

http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/almond-crusted-halibut.aspx

 

What I actually did was by sight and without measuring, so I do apologize.  I combined panko crumbs with minced dill, minced Italian parsley, lemon zest,  very thinly sliced green onions (as I did not have chives), salt, pepper and toasted slivered almonds that we ground up finer than what I wanted but worked anyhow. 

 

The dipping order MATTERS!   Whenever I coat any type of protein, I dip it in all purpose flour then the beaten egg, then the coating mixture, so this is what I did.  We then pan fried the morsels in unsalted BUTTER and not oil.  The butter worked REALLY well with the halibut- yum!

 

This has to be my new coating mixture.  The flavours and textures are amazing.   The lemon stands out perfectly and is essential to the mixture.   Panko crumbs are way better than regular bread crumbs, in my opinion, so we so use those quite often to get a crunchier texture.  We would use this coating on many varieties of white fish, prawns, and chicken.  I am most looking forward to trying it out on some fresh pickerel!!!   We were amazed at how moist the halibut was compared to our usual method of cooking it on the BBQ wrapped in foil.

 

After a bit of a disaster in the kitchen last week, I was happy to see that I am back on my A game.   This recipe was definitely AWESOME! 

 

 

Coating Mixture

 

Halibut coated and ready to be pan fried

 

 

Dinner  - YUM!

Strawberry and Brie Bites

I have very fond memories of attending a strawberry festival in Saskatchewan for the summer solstice, about 16-17 years ago.   It is with great timing that I thought I should try out this recipe for fresh strawberries.

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/strawberry_brie_bites.html

The recipe seemed easy enough, so I thought I should try making my own balsamic reduction.   Last week, I used a store bought balsamic reduction, so I thought I should scaffold my learning by making my own this time.  I ended up getting distracted, so the vinegar actually burnt (see photo below).  The smell was so bad that I am not sure I will try to make my own reduction for awhile.  There you have it....my first epic fail for this blog.

As far as the bites went.....it was an interesting journey.  I don't see how these would work.  I saw a few issues....the brie cheese stuck to the serving plate, the bites were not bite size leaving them very difficult and messy to eat, and I couldn't find a toothpick or skewer that were the right size and strength to hold it all together.

I won't be making these for an appy in the future.  I will simply serve my traditional fruit and cheese dessert....separately...fruit and cheese on a platter.  Still tasty...not as fussy and not as messy.

Balsamic Reduction:  Epic Fail

Watermelon Salad

I have heard people talking about watermelon and mint salads before, but I had never tried one let alone make one.  With all the watermelons in the supermarket combined with an invitation to a pot-luck bbq, I just knew I had to try a watermelon salad out on my friends.

This is the recipe that I chose to follow with one addition.  I had seen in another recipe that it is nice to drizzle a balsamic reduction on top just prior to serving it.  So, I brought a bottle of balsamic reduction along and allowed my friends to choose and provide feedback on the balsamic reduction.  Everyone seemed to like it better with the balsamic reduction.  (I used "Edible Gardens:  Garlic and Rosemary", although I think the "Edible Gardens: Fig and Fire" would have been amazing too.   The latter with anything is amazing...buy some if you see it and if you like a bit of heat!)

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/watermelon-salad-with-mint-leaves-recipe.html

Wow!  Refreshing!  Tasty!  Delicious!  were some of the comments.  There is a great combination of sweet and salty with the watermelon and the feta cheese.  The addition of mint adds yet another dimension.  Then, once the red wine vinegar and balsamic reduction is added, magic happens!  The flavours just pop!  This is definitely a salad that you don't want to have leftovers with as it is not as great the next day.  Throughout the process, as salt is added to the recipe, one will notice a lot of water being released from the watermelon.  Just an observation, not good or bad, ...simply drain it.  I would bring this to a pot-luck again.  I can't see myself making it for dinner at home as it made a lot, and you don't need to eat a ton of it.  It would be best served along side other salads.  With summer just around the corner, keep this one in mind for one of your summer pot-luck events!

Watermelon Salad

Garlic Powder

Homemade garlic powder?  Why haven't we tried this before?   My husband and I decided to try making our own garlic powder after seeing some for sale at our local Farmer's Market.  Seemed almost too obvious....peel and slice some garlic cloves....let them dry out.....grind them in our rarely used coffee grinder and store the powder in an airtight container.  That is exactly what we did, but we allowed the sliced garlic to dry naturally outside in the sun.  Of course, you could use a dehydrator or oven as well.  Here is a site I found for those who like a bit more structure than what I just wrote:

http://frugalliving.about.com/od/makeyourowningredients/r/Garlic_Powder.htm

We amazed ourselves!   The garlic powder turned out awesome.  It is way more potent than store bought, so we have to use less.  Two cloves made enough to fill an average spice container that you find in all stores.  It does pack itself down, so store it loosely.  It would be a good idea to let the powder dry for a day or so before putting it into a container.  I am excited to try different varieties of garlic...maybe I will have to go to a garlic festival this summer!

How is it that in almost 40 years on earth that we never even thought to make this?  What else can we make....onion powder, ground cayenne?   We are pretty good at making our own seasoning mixtures, such as taco seasoning, jerk seasoning, etc.  We actually have some ideas in the works for gifts for Christmas as we like to do homemade treats as gifts.  Very economical if we make some of our spices, too!

After trying out homemade garlic powder, I am going to have a hard time using store bought garlic powder.  Isn't that the truth with most foods?!?

Before:  2 cloves garlic, sliced

 

 

After:  Homemade Garlic Powder!

Crockpot Thai Beef Stew with Cauliflower Rice

Spicy!  Spicy, yet delicious!   This week's recipe can be found using the following link:

http://againstallgrain.com/2014/07/07/crockpot-paleo-thai-stew/

(If you are interested in the cauliflower rice, there are a ton of websites and videos on-line to peruse to discover how to perform this technique as well as many recipes to accommodate your taste buds.  Basically, you food process cauliflower into rice and then sauté it with various seasonings and add herbs.)

For the purpose of this week's blog, I am going to focus on the Thai Beef Stew as that was the new part for me.  I loved that dinner was all ready to go when I got home as this recipe uses a slow cooker.  I did feel that there was a lot of preparation for a morning, so I would do some prep work the night before next time.  Next time, we would consider using chicken thighs instead of beef, adding in more vegetables such as peppers or celery, and we would use way less curry paste...perhaps half of the suggested amount...  We both loved that the beef was very tender and flavourful.  It reminded me of a more traditional curry and not stew.  I was reminded of Ethiopian restaurants where I have dined in both Edmonton and Vancouver.  The texture brought me right back to those two experiences instantly.  Wild!

All in all, a perfect meal for a Monday as it created leftovers for lunch and dinner the next day!  Gotta love when that happens!

Thai Beef Stew with Cauliflower Rice

Roasted Vegetable Quesadilla with Black Bean and Corn Salsa

 

This week's recipe was one that was shared within my network of Foods and Nutrition teachers.  I decided to try it out with my grade 9s this year for the first time.  It was a HIT and will be one that will remain in my program.  (the room was silent in both classes while they were eating....this is how I gage the success of my recipe choices...noise level during eating time....fyi).   I  have copied in sections of the students' recipe - NOTE that the recipe makes 2 quesadillas, so adjust the measurements for how many you want to make.  The salsa makes a ton...be warned!  If you have any leftover, it makes a nice salad or is great to have with tortilla chips or to even serve in "scoops" as an appy.

 

This recipe is worth the prep work!  Just look at the colour combination of the vegetables - they look beautiful even when raw.  I think the veggies are also great on their own as a side dish.  I also recommend making more portions of this recipe for home use.  The veggies could be frozen after roasting.  What an easy dinner...just defrost the veggies, grate cheese, form and cook the quesadillas - easy, peasy!  I love that there is representation from four out of the five colour groups for fruits and vegetables!  I love the variety of textures and flavours.  Love, Love, LOVE!  I hope you love it, too!

 

 

 

Vegetables Ready for Roasting 

(from my demo for grade 9s - teacher made)

Corn and Black Bean Salsa 15 mL olive oil 10 mL red wine vinegar 2.5 mL cumin 1.25 mL chili powder 1.25 mL sugar Dash of salt AND pepper 185 mL black beans 60 mL corn ½ garlic clove, minced ¼ lime, juiced ¼ orange or yellow pepper, diced 1/8 jalapeño(optional) ½ green onion, thinly sliced 15 mL cilantro, minced

Roasted Vegetables 30 mL oil 1/3 zucchini 1/6 red onion ½ red pepper 1/6 butternut squash

1.     Combine olive oil, red wine vinegar, and spices in a medium bowl.   Add in minced garlic and lime juice.  Mix in the beans and corn.  Add in the sliced green onion and minced cilantro. 2.     Dice pepper into size of the beans and add into the salsa. 3.     Scrape out the seeds of the jalapeno.  Dice and add to the salsa.  WASH HANDS!!! 4.     Mix entire mixture thoroughly.

1.     Preheat oven to 425 F. 2.     Peel butternut squash.  Slice into pieces ½ cm thick. 3.     Slice zucchini into pieces that are thicker than the squash. 4.     Cut the pepper and onion into the same size slices or dices. 5.     Place all vegetables into a bowl.  Toss with oil and salt and pepper, if desired. 6.     Place vegetables on a pan lined with parchment paper.  Spread out the veggies. 7.     Bake until all vegetables are soft. 8.     Remove from oven and let cool on a trivet.

 

Quesadilla 2 tortillas 160 mL cheese, grated Roasted Veggies

1.     Grate cheese. 2.     Place half of the veggies across HALF of one tortilla.  Sprinkle half of the cheese on top.  Fold the tortilla in half. 3.     Let cook on a heated frying pan (medium heat).  Once the cheese melts and tortilla browns, flip and cook on other side.  Repeat with other quesadilla. 4.     Cut each quesadilla into thirds or quarters on a cutting board. 5.     Serve with salsa.

 

 

Roasted Vegetable Quesadilla with Black Bean and Corn Salsa

(student made and student idea for presentation!)