Pork Loin Roast

416.  Our Easter Dinner was delightful with memorable flavors and feels.  I decided to roast a top loin of pork for our 8 guests.  

Pork is always a challenge when you use the top loin portion due to the small amount of marbled fat.  But, my process did produce a beautifully flavorful result.

The herbs I chose were Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme (sounds like a song;-) with 8 garlic cloves.

The butcher butterflied the piece for me and did a perfect job.

I chopped the herbs together and set them aside in a bowl.  Next I rubbed Grey Poupon Dijon mustard

into the meat and then the finely chopped garlic followed by the 2 /3rds of the herbs, salt and pepper.

Then rolling up and tying the roast, sprinkling the rest of the chopped herbs.   I cut it in half to fit into my roasting pan coated with oil.

I roasted at 400 degrees for 20 minutes then turned down the heat to 325 degrees till the meat registered 140 degrees, approximately an hour.

Once roasted, I saved the pan drippings and made a brown gravy with Kitchen Bouquet and cornstarch mixed with water.  The meat was a bit tough but the gravy added moisture to each bite.  

Notes to self would be to:  Pound meat with a tenderizer before adding flavorings.  This would help with the tenderness once roasted. And, to remove the covering from the roasting pan so the meat would brown or not cover at all.  

We all enjoyed ourselves and the meal was delicious

Simply put, it was a masterpiece!

"The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.

~Michelangelo

Bolognese

359.  Italian Meat Sauce is a favorite for me often called Bolognese.  It is a one dish wonder and always is satisfying.  Here is my Bolognese recipe

To save recipe select and drag to desktop and print as picture or print as a photo from mobile device.

There are many different Bolognese recipes out there.  Some call for bay leaf, carrots and celery, fennel, wine, prosciutto, cream, leeks, and the list trails on.  Truly, it is a recipe that varies from person to person.  You can place in your Bolognese whatever you want...to your liking.  So go ahead and experiment, try different recipes and see which one you like the best.

"Mangia Tutti Mangia!"

"If kids can learn how to make a simple Bolognese Sauce, they will never go hungry.  It's pretty easy to cook pasta, but a good sauce is way more useful.  ~ Emeril Lagasse

Drying Herbs

315.  My herb garden was ideal this year with beautiful plants and hardy growth.  Thyme, parsley, oregano, dill, rosemary, cilantro and chives to name a few.  To step outside and pinch off a few branches to add to my cooking is always a delight.
But once the cool air creeps in and plants slow their growth or frost stops them, you have to depend on grocery bought products.   So my solution is to dry the fresh and save them for cooking.  When there are more herbs than I can use on a daily basis, I will cut off bunches and secure them in bundles with a rubber band.  Then hang them in my kitchen to dry.  Or you could place them in a dehydrator or the oven on low temperature.  I find air drying them works best for me.

Once the herbs have become completely dried through I take them down and crush the leaves in a bowl.

Saving herbs by drying them may take time and effort but will save you money. And, in the long run you will see the difference in flavor.

"Remember that children, marriages, and flower gardens reflect the kind of care they get."

-H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Saving Herbs

314. Fall tiptoed into our lives this past year with beautiful sunny days into November.  My herbs were still growing beautifully and some had began to throw seed.  When this happens I like to collect seeds for the next growing season, as well as drying the herbs for use in cooking all winter long.My dill was beautiful this year and it was mostly seeds that started themselves from last years random seed drop sown into a variety of different destinations.  It was a delight to see a dill plant spring up out of seemingly nowhere.
Because it did so well, I saved seed from several plants.  I let them go beyond the flower stage and completely dry.  Next, I carefully cut off the dried stem and then rubbed my fingers over the seed ends at the top of the dried stem.  The seeds drop off easily.

Once they were sorted through I placed them in envelopes and marked them with the year date of collection.  Now to buy a packet of good seeds you would spend around $2.99 to $5.99 depending on the brand.  You would only get about a teaspoon of seeds in each packet.  I had so many seeds I could have filled 50 packets...and multiply that times $5.99...well lets just say, I could have made a few dollars on this gold mine!

I also dried dill branches for cooking by collecting the stems and tying them with a rubber band.  Then hang them in my kitchen till they are completely dry.

 I then placed the dried branches into a bowl and crush it with my hands.

The branches must be very dry to crumble easily.  

Make sure they are small enough pieces in order to fit through the plastic cap with holes for sifting.

 Then I place the crumbled pieces in a store bought jar as a refill.

This is such a great addition to your spices because the flavor is stronger and fresher than most store bought products.

It's so simple to do, it just takes a little of your time and effort.

"Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them."

-Eeyore

Potato and Cheddar Cheese Soup with Fresh Chives

176. There has been a brisk change in the weather from warm 78 degree sunny days to rainy, cool, breezy days of 58 degrees. So soup was on the menu tonight. We had a plethora of potatoes so the search for a soup with potatoes was the theme. This recipe for Potato and Cheddar Cheese Soup is delicious, AND, the ingredient of fresh chopped chives from my herb garden was a plus.

My honey found this yummy recipe on Cooks.com. We followed it but tweaked it a little.

Potato and Cheddar Cheese Soup with Fresh Chives

1/2 pound sliced bacon, cut the uncooked bacon in small pieces

1 large onion, chopped

12 medium to large potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes

4 1/2 cups chicken stock

1 tsp kosher salt

ground pepper

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

Using a large dutch oven or soup pot, saute the bacon pieces till they are crispy. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon onto a paper towel lined plate. Reserve 2 Tablespoons bacon grease Reduce the heat to medium and add the onion. Cook till transparent. Then add chopped potatoes to the pot. Saute for about 5 minutes. Then add chicken stock and kosher salt and pepper. Bring the soup to a boil, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes till potatoes are tender.

Once potatoes are tender, take a potato masher and mash the potatoes here and there, leaving chunks. Add the cheese all at once and stir till cheese is incorporated.

Serve with crispy bacon and chopped, fresh chives. Also, with warm crusty bread.

On the Cooks.com recipe, there was a wonderful potato "tip" that was very helpful: "Boiling potatoes have less starch than baking, or Idaho, potatoes and consequentially hold together better when boiled. This is why they're often used in soups and for potato salads. Not in this soup, though. Since we want some of the potato to break down into smaller pieces and thicken the soup, baking potatoes are the perfect choice.

The herbs in my herb boxes are still growing beautifully. I trimmed off about 15 stems to use to garnish the soup. A tip I've learned, with chopping chives, is to hold them together and trim with kitchen scissors. The chives stay crisp and you can cut them as small or as large as you desire.

The soup was smooth and so warming. Very hearty and filling as well. Like a loaded baked potato in soup form!

We found the more you mashed the potato the thicker the soup became.

This soup was wonderfully delicious. And was a perfect warm up to the weather outside.

"How can a society that exists on instant mashed potatoes, packaged cake mixes, frozen dinners, and instant cameras teach patience to its young?"

~ Paul Sweeney