Apple Cumin Pork Tenderloin

Pork tenderloin is actually pretty easy to cook...especially when baking it. I made this similarly to this recipe which was baked with fennel. This time, it's baked with apple. 

Pork tenderloin

Apple

Onion

Cumin

Cinnamon

S&P

I rubbed the tenderloin with the seasoning spices while the onions were browning in a pan. Then I added the pork loin to sear for about a minute on each side. The whole thing is transferred to a baking sheet, apple slices added, covered with foil, and  baked until internal temp of tenderloin is 130 F. Baking time gives me time to cook the Brussels Sprouts and barley.

Warm Dark Greens Salad

 

Once you open a box of spinach, you really have to eat it up fast before it starts to wilt and melt. So here's another salad:

Asparagus - steamed for 5 min (or to desired softness)

Dark Kale - sauteed

Spinach - left raw

Apple - sliced

Sunflower seeds

Green onion - chopped  

The raw spinach was tossed in with the warm asparagus and kale. These are all dark green veggies which supposed to be full of great vitamins and antioxidant properties. Apple slices, sunflower seeds and green onion added after that. Blaming this on pregnancy brain...but I can't remember what I used for a dressing....sorry! 

And that lovely chicken on the side...Costco roast chicken. So good. =) 

Beet & Brussels Sprouts Salad

There are SO MANY ways to do a good meal-worthy salad. I personally believe that raw nutrients are better than cooked stuff...even if the calories and vitamin/minerals are reportedly the same whether cooked or raw. Being Asian, I still eat a lot of COOKED vegetables....but I'm exploring the raw side now. I'm used to eating raw spinach salad....but beets and brussel sprouts were always consumed cooked. After seeing a few recipes for eating these items raw, I came up with this salad to see how it goes:

Beets - peeled and cut into matchsticks
Brussels sprouts - sliced very thinly, like slaw
Apple - thin slices
Spinach
Pine nuts
 
Dressing:
Mustard
Garlic
Tahini
Apple cider vinegar
Maple syrup

The dressing was completely eye-balled and adjusted to taste....but I really really liked the dressing. And when tossed with the salad...I thought it was a very tasty, earthy, hearty salad. My husband mostly agrees...until he realized I used raw brussel sprouts. "No wonder!! Something tasted off. I don't like that earthy bitter taste." Well, to each their own. Maybe next time I'll blanche the sprouts first?

Summer Apple Salad

Whenever I think of apples in salad, I usually remember the creamy potato fruit salads my grandma would make. But now I've got a beet salad to change up the taste and color of an apple-y salad, and today, a fresh citrus seasoned apple salad. It's got barley mixed in so I feel it could replace the carb option in a meal.

Sliced Apple
Shredded carrots
Sliced celery and its leaves
Barley
(I may have one more vegetable ingredient but I can't remember for the life of me.)

Dressing is my go to:
Grainy Mustard
Lemon juice
Olive Oil
Stevia drops (sugarless sweetener)...instead of honey

Also pictured, a nice med rare stake and some grilled broccoli.

Beet Salad

The problem with salads is that it's hard to get full on them. Well, it used to be. I came across this salad in the book "Meals that Heal" by Julie Daniluk. I didn't have all the ingredients but I had the key item: Red beets.

So I went to work in grating and chopping up a bunch of different fruits and veggies:
Red Beets
Carrots
Apple
Celery
Salt and Lemon Juice to season
 

Put a big scoop of it onto some greens, sprinkle some Tamari almonds and voila, a very hearty salad. I can eat it without the greens...but it's prettier with some contrasting colors. Enjoy!

Apple Rosemary Pork Tenderloin

I do still cook meat! =) A while back I had bought some pork tenderloin on sale. I've never cooked pork tenderloin so I thought it would be good to give it a try. Growing up my family always cooked the pork completely well done. It was dry and tasteless. I didn't know why people liked eating pork so much. After this...I found it was easier and tastier than I thought it would be.

Pork tenderloin
Apple sauce (with chunky apple pieces)
Rosemary
(The apple sauce and rosemary went in between the two pork tenderloin that I then tied together before cooking.)

Rub:
Corn Starch
Salt
Pepper
Cumin

I pan seared all sides then baked at 300 F until the internal temperature was 135 F. Take it out, cover and rest for 10 min.....and it's a perfect medium.

(I didn't even know you could eat pork medium because my family was always afraid of getting worms or food poisoning or something. That's why it was always super well donw for us. But now I know! yum!)

Pork Rib Stew & Braised Purple Cabbage

It's getting cold out...and as such, my mind is starting to think of hearty soups and stews. And cooked veggies. This recent experiment turned out decently though I think the pork rib stew flavors could be stronger.

Pork stew:
Pork riblets
Onion
Lime juice
Oregano
Sugar
Chili powder
Soy sauce
Ketchup

Braised Purple Cabbage:
Purple cabbage
Apple
Raisins
Honey
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Salt to taste

And the cooked cabbage turned out pretty decently too. My husband had gotten tired of the slaw over the summer so to change the texture I tried this. The apples add a nice sweet/tartness to the mix.

All the above was served with brown basmati rice mixed with red quinoa.

Red Cabbage Slaw #2

Last time I only used half a head of cabbage...so I made a slaw again with the remaining half. Slight variances made but still light, crunchy and yummy.

Slaw:
Half red cabbage
Granny Smith apple
Carrot
One shallot
Raisins
Pumpkin seeds
Sunflower seeds
Chia seeds

Dressing:
Orange juice
Olive Oil
Honey dijon mustard
Salt
Honey

The dressing wasn't bad, but it wasn't the greatest...I think I needed more acidity in the taste. The Lemon dressing is still my favorite. What would you recommend adding instead?

Next time.