Rosemary Tenderloin With Warm Asparagus Salad

Haven't made tenderloin in a while so trying it again. It's actually pretty easy to cook. Yes it would be better if I cooked part of it in the oven, but who has time to remember it's in there when I've got things on the stove top and a baby to watch. Right? 

Pork Tenderloin
Cornstarch - seals in the juices
Soy sauce
Rosemary
Cumin
Garlic

Warm salad:
Asparagus
Butter
Salt
Costco kale salad (minus fixings)

Marinate the tenderloin and then pan sear...I think 5 min per side? You want it to be medium in the middle. Yes, contrary to what I've been taught all my life, good quality pork can be eaten medium! So much juicier and softer!

The salad is prepared by sauteing the asparagus in butter. As it's getting soft I add the Costco kale salad. And when everything is warmed, but not wilted, it goes onto the plate. The seasoning is kept simple because of time...but let me know what seasoning you find works!

Enjoy!

Cold Shredded Chicken

Need an easy appetizer? This is it...

Shredded Chicken
Soy sauce
Sesame oil
Green onion and/or cilantro
Sesame seeds 

Just mix all together and chill. Wish I had shredded jelly fish to add. I think thin cucumber slices would go well in the mix as well. 

Cumin Fatty Beef

Tis the season for hotpot...and sometimes we forget we can't eat as much as we used to in our youth. In this case, we had an extra pound of fatty sliced beef leftover. It can't be refrozen...so what to do? This:

Fatty sliced beef
Onion
Cumin
Caraway seeds
Chili pepper 

Soy sauce
Sesame oil
Salt
Green onion garnish

Sauté the onions with the spices, add the beef. Continue sautéing with the rest of the seasoning until all the liquid is evaporated. Then garnish with green onions for color. Goes great with rice! (What's even better is to do this with sliced lamb.) Enjoy!

Classic Chicken wing stew

Stews make easy meals as well...I can chop veggies during Baby's early afternoon nap and then during the early evening nap I put everything into a pot/slow cooker/thermal cooker and let it simmer for a couple hours until Hubby's home and it's all ready to eat. And if the stew is chocked full of veggies then I don't have to prepare that either. Just make rice and enjoy!

Here I actually pan seared the wings first, added the veggies, a bit of stock (not too much because the veggies let out a fair bit of water too) and seasoning and then covered for 45min on low heat. Chicken wings cook pretty fast...especially if seared already. 

Chicken Wings

Various veggies you can find: Carrots and Green & Yellow zucchinis were in my fridge this time

Soy sauce (dark and light)

Sugar

Cornstarch (to dust the chicken wings in before searing)

Cooking wine

Sesame Oil

Enjoy!

Cumin wings on sweet potato spinach salad

 

I love chicken wings...and so I bought some. I was too lazy to mince garlic for some honey garlic wings (plus I can't really eat the honey right now) so I went with my next favorite flavor which is curry/cumin wings. There was a random sweet potato in my fridge so this got worked in as well.

Chicken Wings

Cumin

Soy sauce

Coconut sugar (or any sugar you want....I just used a slight pinch though normally I'd probably use a tbsp or two)

Salad:

Gouda cheese

Sweet potato - cubed and pan seared in butter

Spinach

Dressing:

Grainy mustard

Olive oil

Cider vinegar

a couple drops of Stevia (plant based, zero glycemic index, sweetener)

It was a nice hearty salad. The sweet potato was filling when paired with some meat. Yum.

Warm Israeli couscous salad

 

Another meal where I didn't have enough of anything to make as a main....but the bits and pieces could come together in one of my favorite catch-alls : a salad. Other great catch-alls...stir fry. Stew. Soup. Fried rice. Pita pockets. Lots. =)

Pork cubes

Soy sauce
Israeli Couscous
Cumin
Yams
Gailan
Pine nuts
Butter
Green Onions
Garlic  

S&P

Basically...cook everything separately and then toss together. The only exception are the green onions. That I tossed in at the end when assembling. That way it won't brown and get mushy.

Kimchi Tofu & Chicken Stew

 

I've made some pseudo kimchi stews, but this is more like the real thing...though maybe less soupy than I've had it at Korean restaurants. Makes perfect use of the leftover kimchi juices when the tub of kimchi is finished. 

Chicken

Tofu
Carrots
Onion
Green onion
Soy sauce
Kimchi juice 

The chicken is marinated in soy sauce and some kimchi juice, then pan seared separately. In a pot I browned the onions then added carrots as those take the longest to cook. Tofu cubes added and once the pot has warmed back up to a simmer, I added chicken and more kimchi juice to the level of soupiness I want. Green onions added last so it retains the green color. I didn't need to add extra water because a lot of moisture comes out of the tofu once you cook it. 

Enjoy!

Chipotle Mayo Pork Chops on Spaghetti Squash

I asked my husband to help marinate the pork chops we got and he creatively put this marinade together:

Chipotle mayo
Soy sauce
Mustard

Quite a tasty marinade I must say. The chops were pan seared...about seven minutes on each side because it was so thick. I've started to be daring and take pork to a medium well instead of fully cooking it. It's so much juicier and tender that way. It was served topped with mango salsa (from Costco). The flavors worked really well together!

As for the spaghetti squash...after it was baked and scraped into a large pan, I added all the little extras for additional flavor and texture and color. Hard to go wrong.

Squash
Onion
Garlic
S&P
Tomato
Cilantro
Parmesan

Steamed Turbot

 
Growing up, I loved eating steamed fish. When fresh, it tastes fantastic dipped in soy sauce over steaming white rice. Now that my thyroid's been stable for a year, I'm slowly reintroducing seafood back into my diet.

Turbot...it doesn't even sound like a fish...but it's like a cross between sole and halibut. They're all flat, bottom dwelling type fish that swim on it's side...with two eyes on the same side of the head. Pretty creepy looking but pretty cool. Anyways....really easy to cook:

Corn starch - lightly rubbed on after fish is gutted, washed, patted dry
Ginger - steam WITH the fish to reduce the "fishy" scent

Green onions
Light soy sauce
Sesame oil

These last three ingredients you add when the fish is confirmed cooked. Just add and cover for a minute so the steam softens the onions a little. Then enjoy!

Green Steak and Ham

A MEAT post!!! Finally! ...but no ham in this...I was just thinking about Dr Seuss' Green Eggs and Ham book.

My husband told me about a cilantro mint chutney that his coworker shared with him once. It's simply:
A bunch of fresh mint
A bunch of fresh cilantro
Thai chilies (as many or as little as you like....I would recommend at LEAST one)
A spoon of sugar

And then blend it to a saucy consistency.
We only have the Magic Bullet...and had trouble with the leaves sticking to the walls and not coming down. So we added about 1/3 cup of olive oil. It ended up being a thick paste. Keeps for a couple weeks in the fridge.

What's great about it, is that it can be used to marinate ANY meat. In this case, I used it on steak. I thinned out several spoons of the paste with some grapeseed oil since it was going into the BBQ. In hindsight, I should've only used grapeseed oil since olive oil burns in high tempuratures....like in the BBQ. Here I've got some rib steak marinating in the green goodness:




And after grilling to a beautiful medium rare, I took more chutney, added some lemon juice and minced garlic to make a chimichuri sauce for the steak. SO GOOD.



The sides are a quick Asian pickles and grilled cauliflour.

Pickles:
Cucumbers
Couple spoons of white vinegar (you're supposed to use rice vinegar)
Spoon of sugar
Minced garlic
Spoon or two of soy sauce
few drops of sesame oil

Grilled cauliflour was tossed in grapeseed oil, salt, pepper and parmesan cheese.

Baked Miso Tofu on Salad and Burnt Tomato Soup

I can't remember where I saw a recipe for baked miso tofu, but it sounded interesting. I had both medium firm regular and soft egg tofu. I've been buying organic since I hear soy is a major GMO product now.

Miso sauce:
Miso paste
Soy sauce
Sugar
Grapeseed Oil

Mix this all together and then spoon over the cut tofu in a baking sheet. Bake at 350-385 F until the liquids dry and it starts to brown. Serve over salad with a garlic balsamic vinegar dressing that you can also easily throw together.

Tomato Soup....sadly was a bit of a fail. I was browning the onions and had added cut tomatos to simmer with it, except I didn't include enough liquids in the pot...or maybe the stove was on too high. Anyways....the bottom burnt. I picked out what I could, added veggie stock and then put the immersion blender in until I got the desired consistency. My husband said it tasted good...so I'll go with that. But I'm not aiming for a repeat performance for sure. =)

Tomatoes
Onion
Garlic
Basil
Oregano
Vegetable Stock

Leftover Makeover: Maple Crunch Chicken Strips

How about a MEAT recipe for once! =) I've been posting a lot of vegetarian fare because that's where I'm exploring right now. I have a lot of meat dish go-to's and haven't been as creative. Especially come summer...it's marinated wings, steak and ribs. I think I've already featured those. Anyways....

So you know when you finish a box of cereal there's all the broken and sugary bits at the bottom of the bag? I always feel like it's such a waste to throw it away since I paid more to buy healthier cereal but it'd be gross to eat it straight with milk. Well, I found an answer....I coated chicken strips in them and then pan fried it. I could do it shake and bake style too, but pan frying was faster. And it's so good!!

Chicken
Marinated in corn starch and a bit of soy for the savory aspect
Remnants of three kinds of cereal (Ancient Grains, Maple Crunch, Harvest Crunch)...this adds the sugar to the marinade so you don't need to add more.

I enjoyed this over salad with half an avocado. Used the go-to honey mustard dressing (but no garlic this time).

Pork Tenderloin & Roasted Fennel

After the success of the medium cooked pork tenderloin last time...I wanted to try again. I browsed cookbooks and the Internet for inspiration and then combined a couple recipes together.

Marinade:
Soy sauce
Garlic
Onion
Honey
Lemon Juice

Pan sear tenderloin. Add cut fennel chunks. Bake until internal temp of tenderloin is 130 F. Remove from oven and tent until temp is 10 degrees higher.
Meanwhile, take the leftover marinade, simmer in a pot until the onions are soft...then pour over the tenderloin and fennel before serving.

Yum.

Chili Taro chicken

Taro root...it was a favorite of mine growing up. Hawaiians eat it and is called "poi"...but I found the way they prepare it to be rather bland the two times I've tried. I like taro in stew-type dishes as well as in pastries and desserts. Taro takes on flavors of whatever you're cooking it in rather well. It's also got an aromatic earthy taste if you eat it whole and freshly cooked. I love it.

Fermented chili bean paste
Sugar
Soy sauce
Chicken
Taro

 

I used small taro bulbs rather than the large root. With the small bulbs, I boiled them whole until soft enough to poke through with a fork. The skin is peeled off once it's cooled enough to handle. And then it's cut to bite sizes and added to the cooking meat/stew around the same time I make the sauce.

Three Color Stir Fry

After the pork rib and beans dish, I was reminded about all the stir fries I used to cook though my university years. Meat and veggies into the frying pan or wok, make some kind of sauce and voila...your one-dish dinner is ready to go. There was always enough to pack for lunch the next day as well. After, oh, seven years of various stir fry combos, despite all the different meat/veggie/sauce combos you can get out of it, I got tired of it. I stuck to separate meat and veggie meals for a while.

So on a day I forgot to defrost meat, but had eggs, and had some remaining beans now on the brink of decay, I decided to give the stir fry another go.

Green beans
Tomatoes
Eggs (fry ahead of time and add it back in when you add the sauce)

For the sauce:
Cornstarch
Sugar
Soy sauce
==============> The above three ingedients look familiar? Not only are they the base meat marinade, they're also the base to any Asian sauce. Make a slurry with cornstarch and water, add the sugar and soy sauce, then you can either just use that or add additional condiments for different flavor combos. I added:

Ketchup
Fermented Chili Bean paste



I think my husband misses the heartier meat and veggie meals, but the stir fry with rice was tasty. =)

Pork ribs and Green beans

I have never cooked green beans before...mainly because I never really eat them. But because my husband likes them, I'm trying to incorporate it into our meals. This dish was cooked all in a wok...(does this make it a stir fry?)...not for any reason other than I didn't want to clean extra pots if I didn't need to. =)

Pork ribs

Soy sauce
Corn statch
Sugar
(These three ingredients make up the basic Asian meat marinade...from here you can add whatever other Asian seasoning/condiments you like.)
Satay sauce
Fermented Chili Bean Paste ("dau ban zherng")
 
Green beans

The pork was cooked first. I browned each side then added a little bit of water into the wok and covered it for a few minutes. The pork was then removed and I added the beans next with a little more water to deglaze the wok and steam/fry the beans. I kept it under a lid to keep the heat in for a good five minutes. Then I added the ribs back in and kept stirring/flipping everything until the water dried up. End result was super tasty....though the beans were slightly undercooked. Oops. I forgot to do a taste test. Maybe I need seven minutes for the beans to cook? Next time.

Spaghetti Squash Pasta

This time I made the spaghetti squash one of the mains instead of a side....and ate it as "pasta" to go along with some pan seared, soy sauce marinated drumsticks. I tossed it with a few more veggies so it was a little heartier but otherwise, it's similar to the previous spaghetti squash side.

Spaghetti Squash
Onion
Tomato
Broccoli
Gouda (You can tell what block of cheese we've got in the fridge because that's all I'll use until it's gone.)
Dried herbs

Drumsticks
Light Soy Sauce
Dark Soy Sauce (this gives it the dark caramelly color)
Honey (to drizzle over after it's cooked)

Date Honey'n Garlic Chicken

Here's a simple one...marinate, pan fry, drizzle, serve.

Soy Sauce - light & dark
Garlic
Cumin
Date Honey

Drizzle with date honey after the chicken's been pan fried. If you cook it with the honey, there's a chance it'll char beyond the nice caramelly look it's got now. The flavors work together really nicely and goes great with rice. Leftovers can be cut up and put into a salad with a sesame dressing. Ymm!

Honey curried chicken nuggets on israeli couscous

This summer I came across a friend's post on honey bbq'd chicken wings with a hint of curry. "What an interesting combination of flavors!" I thought. I didn't have all the ingredients but what stood out for me was to have honey and curry. So I threw it together. And have made several variations on it since. It was always with wings...but this time, I had boneless skinless thighs. Why not use the same flavors right?

Marinade:
Soy Sauce
Curry Powder
Cumin
Paprika

I pan seared them...then drizzled Date Honey on top.

The Israeli couscous side was neat too. I saw it at Trader Joe's and thought to give it a try. I put some rice seasoning that I actually bought in Jerusalem into the couscous. Can't say I really knew what to do with the rice seasoning because though there was a spice scent, the taste wasn't very pronounced. I must be missing some additional seasoning...anyone know?

Rosemary Pork Chops

Pork is hard to do well I find. I tend to dry it out and then have to deal with some really chewy meat after. One thing that helps is to not overcook it. Growing up, my immigrant parents/grandparents would be afraid of food poisoning so meats were always cooked to death. Can't blame them considering fridges were a bit of a luxury back then. But now, I try to cook pork "just" under well done and then let it continue to warm while resting is pretty decent. I'm tempted to try pork medium well...but just in case, I'm taking it to well done. For now.

Marinade:
Olive Oil
Soy Sauce
Dried Rosemary
Cumin
Sugar (Brown sugar is better but mine had solidified into a giant block...so white sugar substituted.)

I pan fried about four minutes on each side. And then served with a dallop of spicy mango chutney on top. It was really good! You can see sides of Tomato Zucchini casserole and some brown basmati rice mixed with red quinoa.