Cherry and Juniper Berry Pork Loin

Just a quick post, I really should wait until the fall to post it, but I didn't want to forget.   I haven't blogged frequently in the past several months, and I have a stockpile of pictures on my iPhone.  They are not always the best quality pictures, but I didn't want this recipe to go to waste.  This one was a quick fantastic crock pot recipe. I served it up with some mushroom spaetzle. The inspiration came from a Bon Appetit magazine one of my dear friends gave me and I had a small bottle of juniper berries that I had been itching to use.  I would re-do this recipe around Christmas time.  The juniper berries taste like Christmas.  This makes me think of one of my best friends.  I once asked her why gin and tonic was her favorite drink, her answer was that it tastes like Christmas Trees! : ) (Gin's most dominant flavor is juniper berries in case you aren't a partaker.)

Cherry and Juniper Berry Pork Loin

1 unflavored pork loin

2 cups Pinot Noir (or Beaujolais, no sweet reds, you get enough sweet with the cherries)

1 small bottle of your favorite cherry preserves (not jelly, you want fruit bits, European ones are better because they tend to be made with sugar and lemon instead of corn syrup)

2 Vidalia or sweet onions sliced in rings

1 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp ground ginger

1 tbsp whole juniper berries

tbsp olive oil

In your crock pot, first put down the tablespoon of olive oil and roll it around to cover the bottom.  Add the sliced onions and spread out in an even layer.  Place your pork loin on top.  In a small bowl, combine all your other ingredients and pour on top.  It will be lumpy because the preserves won't want to completely dissolve in the wine yet.  Pour the mixture over the top of your pork loin and set your crock-pot on low for 6-8 hours. We ended up pulling our apart like BBQ but you may want to slice and serve. A small sprig of rosemary would also complement this pork loin if you have fresh growing.  Just throw the sprig in whole and fish it bag out at the end.

 Warning:  The juniper berries impart great flavor but are not fun to bite into, we remove ours, but many people like to just crush them and pulverize them before use so you don't have to fish them out.  You could also tie them in a cheese cloth bag to retrieve.

I served mine with mushroom spaetzle this time, but next time I will be making rosemary black pepper polenta to go with it.  Roasted carrots and parsnips would also go well with this one. 

Oh yes, please admire my wood paneled kitchen and 60's snowflake and chrome countertops! I know you are so jealous of them! In high school I got the highest average in the house design class, I already have two alternate plans drawn up for the kitchen including all the wiring and plumbing placements. :) In 5 years, I think I may have my dream kitchen. I see white subway tile backsplashes, white beadboard, antique fixtures,  a black and white tile floor and stainless steel in my future.  First I am going to apply to every HGTV and Better Homes and Gardens Kitchen Contest I can first. If you find any contests, please send them my way.  

     

Feta and Spinach Stuffed Chicken with Greek Wild Rice

This summer's goal is to buy most of our fresh vegetables, cheeses, honey, and meat from the local farmer's markets in town. We had grand plans for a big garden this year at our new house, we even have all our seeds ready to go, but we have put it on hold and are just doing herbs in pots.  Next year, I will not be deterred.  I really think it is important to support your local farmers, and it is much better for your body to eat locally grown, organic ingredients.  We had so much fun at the Green Street Farmer's Market on Thursday in Huntsville, Al.  So many delicious things other than wonderful fresh veggies: multiple goat cheese stands, chow-chow, ice-cream, spices, honey, locally raised meats, flowers, gourmet popsicles, and even stands with complete meals ready to go.  We came home with some veggies, sourdough bread, and a mini bundt cake that was to die for.  Caramelized ginger, powdered ginger, fresh ginger, and Guinness Beer! What a combination!

Mango Habanero and Pear Riesling Popsicles! 

Ommmmmmm.....My husband enjoying his ice cream. 

 If we hadn't already bought some peach and blackberry ice cream cups, those popsicles would have been quite an experience.  It was a seersucker kind of day!  I wouldn't let him take a picture of me.  I had just come from getting an MRI and then went to a physical therapy session: Millenium Falcon t-shirt, Nike shorts, and hounds-tooth toms.  Needless to say, we were quite mismatched that day.  Must do better! 

Now on to our healthy dinner! We bought raw pre-made stuffed chicken breasts from our Earth Fare grocery store.  These are stuffed with spinach and feta and lightly coated in panko breadcrumbs and  parsley.  These would be really easy to make yourself and I think I will next time because I found them a bit bland.  I would have added more spinach, garlic, lemon zest, and pepper to them, still tasty though.   We marinated some zucchini and yellow squash slices in Caesar dressing for 20 minutes and quickly grilled them up. Now for the fun bit..... my new Greek Wild Rice.  Not exactly Greek, but you get the point. It can be served hot or cold as a salad. The special ingredient in this recipe is to buy the marinated artichokes in the glass jar, not the regular kind in the can.

Greek Wild Rice

1 1/2 cup Royal Blend Rice (found everywhere now, it is a blend of texmati, white, brown, wild, and red rices..... very tasty stuff)

2 1/2 cups water

1 tsp olive oil

3 tablespoons dry white wine

1 tablespoon drained capers

1 cup of your favorite gourmet green olive (we get them at the olive bar in Earth Fare, love the garlic ones)

1 jar of marinated artichoke hearts drained

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Zest of 1/2 lemon

1 tsp fresh minced garlic

Combine the rice, water, olive oil, wine, garlic and lemon zest in a medium saucepan.  Bring to a boil and cover.  Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and add in the rest of your ingredients and mix it up.  Place on another non-hot surface and recover.  Let is stand for 5-10 minutes.  This lets it all marinate together without cooking your olives and artichokes.  This stuff is seriously delicious and healthy. Enjoy!

There is nothing more difficult than trying to plan a meal for two people with completely different dietary needs. Luckily, my husband and I love pretty much all foods, so variety is not an issue. Currently I am trying to work this out by making really healthy food, and eating only half the portion my husband eats. We'll see how that works out.  Last week I had X-rays done of my lower back, and yesterday I had an MRI.  I don't have the MRI results yet, but from the initial X-rays I have a collapsed S1 (lower lumbar) disk that is squished like a pancake.  :(  Bottom line, it will probably never get completely fixed, but to prevent chronic pain, I need to exercise a lot more to get strong again and losing 25 pounds to get back to my 21 year old self (now 27) won't hurt. I wish I could blame the stress of graduate school, but I can only blame myself. My husband recently had an emergency appendectomy and needs to gain some weight back.  So far my plan of tempting him with a variety of homemade cookies and frozen gourmet popsicles has worked.  Upcoming posts will try to be very healthy, I just need to stay away from the cookies that I bake and not taste test them! Delicious butter, white sugar, white flour, and chocolate are my enemies!  Fruits, Veggies, and non white items I shall force to be my new friends!

Mother's Day: Smoked Almond Encrusted Salmon With Gorgonzola Carrot and Zucchini Salad with Amaretto Cake topped with Tipsy Fruit

Mother's Day Special

This year for Mother's Day we celebrated it a few days early.  This is what I made for my mom at our house. She and I have both started new diets so I wanted to try to be  partially good with our menu this year.    I can't take any credit for the salmon and salad recipes, but they are so wonderful I have to share them with you.  If you have Publix Supermarkets in your area, then you must be familiar with their Apron tasting stations.  This is the first time that I tasted the meal and then proceeding to buy everything to make it.  I have made it twice this week by request, and the second time I adjusted several ingredient quantities to tweak it. This is a great choice for a light and healthy Mother's day meal.  Very affordable too.  The following salmon and salad recipes are my versions of Publix's.

Smoked Almond Encrusted Salmon

4 salmon center cut fillets (1.5-2 lbs.)

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1/4 cup maple syrup

2 tsp chili powder

2 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp powdered garlic

1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1/2 cup whole smoked almonds ( I used Blue Diamond)

1 tablespoon olive oil

Place almonds in a gallon zip top bag and crush them using a rolling pin.  Crush them as small as you can, not powdered but try to get them pretty broken down so they stick well to the salmon.  Add the chili powder, paprika, garlic, and pepper to the bag and mix all up.  Place salmon in bag, seal it and shake it.  This worked partially for me and then I just scooped up part of the remaining mixtures and pressed it into the top of the salmon fillets.  Preheat large saute pan on medium for 2-3 minutes, add in the olive oil.  Place salmon skin side down first for 3-4 minutes, don't move the salmon around in the pan, and then flip them for an additional 3 minutes.  Remove the salmon from the pan and put on a serving plate.  To the pan, add the syrup and soy sauce, cook for 1-2 minutes stirring frequently and pour the sauce over the salmon.  This spice mixture and the searing makes this look and taste like a professionally wood fire grilled salmon.  The smokey almonds and the salmon are a perfect pair!

Publix wanted you to take the skin off the fillets, this is time consuming if they don't come this way, and I think you get a better seal and better moisture control if you leave it on.  Plus my silly husband loves to eat crispy salmon skin. Don't buy frozen salmon for this, just go to a good seafood counter and get fresh.  It changes the taste and texture if you want to do a really impressive meal.  For just everyday meals, frozen would be fine, but not for special occasions.

Gorgonzola and Zucchini Ribbon Salad

This is the first time I have ever eaten raw zucchini.  I didn't know what to expect at first, I thought raw zucchini would taste kinda chalky.  It was fabulous in this salad.  You marinate it for 1-2 hours and the vinegar takes care of that taste.  So light and healthy! Just try it once, you will be convinced! The reason this salad was so easy for me was buying the pre-chopped boxes of green onion, tomato, and matchstick carrots.  Just saves time, but if you have some great heirloom tomatoes or something it would just make it that much better tasting.  My only deviations from the Publix version on this one is the basil and more carrots.  I doubled their quantity of basil and used fresh not paste. 

1 cup diced fresh tomatoes

1 cup matchstick carrots

1/2 cup sliced green onions

1/3 cup balsamic vinaigrette

2 tablespoons fresh chopped sweet basil

1/2 cup Gorgonzola crumbled cheese

3 medium zucchini

Combine all ingredients except zucchini in a salad bowl.  Peel the outside dark green skin off of the zucchini with a vegetable peeler.  Now start peeling ribbons of the flesh off from top to bottom, stop when you start exposing the zucchini seeds, turn the zucchini 1/4 of the way and start stripping again.  Discard inner portion.  Cut long strips into 1 inch pieces and mix all together.  Marinate in the fridge for 1-2 hours.  Stir occasionally.  Leftovers are still good, but I think you have a 2 hour window where this salad is at it's peak.  it keeps for several days, but it is the mostly crunchy at the 2 hour mark.  Less than that and your flavors aren't really developed. 

Amaretto Liqueur Cake Topped with Tipsy Fruit

This is just a quick dessert that I mixed up.  I had a box of pre-made amaretto soaked cake.  I took a bag of mixed frozen fruits (Mango, Peach, Pineapple and Strawberries) and added 1 shot of peach schnapps and 1 shot of amaretto and let it sit in the fridge stirring occasionally for 2 hours.  Spooned it over the sliced cake and added some mint for decoration and smell!  Delicious!  This kind of cake I have found many places.  This one I got from Aldi, but I have found them often at TJ Maxx, Tuesday Morning, and Fresh Market.  It is a small preserved cake that has a small amount of different liqueurs poured over them.  They are around $3-12 each depending where you get them.  When you slice them, you get a small portion about the size of a brownie. 

Happy Mother's Day!