BBQ Pork Tenderloin

BBQ always reminds me of summer!  We enjoyed this pulled pork recipe last week.  A crockpot works great to keep the meat moist.  I looked at several recipes on the Internet & between them all came up with the following.

BBQ Pork Tenderloin

3 lbs pork tenderloin

8 oz BBQ sauce

1 small onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 jalepeno pepper, seeds removed

Place pork in crockpot.  Season with salt & pepper.  Add the garlic, onion & pepper.  Pour BBQ sauce over meat.  Cook on low for 6-7 hours.  When meat is done, use two forks to pull it apart.  Serve with hamburger buns.

I had a 2.2 lb loin & cooked it for 4.5 hours.  It was perfect.

Vegetable Dip , plus Lawry's Seasoning Salt Recipe

We were invited to a lovely potluck last week.  The hostess asked if we could bring a vegetable platter -- how fitting for us!  I always try to bring something healthy to a potluck, as we are not big dessert eaters & there seems to always be plenty of those.  We are not veggie dip people either, but I went scouring the Internet for some homemade recipes, realizing that most others enjoy it.  I adapted the following recipe from www.food.com  If you do not have access to fresh herbs, the substitution is 3:1 (fresh to dried).  Therefore for example, if your recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of dried oregano, chop up 3 teaspoons of fresh oregano.

Vegetable Dip

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup sour cream

1 Tbsp dried onion flakes

3 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

3 tsp fresh dill, chopped

1 tsp seasoning salt (**)

1/2 tsp garlic powder

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Lawry's Seasoning Salt

2 Tbsp salt

2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp turmeric

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp cornstarch

I put my extra seasoning salt in an empty glass herb container.  I plan on using it tonight on our fresh tilapia.  I do not know who to credit with the seasoning salt recipe -- it was all over the Internet, so kudos to whoever is responsible!

"Unprocessing" Foods -- Entry 4 (Shredded Cheese)

Over half of the year is gone & I must finish out my New Year's Resolution of ridding our cabinets of six processed foods.  The list thus far goes as follows:

1.) Jams & Jellies

2.) Salad Dressings

3.) Taco Seasoning

4.) Shredded Cheese

Though shredded cheese is extremely tempting for its convenience, I have resolved to take the extra time to shred my own.  If I have a small amount to shred, I use my hand shredder.  If I have more, I use my Cuisinart Food Processor.  Personally, I do not like to do it ahead of time as it just doesn't seem as fresh.  Pre-packaged shredded cheese has a powdery substance to keep it from clumping.  I have been shredding my own cheese now for some time & don't even think twice about it.  Well worth the little effort!

A Fish Supper after a Day's Work

What can get much better than supper at home?

(Perhaps someone to do clean-up duty! My husband stars in that department.)

Sometimes coming in after a day of farm work, only my desire for a good meal motivates me to get cooking.  This particular evening I did not have anything specific in my mind for supper.  After taking inventory, this is what we had & enjoyed so much.

Whiting fillets with tomato, lemon & parsley

Black Japonica Rice

Fresh salad with Michigan dried cherries

Wash the fillets & rub with melted butter.  Sprinkle with garlic salt.  Mince fresh parsley & sprinkle over fillets.  Slice tomatoes & lemon, reserving a portion of the lemon.  With the reserved lemon, squeeze juice over all the fish.  Layer lemon & tomato slices.  Bake 400 F for about 10 minutes.

Fish should easily flake with fork with done.  Do NOT overcook fish -- it dries out & gets tough.  Perfectly baked fish should be very moist. 

Cook rice in chicken broth.  Sprinkle with lemon juice, if desired, once done.

Enjoy salad with Freddie's favorite dressing.

http://greatlettuce.blogspot.com/2013/04/freddies-favorite-salad-dressing.html

Tuna & Watercress Quiche

Watercress surfaces again!  Someone at market told me about ANDI scoring: Aggregate Nutritional Density Index.  Foods are scored from 1 to 1000 according to their nutritional density.  There are three foods (ie, Superfoods) that score a perfect 1000.  Can you guess them? (I'll post it at the bottom.)

After learning its terrific nutritional value, I decided to explore more watercress dishes.  I checked out the website I mentioned in a previous post (watercress.co.uk).  Though fresh watercress is quite strong-flavored, when cooked the flavor mixes in well.  (Please note, the full nutritional value comes when it is eaten raw.  Nothing wrong with tossing it in your salad!)  This recipe was a nice, elegant twist.  Freddie's response: This is very British.  And he can say that since he is 1/2 English!  We would like to try it again using salmon.

Tuna & Watercress Quiche

(adapted by yours truly)

4 oz (a little less than 1 cup) flour

1 oz Parmesan cheese, grated

2 oz (1/2 stick) butter, cubed & softened

1/3 cup watercress packed, finely chopped

2 egg

1 cup milk or cream

5 oz can tuna, drained

1 tbsp fresh dill, chopped

Preheat oven to 400F.  Rub flour, chesse & butter together.  Bind with a little cold water. (I used maybe a scant tablespoon.  Add little by little until you can work with the dough.)  Roll out & line the bottom of 4 individual flan dishes.  Mix cress, egg & cream.  Divide tuna amongst flan dishes.  Sprinkle with dill, salt & pepper.  Pour egg mixture into each.  Do not be afraid to pour clear to the top.  Place dishes on cookie sheet.  Bake 25-30 minutes until lightly browned & set.

ANSWER:  Watercress, Kale & Mustard/Turnip/Collard greens.  Baby Bok Choy comes 4th, scoring 824.
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/healthy-eating/health-starts-here/resources-and-tools/top-ten-andi-scores#greenvegetables