Roasted a teeny-tiny pork loin tonight.
15 Likes
No thread, just winging it. Had some delicious chicken soup with orzo & lemon; we call it mock avgolemeno, very tasty & comforting. My surgery wasn’t extensive but was productive as I actually had two procedures done while sedated. They usually have to do them one at a time. So big bonus there and I’ll have my permanent implant in about 3 months!! Usually takes 9-12 months. So I’ll be chomping away tomorrow & even have a lunch date with my dear friend/horrible cook. We will be eating at a nice resto. Oysters may happen!
Appreciate the advice though, pilgrim!
8 Likes
Joint cooking effort with a friend tonight, impromptu dinner together.
Chicken and chickpea moroccan-ish stew with couscous and crusty bread (I skipped the extra carbs in lieu of wine). And I did a whole roasted cauliflower (gorgeous - eat this, Miznon!)
.
.
.
Always amazes me how long a whole cauliflower will take to brown vs chunks. But it looks impressive
..
14 Likes
Well, you have attitude nailed!
Share technique for roasted cauliflower? It looks divine!
My mom does a whole stewed cauliflower party dish which I adapted to roasting.
The cauliflower is cooked twice. First boiled/steamed till a knife goes into the stem easily. Then coated with oil and whatever seasonings you like (I mix it up each time - this time was s&p, mustard, thyme, cumin) and roasted until well-browned.
6 Likes
Looks so tempting!
Good recovery to you!
1 Like
"More important than “top” is share ideas for that 7/7, 365 question, “What’s for dinner?”
Yaas!
From yesterdays CSA box…
Microwaved corn for one! And butter.
9 Likes
Beautiful. And chicken legs! (Or as my son used to say; “yegs!”).
The tinned gigantes beans are good too.
3 Likes
No problem. I have been recycling for a couple weeks. No pics, always tasty with wine 
. Cheers
1 Like
How interesting!
I made other stuff but the true star was these pork chops. I’m confident that brining is the key to pork. I brined them for the day in a bath of kosher salt, sugar, garlic cloves and whole peppercorns. Then coated them generously in my all purpose, dry rub (paprika 2 ways, salt, brown sugar, cumin, coriander, black pepper, chili powder and cayenne) and grilled.
I also grilled a little handful of garlic scapes which was amazing since they loose ALL of their garlic bite. Sides of a few lonely grilled peppers, broccoli and simple cucumber salad. Leftover quinoa for the carb lovers among us.
13 Likes
Those grilled peppers have become my default solution to the “what’s for veg” conundrum. They seem to go with everything.
2 Likes
Thanks Saregama! We’re getting there fast!
Those look amazing! Do you know what kind of peppers those are? Can I hear more about serving quinoa? I want to try it, especially if you don’t have to “serve immediately”.
I agree; brining makes a huge difference for me.
If you like them brined, may I also suggest Kenji of SeriousEats dry brine?
Perfect Pan-Seared Pork Chops Recipe-Serious Eats
I add a rub, usually Ethiopian berbere spice, sometimes harrisa spice, to the salt mix before putting it on the chops.
1 Like
I don’t know the name of these peppers but they are so darn cute and sweet. They come in a big bag and are perfect grilled up with a little oil, salt and pepper.
Wow. Thanks! I’ll check out those links.
1 Like
love this - love watching the steps, thank you! i need to find belacan now. i have ground shrimp packets available to me from my mexi-mart, but I’m assuming the belacan is more concentrated?
gorgeous photos!
