For the main course, we served Spice-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin with Fresh Nectarine Salsa and Cilantro-Coconut Rice.  My husband was nice enough to take care of cooking these (I prepped them) so I could talk with the family.  The rub for the pork tenderloin was inspired by this recipe.  Mix the following spices, rub into a 1.5 lb pork loin, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.  Then, cook in oven to an internal temperature of 160 degrees.

• 2 teaspoons brown sugar 
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder 
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

The Fresh Nectarine Salsa was a food processing till chunky of the following ingredients:

• 4 peeled, pitted nectarines
• 1 de-seeded jalapeno
• 3 T cilantro
• 1/4 c red onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 T rice vinegar (more to taste)
• 1 t lemon juice
• salt to taste

The Cilantro Coconut Rice was based on this recipe.  It was supposed to have mint in it, but I think all of the mint was gone from the grocery stores for 4th of July mojitos (that’s the only explanation I could come up with for no mint at all in Athens).  Also, we followed the reviewer recommendations to add more coconut milk and broth than the recipe called for, but we added too much because the rice was really creamy.  I guess I would recommend following the recipe and then gradually adding extra coconut milk till you reach the desired consistency.

Next up is the Parents’ Day dessert course: Cream Cakes with Macerated Strawberried and Fresh Whipped Cream.

After our sangria and crostini, we moved on to the second course, which was chilled soup course.  We’ve done gazpachos in the past, but we wanted something a little different, so we did Tiered Tomato Soup from Sunset magazine.  I didn’t get a chance to get a really good pic of this one (trying to cook and style food simultaneously while entertaining guests is a but much), and our avocados weren’t as bright green as the ones the used for the magazine pic, but it still tasted good.  Only changes to the recipe were:

• added both lemon and lime juice (unintentionally)
• added more sour cream to avocado (to taste)
• put a dollop of sour cream on top for presentation purposes

 

Check back later for the main course: Spice-Rubbed Pork Loin with Fresh Nectarine Cilantro and Cilantro-Coconut Rice!

I just downloaded Picasa (free photo app from Google), and I am pleasantly surprised, as I did this to one of my pictures from our 3rd anniversary trip to Denver.  Pretty rad, if I do say so myself . . . .

I’ve never been one for empty gestures.  And I don’t like doing things just because “that’s what you do” or because ”that’s the way it’s always been done.”  The best example of this is my refusal to give people cards for holidays unless 1) I made them myself, or 2) they are somehow inappropriate, and thus surprising/entertaining (e.g., Our 2007 winter holidays card said “Peace and sh*t.” inside).

Something along these lines that bugs me is Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.  Of course, these are important holidays, but the ways we typically celebrate them aren’t.  I mean, I can kinda get behind the idea of sending flowers on Mom’s Day, because they are pretty and usually unique from year to year.  But in that case, what do you send Dad?  A mail-order tie?  So, our solution to all of this is to scrap the holidays all together and combine them into a summer-time “Parents’ Day” for which my brother, husband, and I cook a several course meal for my parents from scratch.  Somehow, this seems to fit my family much better and seems more heartfelt and intentional than a “World’s Best Parent” paperweight.   

For the first course of the Parents’ Day Meal this year, we had White Wine Sangria with Gorgonzola, Caramelized Onions, and Fig Jam on Crostini.  The sangria was the result of my realization that I had forgotten to plan a drink.  So, I mixed the following things in a pitcher:

• 1500 mL Chardonnay/Semillion blend (this is the big bottle)
• 2 shots Triple Sec
• 1 single serving can pineapple juice
• sugar to taste
• cut up apples, oranges, limes, apricots

 

I regrigerated for about an hour and then served with diet Publix-brand Sprite for some fizz.  Pretty decent for dumping stuff in a pitcher.

The crostini were based on this Cooking Light recipe.  As always, I added all ingredients to taste, but the major change I did make was that both the jam and onions took way longer than the recipe says–you have to cook it until you like it.  Also, I microwaved the gorgonzola crumbles for 20 seconds so it would be spreadable.  The end result was delicious!

Stay tuned for the second course!

I’m not sure if this is the result of complete and total self-involvement, but I have this need to make sure that the contents of this blog are appropriately represented to new readers.  And seeing as the following search engine terms have sent readers here,

- “chopped all my hair off”

- “migraine after gym”

- ”evolution as pseudoscience” 

- “stayed at Marriott”

I feel the need to make sure that people know exactly what they have happened upon when they happen here.  So with that in mind, I updated the “me.” page again.  This time, I think the explanation of the title is a lot less cryptic/stream-of-consciousness and a lot more straight-forward.  But who knows. . .

So I know I said it’d be a few hours, but we couldn’t wait!  Here is the Blackberry Frozen Yogurt.  While walking the dogs today, Caleb and I noticed that there are a lot of wild blackberries in our neighborhood, particularly in the empty lot next to ours (I knew that living next to the well lot had to have some benefit).  So, we grabbed a bucket, and this was the result.  I pretty much made this one up, after consulting a lot of different online sources:

2 cups blackberries (food process and press through sieve)

2 cups nonfat vanilla yogurt

1/3 c white sugar

2 T brown sugar

juice from half a lemon

Mix all ingredients in food processor and pour into ice cream maker.  Freeze according the manufacturer’s directions. Add chocolate chips in the last 5 mins. 

The verdict?  Pretty good, but could use some work.  The problem is that we have fruit smoothies a lot using the same vanilla yogurt, so to us, it tasted a lot like our regular breakfast smoothies (but with chocolate chips).  I think it needs more fat in the recipe (as it currently has none), so I will do some research and will probably end up going with some combination of half and half and condensed milk.  I will also probably add lemon zest because the juice helped to brighten the flavor a little, but it could use a little more.  But, if you’re just looking for something that is fast, suprisingly creamy, nonfat, and anti-oxidant rich, this will definitely fit the bill!

Tonight’s dinner was unintentionally all-American . . . I guess I am about a week early with this meal.  Anyways, the main dish was Spicy-Sweet Ribs and Beans.  This was my first attempt at ribs (they were on sale at Kroger), and so I wanted to go as easy as possible and went the slow cooker route.  The recipe said to cook 9-10 hours on low.  Fortunately, the husband noticed that it was simmering a little too vigorously and so we cooked them on “warm” all day.  The end product was good, but a little dry and salty.  Perhaps if I had soaked them in something first and then cooked at a lower temp all day.  Additionally, it used bottled BBQ sauce- I probably would have been better off (especially sodium-wise) if I had used one of Cooking Light’s homemade BBQ sauce recipes.  The other two items are Chipotle Coleslaw and Honey Chipotle Grilled Corn.  The slaw used cabbage from our CSA and had a southwestern flair.  I used Miracle Whip in place of mayo, and probably added more sour cream than called for to balance out the flavors.  As for the corn, if you try any recipe, try this one.  I even screwed it up by warming the ingredients on the stove (you’re not supposed to cook them at all), but it was still delicious.  The next trick is to figure out what else to put the remaining butter on.  In a few hours, we’ll have homemade blackberry frozen yogurt, which used blackberries that we picked out of our yard this afternoon.  Pictures to come  . . . (we have to eat it first!)

As mentioned in the above “food,” tab, we do a lot of cooking in our house.  Our membership at a local community-supported agriculture program (CSA) means we have more vegetables than we know what to do with, so cooking in the summer gets particularly inventive.  Thursday’s meal was, as almost always, inspired by Cooking Light Recipes.  I made Barbecued Salmon,  Sweet and Spicy Barbecued Beans, and a Tomato-Cucumber Salad (with fresh basil, red wine vinegar, salt, dijon mustard). Now, all of these are only inspired by Cooking Light, meaning I use (more or less) their ingredient list in my quantities, with the key being a taste at every step of the recipe.  Here’s a pic of how it turned out. Interestingly, the beans are much tastier than they look and are a great way to use up kale (which seems to come in bushels from the farm)– the secret ingredient is BBQ sauce!

And to the left was today’s dinner.  In the past, we have gone out to dinner on Fridays, but several rarities this week (friend’s b’day dinner, dinner at bowling alley) left me wanting to stay in for once.  To make sure we didn’t give in and just go out, though, I had to make it good.  So, here we have Thai Chicken Soup and Goat Cheese Spring Rolls with Asian Pear Salsa, which was served with our newest homebrew, Zing! Copper Wheat.  (Also notice the Cooking Light in the background– they should pay me for this!)  A few alterations to the above recipes– no shrimp in the soup cause we’re having shrimp later this week.  Also, for the Asian Pear Salsa-  that’s supposed to be a salad, but I recommend food processing down to a salsa, and adding extra maple syrup and salt to taste.  Additionally, this was my first foray into egg rolls (I thought they wouldn’t be good without frying), and something I’ll definitely be doing again.  The delightful browning is the result of cooking spray and a hot oven.  Voila!

I got my teaching evaluations back from Spring semester today.  Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately?) I did not get any of the questionable sort, such as last semester’s “Mrs. Masland is hot. I want her at night.”  I think my favorites were probably

“In the beginning I actually needed this class for my major, but about halfway through I found out that I did not need it anymore.  However, I enjoyed your class so much that I was okay not being able to drop it! You are the best college professor I have had so far!”

“I think you are a great teacher for this course.  Not only do you head the class well and have lots of information and suggestions for us as future teachers but you are a great role model.  You are doing so much with your life and seem so motivated in everything you do.  I think the example you set in the way you are always trying to improve this course and are so open to suggestions is something everyone should follow.  I always seriously look forward to coming to this class and I wish you taught another course here!”

“Even though I did not need this class, I still enjoyed it very much.  It sort of makes me want to change my major to psychology so that I can be a counselor. :)”

Now I realize that all of that is a little self-aggrandizing, but we all need pats on the back every once in a while to confirm that we are doing what we are supposed to be doing.  Also, I’m not sure if I created any storms in those students’ minds (possibly for the student who write the last comment . . .) , but it definitely doesn’t seem like they are worse off for the time that we spent together.

 

              

Isn’t this kid adorable?  This is my friend’s daughter eating her first watermelon at our School Psych Orientation kickball picnic.  I took this pic with my fancy camera, and my friend is sending it and a few others in to Parents’ magazine for some cute baby contest or something along those lines.  Perhaps it will be my national photographic debut!