Pan Fried Porkchops

I love pork.  Try a real farm grown pig and tell me it's not the best meat on the planet.  These porkchops are from the Pork Shoppe in Shakespeare.  Very easy and quick to make.

First, blot the chops with paper towel, to remove any liquid.

Choose some spices and create a rub.  I used cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, and a bit of sugar and mashed it all into a powder with a mortar and pestle.  If you don't have one, you can use a glass bottle and a cutting board or your counter top; place the spices between parchment paper or wax paper, and roll the bottle, or use the base and mash the spices.

Use your fingers to rub the spice mixture into the porkchops.  Heat a frying pan with some butter, I use a cast iron pan, because it retains the heat well and I like the crust it creates on the meat.  Sear the meat on one side for about 2 minutes, then flip and do the same on the other side.

After the 2 minutes on the other side, cover the pan with a lid, and give it 5-10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the meat.

I made new potatoes with skins, dill, and butter, as well as button mushrooms lightly fried in butter to go with the pork chops.

I love new potatoes with butter and fresh dill.  I have quite a bit of dill growing in my backyard and since potatoes are in season, there is no better time for this tasty and easy side.  Make sure to scrub the taters before boiling.  As much as I love summer for the heat and sun and fruit, I love autumn for the vegetables and pretty colours.

I halved the potatoes so they would cook quicker.  I always add a bit of salt to the water and potatoes as they're boiling.  Depending on the amount you're cooking, the type and age, potatoes usually take about 10-15 minutes.  Use a fork to check so that they don't over cook.  You want the fork to go in easily.  All these details about boiling potatoes may seem a bit crazy, but I've had some awful potatoes.  If you're mashing potatoes, don't use stock or any liquid to fluff them.  Best thing to mash with potatoes is butter or sour cream, neither dilutes the potatoes and both add creaminess.  Don't over do it, it's better to keep adding small amounts to achieve the perfect consistency, than to put in too much and be left with a sticky, heavy mush.

Fall is in the air!  lala lala lala la

Purple Yam

First off, sweet potatoes and yams are not the same thing, just as fennel and anise root are not the same thing, even if the grocery clerk tries to tell you that the terms are interchangeable.  I'll focus on the sweet potato vs yam for this post.  They are two completely different plants.  Yams are related to lilies, where as sweet potatoes are in the morning glory family.  Yams have a rough surface, with ivory, yellow, or purple flesh.  Sweet potatoes have orange flesh with white, yellow, orange, or purple skin.  Sweet potatoes have much more beta carotene, something like 160 times more, 1/2 cup contains twice the RDI (recommended daily intake).  They are also much less starchy, so score lower on the glycemic index.  Yams are a good source of potassium and fibre.  Yams are also not always available at your local supermarket, check out a Caribbean market.

I use sweet potatoes often, because they are delicious, and it's a bonus that they are also nutritious.  I often cut them into fries, and bake them with a Cajun spice blend, and have them as a side or just a snack on their own.  Recently I picked up two yams.  I used one to make my baked fries, with some spices, mix of thyme, basil, savoury, and fennel; I wasn't sure if they'd make good fries, since they are so starchy.  They turned out yummy.  We inhaled them while I was making the dish that follows.

I used the other yam to make a curry.

Super easy and fast, for a healthy home made meal.

Cook some green lentils.  I like to cook them separately, otherwise they get mushy and make the dish look awful.  Drain and set aside.  Lentils don't take long to cook like beans, about 15 minutes, depending on how much you're making.  If you have to, use canned, but soak in cold water first to decrease the sodium.

Melt some butter in a pot, add chopped garlic and onion, cinnamon, cayenne, curry powder, coriander powder, cumin ( I used seeds and pink Himalayan salt rocks, so I crushed them with a mortar and pestle.  If you have cumin powder, use that and fine sea salt, or if you have seeds or coarse salt and no mortar and pestle, place either or both between wax paper or plain paper and use a rolling pin or a round mug to mash or roll over.  If you use a single sheet and fold it in half instead of two separate sheets, it's easier to "pour" the spices into the pot.

Let it all fry for a minute, it'll smell wonderful.  Add a bit of water.  Then add chopped carrots and yam(s), cook for a bit, about 10 min; add cooked lentils, cover and simmer for another 10.

To thicken up the water, I made a roux, basically melt butter and add some flour:

Then stir it into the pot.  

If you don't have as much "sauce" as you'd like, stir in more water.  

Serve with basmati and fresh cilantro.

Selamat makan! (Indonesian)

(I hope I'm getting the right translations, if not please correct me).

Chicken schnitzel

I had a piece of a jalapeño ciabatta left over from over a week ago, so I made bread crumbs out of it the other day.

Today I made chicken schnitzels.  I'm not a huge fan of chicken, but I sure love the buttery taste of a schnitzel.  Please don't fry it in anything other than butter.  I went to a chop house about a month ago, with some friends who have been there before, and I had a burger.  I'm so glad I did.  James ordered a schnitzel, and I had a piece and hated it.  It was awful, and all I could taste was oil.  I bet it was deep fried too.  He didn't hate it, but said my home made schnitzels are far better.  I think I have a long way to go with his taste buds, but at the same time, they have come a long way already.

I'm fairly limited when it comes to vegetables that James will actually eat.  The list of produce he will eat is much shorter than the stuff he won't.  I still eat stuff I love, either when he's not around, or sometimes I make us separate dinners.  It's not a chore, because I love cooking.  

The above mushrooms were panfried with a bit of butter, just so they wouldn't stick, and once they start cooking they release a lot of water.  Fry them until the liquid is pretty much gone.  I used a small amount of Provence type herbs, sometimes I make them plain, or with salty butter.  The red lentils I made with cumin, coriander and a bay leaf.  I'm so into bay leaf right now.  I've always liked it, but I use it as much as possible lately.