Pork with apples without apples and with peaches

I made an incredible lunch today from last night's leftovers and that made me realize that I didn't blog yesterday's meal. So, to try and remember...

- 5 thin boneless pork chops
- apple juice
- brown sugar
- canola oil
- country herb blend
- one can sliced peaches
- 1/4 cup Archer Farm lemon dill mustard

Cook the pork chops in one tablespoon canola oil, five minutes each side in the Le Creuset skillet.

Add about 1 teaspoon country herb blend, one cup apple juice, 1/2 cup brown sugar, the peaches (drained) and the mustard. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat and let simmer about 15 minutes. Add frozen greenbeans, serve when the greenbeans are cooked.

Now, with the leftovers, I chopped the pork and the peaches very small. I put them and the leftover juice in the skillet. Cook until. Add about 1-1 1/2 cups cooked spaghetti. Swirl with about 2 teaspoons sesame oil. Cook until noodles are hot, stirring constantly. Sprinkle liberally with sesame seeds.

Improved pumpkin waffles

We made a variation of PPK's pumpkin waffles today. Mine today aren't vegan because I used 2 tablespoons vanilla yogurt instead of soy yogurt.

I also substituted 1 cup apple juice for one of the two cups of soy milk.

I also added 2 cups oats.

My little one is eating them as fast as they emerge from the waffle iron.

Pork Loin with apples?

This is a variation of my pork with apples recipe:
http://angelfoodcooking.blogspot.com/2008/12/pork-with-apples.html

I have a two pound pork loin that I'm going to make using the glaze from pork with apples as a sauce and slow cooking it in the oven. And basting often.

Which involves sticking my head in the oven on a 100 degree day.

But I am determined to cook.

So, my first step is to prepare everything from the sauce in the Le Creuset skillet. While that's simmering, I'll start baking the loin a bit... and then combine it all...

More as the experiment gets underway...

Okay... So... This turned out to be one of my simplest, best meat-based meals ever. Served with a harvest salad from Dole.

Ingredients:
- 2 lb pork loin, still frozen
- 2 cups good quality apple juice
- about 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped (I could have easily used three times as much)
- 1 red delicious apple chopped.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
On the stove top, in the skillet, pour 1 cup apple juice, the brown sugar and the rosemary. Simmer and stir gently until the sugar melts. Add the apple. Then add the loin. Leave the heat of the skillet on medium. Cook the loin for five minutes on each side.

Lay a sheet of aluminum foil over the top of the skillet. I did not cover completely. Put the skillet in the oven and baste ever half hour, turning every hour.

After two hours, add another cup of apple juice. Continue basting.

I served after three hours. Around the 2.5 hour mark, the color changed from porky gray to a rich orange brown. The apples more or less melted.

Cornbread and sausages

Tonight I'm planning cornbread and spinach-asiago chicken sausages. I had planned to make Eileen Bresslin's vegan cornbread recipe but I ran out of soy milk.

Eileen's recipe:

Preheat oven to 350. These muffins, or cornbread, need to go in a hot oven as soon as they're mixed.

• 1.5 cups yellow cornmeal
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1.5 cups soy milk
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix dry ingredients. In separate bowl, mix wet ingredients. Pour liquid into dry, mix until just combined. Bake 30-40 minutes. Note: You may not need quite that much oil.

I added parsley and flax seed to mine tonight.

Now for the sausage... I decided to try and make a sauce. In the bottom of the pan I started with:

• About 1/4 cup apple juice
• About 1/4 cup chicken broth
• About one teaspoon cornstarch

Whisk as bring to a boil to reduce and thicken. It smelled sweet, so I added:

• About 1/2 teaspoon four color peppercorns
• About 3/4 teaspoon garlic pepper
• About 3/4 teaspoon garlic
• About 1/8 teaspoon curry

After it seriously thickened, I added:

• three spinach asiago chicken sausages, sliced
• about 1 cup French cut green beans, frozen and thawed in the microwave

Then I served with the cornbread, using some of the excess sauce as gravy.

(Note: These are the same sausages I got at the warehouse club a few weeks ago and had in the freezer. We've eaten them in pasta sauce, and as sausage sandwiches, and now this funky recipe.)

Hot Lunch Again

Okay, choke one up for the doofus category.

I thought I made the spring vegetables with the citrus sauce. I didn't.

I made the steam-in-bag stir-fry vegetables from Giant.

So, I opted to try and make my own citrus sauce. Totally off the cuff.

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon roasted sesame seeds
• 1 teaspoon flax seeds
• 1-2 teaspoons garlic powder
  
• 1 tablespoon slivered almonds

Toast seeds and nuts in skillet. In a small bowl, mix:

• 1/2 cup apple juice
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch

Stir until corn starch is dissolved. Add to skillet, raise heat, stir, and bring to boil. When sauce is reduced and thickened, add vegetables and reduce heat. Stir well. After about a minute, add rice (about 2 cups cooked brown rice) on top but don't stir. Stir after another minute. Then, serve with chow mein noodles.

It turned out well, some bites were very zesty and citrusy, others salty, others a nice blend.