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| When I want to procrastinate, my go to activity is taking the dogs for a walk |
A trip into Toronto on Friday to have lunch with a friend and a visit with some of the kids ended with dinner at Bev & Tims.
Saturday started with the weekly walk with the girls, followed by a long afternoon of tidying up the clutter in the barn that mysteriously grew over the summer. We were accompanied by the constant drone of the television all afternoon, the broadcast of the Wilfrid Laurier/Queens football game. Unfortunately, WLU lost! OUCH! ! Despite the loss, we had a wonderful time that evening celebrating the 100th anniversary of Wilfrid Laurier University at Ahead by a Century, a really great party filled with loads of delicious food and music.
The next day, we were invited to lunch at Wilf and Cathy Jenkins, where we enjoyed a terrific meal and some great conversation, once again being relieved of the need to cook. We had no plans to make dinner that night! However, walking home, full and happy, those feelings of cooking withdrawal started to develop .Some may understand this craving, some may not.
Regardless, with nothing planned, I was lacking inspiration, so called up Bev to see what she had in the works. She had invited
Jane and the Whitfields for dinner and graciously shared her ideas(and recipes, and pictures!!) with me. Her menu: Pork tenderloin
(tim’s creation), Brussels sprouts (steamed then sautéed briefly in oil and
garlic), broccolini (just plain old steamed with a squeeze of lemon at the end)
and roasted sweet potatoes.
Feeling less ambitious, I decided to do a pork tenderloin too, but opted for a super simple dinner of souvlaki with tzatziki and greek salad.
Thanks Bev! And Andrea, I look forward to your return and getting back on track!
Tim’s pork tenderloin
For the rub:
·
Fresh herbs (Tim used sage and
thyme)
·
Garlic
·
Olive oil
For the glaze:
·
Juice of one orange
·
½ cup maple syrup
·
Cook glaze on stovetop to reduce to
about half. Add a smidge of butter and red chilli flakes.
Rub tenderloin with fresh herbs, chopped
garlic and olive oil 30 minutes before grilling. Preheat barbecue on HIGH.
Brush the grids with vegetable oil. Place tenderloin on grids and reduce
temperature to MEDIUM-LOW and grill, turning every 5 minutes, for a total of 15
minutes cooking time. Brush the glaze over near the end of cooking. Let stand, covered with foil for 5 minutes
before slicing.
Roasted sweet potatoes with apples
and maple-sage butter
1
½ pounds sweet potatoes, peeled, halved and cut into ¾ inch wedges
2
tbs olive oil
Kosher
salt, freshly ground pepper
2
tbsp butter
1
medium large apple (granny smith or a red apple) cored, quartered and cut into
16 wedges
1
tbs chopped fresh sage
1
½ tsp lemon juice
1
½ tsp maple syrup
Heat
oven or barbecue to 475⁰F. Toss sweet potatoes, oil, salt
and pepper in a bowl. Spread them on a
rimmed baking sheet (a single layer). Roast for 10 minutes, turn and continue
roasting until tender and browned in spots (about 5 min more).
While the potatoes roast, heat the
butter in a 12 inch skillet over medium high heat until melted and beginning to
brown (1 – 2 minutes). Add the apples in
a single layer and brown on both sides (1 -2 min per side). Add the sage and
stir until wilted. Remove from the heat,
stir in the lemon juice and maple syrup. With a spatula, scrape the apples and
butter into the bowl used for tossing the potatoes.
When the potatoes are done, add them to
the apples and gently combine. Season with salt and pepper.
*Recipe from Fine Cooking Magazine.
Tzatziki
! cup plain greek or balkan yoghurt
1 clove garlic, diced
1/2 cucumber, finely chopped
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp mint, chopped
salt & pepper, to taste
Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Serve with grilled pork tenderloin and greek salad wrapped in a pita bread.
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| Pepper and Mark share a perfect Sunday evening! |
