What Does "Best" Mean?

NOTE TO READERS:  This post was written earlier this week right at supper time. I am posting it this morning before I leave for a travel adventure. The adventure is immediately followed by some family time. So I'm taking a little time off from the blog. Look for me back here in a few weeks. 

I may have mentioned once or twice that there are times I get tired of cooking. But NEVER EVER have we gotten tired of eating. And I think I may have agreed in our wedding vows to keep my husband fed. (Truthfully, he would NEVER complain if I announced I didn't feel like cooking. I'm just teasing.) So I am always on the lookout for quick, easy recipes. We both love pork tenderloin. And we love it marinated in bourbon soy mixture we've used for years. But there are times when I don't start the prep hours ahead of time. Like tonight.

Last week I saw a recipe online called BEST Baked Pork Tenderloin. Who am I to argue with the recipe developer? So it's in the oven right now. I had all the ingredients on hand except for oranges. There were lemons in the fridge but for whatever reason, orange juice sounded really good on this very hot evening. I needed a trip to the grocery store for a few items, so I tossed two oranges into my cart.

The fresh corn in the refrigerator needed to be cooked, too. Before I have to stop calling it "fresh" corn. Jessica fixed corn-on-the-cob while we were all at the lake over Labor Day weekend. She buttered each ear, salted and peppered it and wrapped each one in foil. So I did that, too. I put the pork in the oven for 30 minutes. The corn went in beside it at the 25 minute mark. She did hers at 350-375 for about 30 minutes. Fingers crossed that my adjustment of time and temp works out. It's nice to think it can all cook at the same tine. Another time I might roast cut up potatoes instead of corn. The goal is "cook it all at one time."

So at this very minute I am sitting down. The pork and the corn is cooking without needing any more attention from me. I have asparagus that I'll slide into the hot oven—I'll bump the temp up to 450º—when the pork comes out. The pork needs to rest before we slice it anyway.

And the very best part? The extra tenderloin will go into the freezer for one of those nights when I'm less inclined to cook that I was tonight. We have frozen cooked pork tenderloins many times. It's once of those foods that is delicious after being frozen and thawed.

So. Was this really the BEST? This recipe came from Creme de la Crumb, a website with wonderful recipes. I made it exactly like she did. The verdict—it is very, very good. But our first love is still the Bourbon Marinated Pork Tenderloin that we've made for years. Maybe I'll call this one "Next Best Baked Pork Tenderloin." I will agree that it is the best tenderloin I've made with a rub. 

The thing with calling any recipe "best," is that they are so personal. Even in our own household we don't always agree on what's "best." Rest assured this recipe is really good. Good enough to make again. I'm happy to have this recipe as another option for pork tenderloin. And it does get bonus points for being so quick to put together. Faster than our usual marinade. Check out her website for more good recipes that come with beautiful photographs. I have marked several other of her recipes to try. 

BEST BAKED PORK TENDERLOIN—that is not marinated in our fav mix 😂

2 to 2-1/2 lb pork tenderloin (my pkg was about this weight, 2 tenderloins to a pack)
1 tablespoon oil
2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon, lime, or orange juice (or a mix of juices)
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika (optional but highly recommended)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and lightly grease a large baking dish. (I lined the pan with foil instead.) Pierce tenderloins all over with a fork. Rub oil onto all sides of the meat.

Stir together Italian seasoning, garlic powder, cumin, salt, chili powder, smoked paprika (if using) and black pepper. Sprinkle mixture over tenderloin(s), patting it onto the surface of the meat on all sides. Place in prepared baking dish and drizzle citrus juice over the top.

Bake for 25-35 minutes until outside is browned and crispy and centers are cooked through to desired doneness. (National Pork Board recommends an internal temp of 145º [medium rare] to 160º [medium] with a 3 minute rest before slicing.)

Spoon juices from the dish over the meat. Allow to rest for 5-10 minutes. Slice into 1-inch pieces. Spoon any remaining juices from the pan over the slices.

Time In A Bottle

If you are anywhere near my age, you will remember Jim Croce's music. This past weekend his hauntingly beautiful song, Time In A Bottle,  streamed continuously in my mind as background music for my days together with family. A couple of days with all my girls. Both daughters. All the granddaughters. (The husbands were all busy elsewhere.) We played. We laughed. We shared meals. We made plans. These days are rare.

While we chatted upstairs, the little girls created their magical kingdom downstairs in the playroom. We could hear bits and pieces of stage direction from Little Sister. (She reminds me so much of her mother. Mommy loved putting on shows when she was little.) Baby Girl raced upstairs. In minutes she headed back down with her mermaid costume and a dress for "when the mermaid is human." 

There were books to read and crafts to work on. Piano to practice. Pictures to draw. Stories to tell. I know these days are precious. And they are limited. Big Sister breezed through, slowing down only long enough to say hello before she was out the door again. College students have more pressing matters to deal with. That's the natural course of events. 

Little Sister has just turned nine. I can tell she is growing up. Thankfully she and her little sister still rush to open the door, shrieking with excitement when I arrive. And I still get massive hugs when it is time for us to part, but not always the tears that marked the end of a visit. That is a good thing. (Grandmother confession: it did make me feel special to be loved and missed so much.) I've always read bedtime stories to them. This trip, when we crawled under the covers, they read to me. I am happy we are making this journey through time together. 

I want to burn these moments in my brain. I love hearing the little girl voices soon after I wake up. "Good morning, Mimi." I love hearing them sing Jolene at the top of their lungs while they worked a puzzle. I love watching them turn cartwheels in the den, showing me their new skills. I love it all.

And I am thrilled to think that as these little ones grow up, I'll get to do it again when the new baby girl arrives in the winter. I am blessed beyond measure.

Simple = Perfect

There are several projects on the needles right now, stashed in assorted project bags around my house. Nothing terribly difficult—a sock that is ready for a heel, a beautiful cowl that needs 96 Kitchener stitches to finish it, a swatch for a T-shirt that is telling me I need to try different needles. Nothing hard but all require thought and attention and focus.

And while I nearly always want to knit (I don't do well when my hands are still), I don't always want to think very much while I'm knitting. That's where these sweet hats come in. I keep one going at all times. As soon as I finish one, I cast on a new one and stash it until I need a mindless project. Once it's on the needles I can just knit and knit and knit. It's just right for TV watching, for chatting at my knitting group, and for travel knitting.

That's when this little rolled brim baby hat fits the bill. I've made other patterns, but this is still my favorite. And it's the easiest. 

Just a basic hat... 

With DK yarn and size 5 or 6 needles (16-inch circular and DPNs),
cast on 72. Join and place marker. Knit to about 5 inches. To decrease, K2tog, K6; then K2tog, K5; K2tog, K4, etc. When 5 stitches remain, work 6 rows I-cord.Then K2tog (x2). Run yarn tail thru 3 remaining stitches. Weave in ends.

There is no end of new babies to wear these hats. I've made them for family and grandbabies of my friends and babies at church. But I don't always know the babies who get these hats. They have gone all over the country to friends and neighbors and co-workers of my daughters and sons-in-law. I stopped counting baby hats when I passed 50. 

The newest baby to get one of these hats.

I hear newer knitters say, "I'm not very good yet. I only know how to knit a dishcloth and a hat." Knitting something "hard" does not make the knitted item (or the knitter) any more worthy. Sometimes the simple is the most perfect item. There isn't anything much more special than getting a photo of a new baby wearing one of my hand knits. 

As I was finishing the white hat this weekend, a box arrived in the mail. A gift for Grandparents Day! A storybook about knitting hats. My little girls know me well.  ❤️  One of my other most favorite things in the world is reading to my little girls. I can't wait to read this one to them.

Last Of The Summer Fun

Feeling the wind.

.Keeping watch.

Perfect weather.

"Aunt Jessica, we saved you a seat!"

Red boat, blue boat, three boat, four.
(Yes, I know they are kayaks.)

There's always knitting.

The cottage next door.

It's juice, folks.

Bumper boats.

All the words.

Appetizers al fresco.

Morning quiet.

Telling Mimi all the 5-year-old secrets.

Favorite lakeside spot, just a boat ride away.

Daddy-O's water taxi.


Glorious blue Labor Day sky.

Evidence of our fun.

And then it was over.