A Week Of Family And Food

Summer supper—pork tenderloin, orzo spinach salad, grilled corn, sautéed apples.

What a week! We had Little Lady and her mama and daddy in residence here at the farm for a whole week. We had not seen her in far too long. Last time we saw her in person, she barely had hair, she wasn't walking, and she had maybe four teeth. Now you can see the curly hair. And she walking AND talking. (Some words that you could understand, many words that we can understand.) And has too many teeth to count. 

We caught up on things that Mimi does best. Like reading books, snuggling....

...making music, singing songs (Wheels On The Bus is a fav)...

...and spending time on the porch.

Little Lady explored the farm as she waddled over every inch of the front and back yards.

And she got her first tractor ride with Daddy-O.  

That was a big hit! 

Mimi worked a little magic on the christening gown. 

Because of the pandemic, we are having a christening a year later than we planned. 

Thankfully the gown still fit—except around the neck. 

I added ribbon so that we can tie to fit instead of using the traditional gold pins.

It's going to be quiet here this week without those little feet pattering around the house. But we are thankful for the family time we enjoyed. Family time outside around the farm and family time around the table as we shared meals and stories. Here is the menu for one of those meals:

Because my friends have said they liked having recipes for an entire menu in one post, I'm adding another set. I cooked many meals—so many meals—while they were here, but this dinner was the favorite. All recipes we have used before but this combination is worth recording. We grilled the pork tenderloin and the corn, but both of those can be done in the oven. We've done it both ways.

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There are so many good ways to cook pork tenderloin. There are several recipes here on the blog. But hands down, this is our family's favorite. For us, it's one of those never-fail recipes.

BOURBON MARINATED PORK TENDERLOIN

2-1/2 lb. pork tenderloins (usually one package contains 2 tenderloins and is about this weight)
3/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup bourbon
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
4 garlic cloves, minced (I used 2 teaspoons of jarred minced garlic)
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
 

Pat tenderloins dry. Combine soy sauce and remaining ingredients in a gallon ziploc plastic freezer bag or shallow dish. Add tenderloins. Seal bag or cover dish and chill 4-12 hours. Turn once or twice while they marinate. Remove pork from marinade, discarding marinade.

Grill, covered with grill lid, over high heat (400 to 500 degrees) for 30 minutes or until meat thermometer inserted into thickest part of meat reads 155 degrees, turning occasionally. Remove from heat; cover with aluminum foil and let stand 10 minutes or until thermometer reads 160 degrees.
 

It's also good cooked in the oven, if you don't have a grill, or if it's raining, 
Put tenderloins in an oven that has been preheated to 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes, until thermometer reaches 155-160 degrees. Let rest before serving.

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We absolutely love this dish! If there is an issue with feta in your household, you can sub crumbled goat cheese like we did this time.

ORZO SPINACH SALAD

1/2  box (16-oz) orzo, cooked according to package directions
1/2 bag (5-oz) baby spinach, roughly chopped
1/3 cup chopped red onion (use the amount that you want)
4-oz. container crumbled feta cheese (or crumbled goat cheese)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon pepper (I used a few grinds of fresh pepper)

While orzo is cooking, mix the dressing--oil, vinegar, basil, pepper. Set aside.
Drain orzo thoroughly when done. Stir in chopped onion, spinach and feta. Whisk dressing again. Pour dressing over the pasta and mix to coat thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate until chilled.

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The corn was perfect with this supper.  Daddy-O started it on the grill about 15 minutes before he put on the tenderloin. It all was done at the same time.

GRILLED CORN

fresh ears of corn, shucked and cleaned

Lawry's seasoning salt (or your favorite seasoning)

black pepper

Place an ear of corn on a sheet of foil. Add a couple of pats of butter, sprinkle with seasoning salt and pepper. Roll it up tightly, twisting the ends so the butter doesn't leak out.

Put corn on medium grill, not directly over the heat, for 30 minutes. Close lid of grill. Turn corn in quarter-turns as it cooks. 

You can also put the wrapped corn in a preheated oven, 350º-ish, for 30 minutes. It won't have the brown color that you get from grilling but it's as delicious. Jessica says that if she also is baking another dish at 375º or 400º, she slides the corn in with it at that temp.

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I just realized I've never put the directions for sautéed apples here on the blog. It's a family favorite. It was one of those things I would make these when I needed one more things on the plate. 

All of these amounts are approximate. Just used the number of apples you have. Or the number you need to feed the crowd around your table. Make the butter and sugar match. Like I said, these are more "directions" instead of a "recipe."

SAUTEED APPLES

6 apples, peeled and sliced

1-2 tablespoons butter

1-2 tablespoons brown sugar

ground cinnamon

a little water

Melt butter in skillet. Add sliced apples and stir to coat. Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Add a little water. (The apples will release some liquid as they cook.) Cook over medium low heat, stirring occasionally, until apples are as tender as you like them. I turned them low and put the lid on this time, to cook a little slower. 

The butter and brown sugar cook down to make a nice glaze. I don't use very much of either, although you can make it as buttery and sugary as you want to. 

Book Club On The Porch (No Book Involved)

Old friends are the best friends. We had so much fun yesterday. My book club girls came to the lake for an afternoon visit and supper. We take turns doing supper for our regular gatherings and usually a couple of us share duties.  But I told them that for this one time, I'd do it all. They just needed to drive down. Luckily our lake house is only about 25 minutes away from town.

If you've been here long, you know that at this point in my life, I cook easy meals. I like home cooked food, but I am not looking for complicated recipes. This supper was so easy to make. But it would have been harder to transport to Linda's house because it involved two slow cookers and seven pints of ice cream. It was a good choice for a night they were coming to me.

I thought of all sorts of desserts I could make for us. But homemade dessert didn't happen. I bought seven pints of Jeni's ice cream. I had picked up a little box of tasting spoons at the grocery store a few weeks ago. And after supper we had an ice cream tasting. These good ladies had never heard of Jeni's ice cream. It's a special treat. And a major indulgence! It's not available everywhere, but I can find it at Publix and Whole Foods. That makes me happy because years ago it was nearly impossible to buy. Unless you lived in Columbus, OH.

My original thought for supper was to make these same fillings and use soft tortillas. My brilliant daughter Jessica pointed out that it would be less messy if we made "bowls." Of course, she was right. 

Miss Doris asked if I would put all of our supper recipes here in one post. They have all been on the blog before but she said she would like to have them together. Here is our menu:

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When the ladies got here, I knew we would be visiting on the porch for a while, so I fixed a tray of nibbles. Apple and pear slices, bought cheese crisps and I made a double batch of these nuts. The nuts are the easiest thing ever.

TOASTED MAPLE PECANS

1 cup pecan halves

2 tablespoons maple syrup

Salt

Pepper, optional

Preheat oven to 375º. Line a sheet pan (I used a quarter sheet pan) with parchment paper. 

Pour maple syrup over nuts in a small bowl and stir to coat. Spread in a single layer on a sheet pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper if using.

Toast nuts for 10 minutes then stir. Toast for another 2 minutes and taste them. Toast for another 2 minutes if needed. (Mine took the whole 14 minutes.) Let them cool before serving. Store in an airtight container.

Toasting pecans is a judgement call—they need to come out of the oven just before they are crisp because they will crisp up as they cool. 

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We have been making this recipes for years. I've used plain salsa. Salsa with corn and beans. It's your choice. But do choose a salsa you like. Different brands have different flavors.

SALSA CHICKEN (slow cooker)

3 or 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 jar salsa (I used a 24-oz jar of black bean & corn salsa)
2 teaspoons (I just sprinkled some over) homemade fajita seasoning 
          OR 1 packet taco seasoning

Put a thin layer of salsa into bottom of crockpot. Place chicken breasts in a plastic bag, add fajita (taco) seasoning and shake to coat breasts. Put chicken into crockpot and cover with remaining salsa. Cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours. Remove chicken and shred with two forks. Put shredded chicken back into crockpot and mix with salsa.

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Another easy, much used recipe. I made this on the stovetop, then put it in a smaller crockpot to keep warn until we ate. I quibbled about how much to make for six of us and ended up doubling the recipe. Needless to say, I'll be eating beans and rice the rest of the week. I think I could have used 3 cans of beans and the appropriate amounts of everything else and it would have been just right.

CUBAN BLACK BEANS

2 teaspoons olive oil
1-1/2  cup chopped red onion
1 red bell pepper, diced
1-1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 (15-oz) cans black beans
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/4 cup chopped red onion for serving
I lime, cut into wedges
cooked brown rice

Heat oil in a large nonstick skilled over medium heat. Add onion and bell pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 6-7 minutes. Add garlic, cumin and oregano, stirring to mix. Cook another 30 seconds. Stir in beans (with their liquid) and water. Simmer for 5-10 minutes to let flavors blend. Remove from heat and stir in vinegar.

To serve, spoon beans over brown rice and sprinkle with chopped onion. Squeeze a lime wedge over each serving.

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I will be forever grateful to Al Roker from The Today Show. I started following him on Instagram during the pandemic and discovered he posts what he cooks for dinner most days. And those meals very often include "pasta cooked brown rice." Just a hash tag. I finally thought I'd see if I could find out what he meant. Google was all I needed. And I have not cooked brown rice another way since then.

PASTA COOKED BROWN RICE

brown rice (amount isn't critical, but I typically use 1-1/2 cups)

water

Bring a big pot of water to a boil.

Rinse uncooked brown rice. 

Stir rice into boiling water. 

Let boil 30-35 minutes. Drain into colander. (Make sure the holes are small enough to not lose the rice.) Put the rice back into the empty hot pot. Put a lid on it, pull off the heat, and let it stand for 10 minutes to steam. 

To finish the menu, I had chopped red onion, diced tomatoes, sliced avocado, and lime wedges for toppings. And we opened a bag of blue corn chips. If you count WW points (purple plan,) that is nearly a 0 point meal if you skip the avocado. And I am certainly not talking about the Jeni's ice cream!!!

If anyone is curious, our seven ice cream flavors were 

• Lemon & Blueberries Parfait
• Boston Cream Pie
• Blackout Chocolate
• Savannah Buttercream Mint
• Gooey Butter Cake
• Brambleberry Crisp
• Sweet Cream Biscuits & Peach Jam

Which was the favorite? Hands down, it was which ever one we were had in our mouth. They are all that good.

FYI, you can order Jeni's and have it shipped to you. Mommy and J-Daddy have done this and she says it arrived frozen. But it's way cheaper to buy it at the store!

 

Our Book Club Salad Supper

Our salad supper

We all have our favorite recipes that we use again and again. Today's post is about several of those recipes that go together really well. I'm documenting this combination so that when I need a supper plan again, I'll have this list ready. (I've linked each recipe title to the previous blog post if you want to see better photos, or read more about the recipe.)

Surely I have mentioned our book club here before—a small group of friends gather most weeks to chat, to catch up on the news, to knit, to share a meal...and occasionally we talk about books. This book club has also done pool walking, hula hooped and hiked. We are a versatile group. 

We take turns providing supper. Sometimes it's an adventure—like making açaí bowls. Supper has also been as simple as frozen pizza. It doesn't really matter as long as we get to eat together. I'm so sorry I didn't make photos of last week's meal. It included the best key lime pie for dessert. All I know is that Joanne needs to make one again so that I can get a photo and share the recipe here. And we would get to eat it again! 

Last night it was my turn. As I was setting out the food, I overheard someone saying, "The hardest part about bringing the food is deciding what to make." That's usually the case with me, but this time I knew exactly what I wanted to bring. All of these recipes are favorites of mine. All are easy to make. And all are served cold, so I could pack it all in coolers and not worrying about transporting hot foods or heating things up there. Even though these are favorite recipes, I don't think I've ever served them all at once. But I did love how these dishes went together.

I prepared the bean salad the day before so that the flavors could blend. And I cooked the chicken the day before, too. I told Carol I felt like I was guilty of "recipe appropriation" because we all think of the bean salad as "her" recipe. So happy she shared it with all of us years ago.

CAROL'S MARINATED VEGGIES

1 (15.5 oz.) can light red kidney beans

1 (15.5 oz.) can black beans

1 (6.5 oz.) can mushroom stems & pieces

1 (8 oz.) can sliced water chestnuts (I cut into smaller pieces)

1 (2 oz. ) jar diced pimento

frozen white corn (amount about equal to the kidney beans)

frozen green peas (amount about equal to the kidney beans)

1 bag frozen shelled edamame beans, cooked according to package directions

1 rib celery, finely chopped, optional (I used this)

1/4 cup canola oil

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2  to 3/4 cup sugar (I used 1/2 cup)

1/2 teaspoon salt

Drain and rinse canned vegetables. Cook and cool edamame beans. In a large bowl, mix drained beans, pimento, mushrooms, and water chestnuts. 

Combine oil, vinegar, sugar and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. When cool, pour over vegetables and refrigerate. Vegetables will keep in refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Yes, you add the corn and peas frozen. No cooking. I did cut the slices of water chestnuts into smaller pieces. I'm sure if there is something that you don't like here, you can leave it out. 

The next morning (day of the supper) I mixed up the orzo salad first. The hardest thing about making this is chopping the baby spinach. I like to take the large stems off and that can be done while the water comes to a boil and the orzo cooks. Then it's just all stirred together. My usual recipe, posted here, is actually half a recipe. This time I doubled everything since I was feeding more than the two of us. That might have been overkill, but we will happily eat leftovers for the rest of the week. 

ORZO SPINACH SALAD

1/2  box (16-oz) orzo, cooked according to package directions
1/2 bag (5-oz) baby spinach, roughly chopped
1/3 cup chopped red onion (use the amount that you want)
4-oz. container crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon pepper (I used a few grinds of fresh pepper)

While orzo is cooking, mix the dressing--oil, vinegar, basil, pepper. Set aside.
Drain orzo thoroughly when done. Stir in chopped onion, spinach and feta. Whisk dressing again. Pour dressing over the pasta and mix to coat thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate until chilled.

After I put the orzo salad in the refrigerator, I chopped the chicken for the chicken salad. There are hundreds of ways to make chicken salad. And I've never had one I didn't like. I've made several versions, including a hot chicken salad. The yogurt version on the blog is delicious, too. But this time I just made the one I make most often. Because I make it regularly I can mix it up in a hurry. When I'm in a big hurry, I use a 12-oz can of chicken breast, well drained and broken up. It's surprisingly good. It makes great sandwiches. Make the celery, apple and cheese match the amount of chicken.

CHICKEN SALAD

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (that's 1 package at my store)
1/2 - 1 teaspoon Lawry's seasoning salt (I just give it a good shake)
1 large rib celery, diced fine
1 medium red apple, diced (I leave the peel on for color)
1/2—3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
sprinkle of salt
a good squeeze of fresh lemon juice
enough Duke's mayonnaise (or other good quality mayo) to make it spreadable

Cook chicken in water with seasoning salt added until tender, about 40-45 minutes. Let cool in broth, until cool enough to handle. Chop chicken medium-fine. In a large bowl, add in celery, apple and cheese. Add in enough mayonnaise to make it spreadable. I start with 3 or 4 big tablespoons full and stir and then add more, one spoonful at a time, until I get the right amount. (Because chicken breasts and celery and apples are different sizes, it's hard to be precise with a mayo measurement.) Stir until well blended.

Cheddar Beer Bread

Before lunch, all the salads were done with plenty of time to chill before I packed it in late afternoon for travel. After lunch I decided to stir up some cheese bread. If you say "but I can't bake bread" this recipe is for you. It stirs up like muffin batter. No yeast. No kneading. No rising time. And it's so so good. 

CHEDDAR BEER BREAD

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

3 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 cup shredded sharp yellow cheddar cheese, divided 

1/4 cup melted butter, divided

1 (12-oz) bottle or can of beer

Preheat oven to 375º. Spray an 8-1/2-inch loaf pan with PAM (or similar) cooking spray. 

In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, pepper, 3/4 cup shredded cheese, and 3 tablespoons of the melted butter. Add the beer and stir well. Batter will be sticky. Pour batter into loaf pan.

Top with remaining shredded cheese and drizzle with the remaining butter.

Bake bread for 45-55 minutes, or until top is golden and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

General rule is to check the bread at the shortest baking time and see if it needs more. All ovens are different.

I used my favorite set of nesting bowl to serve everything. These are melamine bowls with lids so they are perfect for packing. Because I was determined to use all five bowls, I put lettuce leaf cups for the chicken salad into one and found a box of gluten-free cheese crackers (Good Thins, Three Cheese flavor) to put in the tiny one. A well-known restaurateur told me years ago that food service is all about presentation. He was right. I really think that supper last night tasted better because of the pretty bowls. It's the first time I've used them all together. 

NOTICE:  If you subscribe to this blog by using the email widget on the sidebar (I have removed it,) that feedburner service is being retired in July 2021. It is not being replaced. There are other ways to sign up for an RSS feed. I do not know how to do that, but maybe you (or a grandchild) know how. If I can find someone to help me migrate the email list of over 1200 to a different service I'll do so. But at the moment, that is way above my skill set. 

 

In The Small World Category

I took a meal yesterday to someone who is recovering from surgery. That's not very unusual. But there's a story about the one who received the delivery that is unusual. Let me tell you the story.

About 10 years ago we sold our mother and daddy's house. It's the house they bought before I was born. Unlike my granddaughters who have lived in multiple houses in multiple states, I lived in one place from the day I was born until the day I went away to college. So you can imagine the memories that were in that house. But the time came to sell it.

A young woman (the age of my daughter) bought the house. I didn't know her. In a small town, it wouldn't be unusual to know the buyer, but I had lived away from my hometown for years. I met her when she came to view the house. I saw her again at the closing. And that was it. For a couple of years anyway.

During those two years I became seriously interesting in knitting. I wanted to take my knitting to a level beyond the knitting I had done since my teen years. And during that period of growth, I discovered Ravelry, a social media/data base for knitters.

I knew I needed to be with other knitters. To learn from those with more skills that I had. I didn't know anyone who knitted, so I posted on a Ravelry forum (on a board for knitters in my part of our state) asking if there were knitters nearby interested in meeting and knitting. I only had a couple of replies, but one of those names sounded familiar. We messaged back and forth a few times and I finally asked where she lived. She was living in the house where I grew up. And she was a knitter. A knitter with more skills than I thought I'd ever acquire. Such a surprise but a good one.

But she worked and was busy, so we never arranged a get-together. We would occasionally comment on each other's projects on Ravelry. And we connected on Facebook and I would see something there every now and then that she posted. Like when a couple of weeks ago I saw that she was having surgery. Those were our only contacts.

Now...I have more cooking skills than knitting skills (although my knitting skills are catching up) so I sent a Ravelry message to her and asked if I could bring her supper one night. I used Ravelry because I didn't have an email address or a phone numberer her. She seemed delighted at the prospects of a home cooked meal. So I delivered her supper last night. And I met the knitter who bought Daddy's house.

I wasn't worried that it would be upsetting to see the house and all the changes it had undergone. I'm okay with change. But it was in the slightly weird category. Things were the same but they were different. The hardwood floors under the carpet that I walked on had been refinished. A large sofa sat on the wall where we had a tinkly upright piano that I played all the years I took lessons. A bedroom was now an office. Hmmm...wasn't there a door on that wall?  She and her husband continue to work to update things so more changes are coming. And that's as it should be. A house is a living thing that needs to change and adapt to keep going. We've done exactly the same kind of things here where we live to make it work for us now.

Anyway, it was interesting to have a look at that old house and see its current incarnation. And it was fun to meet another knitter. For the record, I did find my knitting group a year or so later in my other town. (We live on a farm between two small towns.)

Here is the meal I took. I'm posting it here so that I can remember what worked well, so that the next time I want to take food I'll have a ready made menu. You can use the links to find the recipes.

    

Baked Rotini is always a hit. This was a dish that a friend brought to Mommy when she was on bed rest before Baby Girl was born. The friend said it was what she always took when someone needed a meal. We know why—it's delicious comfort food. Since this was going to a two-person household, I divided the recipe and save one dish for this two-person household! My supper is ready to go into the oven tonight.

This Sour Cream Cinnamon Coffee Cake can be dessert, breakfast or a snack. A knitter from Ohio shared this recipe with me. She and I also connected via Ravelry and she came here to visit a couple of times. We still keep in touch. Knitters are good folks.

I love baking this Sourdough Bread and sharing it. But if you are not a baker, there are plenty of good options to buy. Sister Shubert's brand is a favorite of ours. And you can't go wrong with one of those five cheese loafs from the grocery store freezer.

I added a green salad and a container of fresh fruit to the tray. I was determined that the entire meal not be all carbs! This was a week when I had time to make an entire meal. But it's also a good and gracious thing to take a single item. Many years ago after I'd had back surgery, I remember a person from our church whom I didn't know very well coming by the house and bringing lemon bars. Thirty years later and I still remember her and the dessert. It's as much about knowing someone cares as it is about the food. Maybe it's more about knowing someone cares.