Free Range from a Friend

When you give yourself the luxury of a few minutes of quiet time to just think, you realize just how cool this life is. We all meander in and out of each other's lives; sometimes only once in a blue moon, sometimes daily. But, regardless of frequency, these relationships are truly what life on this planet are all about.

Neil and I live in an awesome neighborhood with neighbors that we've known for many years. Yeah, it's that kind of place. We move here, get to know each other and we never leave. We are Rosewood lifers.  One such neighbor is Sharon.  She and her sig-other James decided a few years ago to become farmers.  They still live around the corner but they operate Carolina Bay Farms over in the Hopkins area. As I remember, it started with fresh eggs.  But, just a few days ago, Neil ran into her and became aware that they are now raising heritage meats. He came home with a bag full o' pork chops!

Tonight we cooked those little babies. Neil is big on really tasting the flavor of meat, so all we did was salt & pepper them. I seared them in my grill pan for about 2 minutes/side on high heat then transferred them to a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes.  Meanwhile, I made a mushroom/white wine sauce to serve alongside.

In a word...perfect.  The pork is so flavorful without a lot of "flavoring."  No need to marinate, is what I'm saying.  The time and method of my cooking resulted in a perfectly cooked yet moist pork chop, which you all know can be quite a challenge at times. I toasted some good Italian bread and served our chops with mushroom sauce over the bread and green peas on the side.  As Wayne & Garth would say, SCHWIIING!

So, if you have not heard about Carolina Bay Farms, please check them out.  Thankfully, Columbia is hot and heavy (finally) on the farm-to-table and eat local movement. Sharon and James are doing good things just 20 minutes from town. Seek them out, support them and eat good pork chops!  

Repurposed Food

You can spend hours, yes hours, on Pinterest checking out "repurposed" ideas.  Using old doorknobs to hang your keys on, turning an old suitcase into a desk, making headboards out of old doors.  The list goes on and on.  But, you never see anyone talking about repurposing food.  And I get it.  The term generally applies to objects, most of the time found objects that can be given new life.  But, since I think about cooking and food pretty much all the time, I find myself thinking about "repurposing" food.

You see, I hate leftovers.  Always have.  The only food, in my opinion, that is worth eating as a leftover is Chinese food, pizza or my Aunt Jennie's sweet potatoes.  Everything else just sits in the fridge hoping that my husband will come along and gobble it up before it finally gets thrown out.  You're probably asking yourself "Why bother putting the leftovers in the fridge if you know you won't eat them?"  Well, it's really really hard for me to just throw away something, anything, that I know is good and useful.  Consequently, when I was single, I'd amass a pretty good collection of unwanted leftovers that would stare back at me until it was finally time for them to take up residence in the trash can.  But then I found Neil.  He loves leftovers! He's a "chronological" eater too.  He keeps track of what went in the fridge when and he finished them off accordingly.  It's a great system really.

However, over the last couple of years, I find myself trying to be more responsible when it comes to the leftovers.  I still can't bring myself to want a plate of heated up old stuff, but aha! I realized that I can turn them into something else and then everybody wins! Repurpose it into something completely new.  

This brings us to tonight's dinner.  Pork & veggie spring rolls and beef with broccoli over jasmine rice.  A few days ago, I made caramel apple pork chops.  The chops were huge, so we ended up with a lot leftover.  I just scraped off the apples and sweet sauce then finely minced the meat.  This morning I created the spring roll filling using shredded cabbage, julienned carrots, bean sprouts and sliced bamboo shoots, mixed with the minced pork.  Viola!  

Stir-frying cabbage, carrot, bamboo shoots & bean sprouts

 

Assembly: got these awesome spring rolls skins at the Chef'Store!

 

Ready to be fried

Yesterday was my husband's birthday, so we had steaks.  Again, I had more than we needed, so I took the leftover steak, sliced it thinly and will use it in a beef with broccoli recipe from my trusty Chinese cookbook.  I am so excited about dinner I can hardly stand it!  And better yet, there are no leftovers sitting in the fridge giving me the stink-eye every time I open the door!  Repurposing again.

All ready for the wok

 

I love the sight of bright green broccoli

 

Added in some bamboo shoots as well

Beef with broccoli & pork/veggie spring roll

I don't pretend to be the first or only person to do this with leftovers. I'm just happy that I've become pretty darn good at it.  I find my creativity kicking into gear any time we have leftover food and I'm likin' it.  And when you stop to think about how inexpensively you can end up feeding yourself and your family, the numbers are almost staggering.  Now that I'm a committed and addicted coupon-a-holic, this means so much more.  If you are an anti-leftover person like me, think about how you can do something with the food instead of enduring the guilt that those leftovers can inflict when they stare back at you all weepy-eyed in that harsh fridge light.  :-)

It's Hardly Even Cooking

You know how you always hear people say things like "keep it simple" or "it's the simple things" or "the simpler the better?"  The reason you hear these phrases is because they have become cliches.  Why have they become cliches? Because they are true.  As much as I love elaborate, gourmet food, the simple truth is that sometimes, the simpler the dish, the more complex the satisfaction factor.

 Our dinner tonight was a classic example of this phenomenon.  I found this on Pinterest and as I recently said to a high school friend via Facebook, it's hardly cooking at all.  It's embarrassingly easy, especially for someone like me who loves to cook, experiment and tell the world about it. I've made this dish several times because a) it's really good b) it's crazy easy and c) my husband practically breaks down in tears when I tell him it's what's for dinner. So far, I've shared it with my friend Laurin, who has some challenges getting her kids to eat.  They love this dish.  I've also shared it with my mom, who tells me that she's also made it with chicken with great results.  


Today was one of those action-packed days. Pick up the veggie box first thing in the morning, hit Bed, Bath & Beyond for coffee, shop for birthday gift, take Vivi to birthday party, meet with clients while she's there and then home for a minute (or two) of Saturday relaxation. (I have to tell you that Viv cracked me up today in the store when she declared that Bed, Bath & Beyond wasn't really "all that beyond.") Knowing that the crockpot was bubbling away eliminated one important part of the day for me to be concerned about. 

The ultimate beauty of this dish is its simplicity.  Like I said, it's hardly even really cooking, but the result is very tasty and it seems to please everyone.  As you can surmise, this is perfect for weeknights when we all need about 12 more hours in our days.  I don't actually fool with the parmesan potatoes because I think it's overkill.  A simple, plain mashed potato is all you need because of the flavorful sauce.  But, you feel free to make whatever kind of potatoes are your favorite. Tonight, I served this with a simple side of steamed broccoli drizzled with a little lemon butter.  Simple and satisfying.