Posts Tagged ‘Cup Soy Sauce’
27-Days of Change
WEEK 1:
So far the first week of our 27-day challenge has been an easy one thanks to a well stocked pantry and freezer. The trick has been to use what we already have in new and interesting ways. New marinades, different seasoning combinations or interesting cooking methods can bring new life to routine meals.
For breakfast Brianne and I have poached eggs on toast. The eggs are collected daily from our own hens and the bread is baked from ingredients I have on hand. Brianne eats an extra piece of toast with blueberry jam, canned last summer from berries picked a few miles up the road. It is the perfect start to our morning (and our challenge).
I contacted my friend Angela who buys raw milk from a private dairy. It’s not in the county, but I think it will be within a hundred miles; still waiting on a response.
Lunch has been egg salad sandwiches on baked bread with sliced peaches canned this past fall from our own peach tree or chicken salad made from broilers we raised by hand, processed ourselves and frozen to sustain us throughout the year. While running errands to the feed store we snacked on Grandpa’s homemade venison jerky, made last fall from his wild harvest, and lemonade made from my neighbors lemon tree.
One of our dinners this past week was grilled lamb chops with an Asian marinade, sticky rice and cucumber salad drizzled with rice vinegar. The cucumbers were hydroponically grown and came from the farm market. The lamb was home raised and harvested last fall, and the rice and other marinade ingredients came from the pantry. We washed it all down with a refreshing glass of mint tea, fresh picked from the garden right before brewing.
All-in-all this week has been a great start to our 27-day challenge.
Asian Marinated Lamb Chops
1 pound shoulder chops (any chop will work)
1 cup soy sauce
1 Tablespoon fresh minced garlic
¼ cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
½ Teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 Scallion, sliced thin
½ Can crushed pineapple
- Combine all ingredients except lamb chops to make marinade.
- Place chops in baking dish and cover with marinade. Cover and let sit for 3 or more hours.
- Grill until about medium doneness, but still pink in the middle.
- On stove, cook down marinade for topping on rice.
Apple Jack Pork Tenderloin
Fall is a time for wonderfully hearty meals like stews and goulashes and chunky soups. But, when one pot meals get a little tiresome we turn to a few of our favorite meat recipes like this Apple Jack pork tenderloin. It’s super easy and the gravy gives it a rich and elegant touch.
Popular in colonial times, Apple Jack is a strong apple liqueur produced by concentrating hard cider. As the marinade is cooked it is transformed into an indulgent sauce; the apple essence becoming sweeter and playing off the spicy Dijon mustard and salty soy sauce. Our favorite recipe is below and when served with mashed potatoes, a seasonal vegetable like butternut squash or green beans and a chunky applesauce it makes the perfect cool weather meal.
2 1-pound pork tenderloins
¼ cup firmly packed brown sugar
¼ cup minced green onions
¼ cup Apple Jack
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup Dijon mustard
¼ Tsp. fresh ground pepper
½ Tsp. cornstarch
Trim pork tenderloins leaving a thin layer of fat. Combine all ingredients, except the cornstarch, in a reusable container; add pork and chill for 8 hours or overnight.
When ready to cook, remove pork, saving the marinade. Preheat oven or grill to 350. Grill or bake about 8 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer registers 155. Remove from grill or oven and let stand for 10 minutes.
While the pork is resting, combine the marinade and cornstarch in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Slice pork diagonally and arrange on a platter, drizzle with the warm sauce.
What better way to enjoy the season.
Not Your Basic BBQ
It’s true that hamburgers and hotdogs have long reigned as BBQ favorites, but times are a changing folks. These days, backyard grilling has reached a new level of sophistication, both in flavors and in the array of ingredients that are available.
Here in California, where weather permits us to grill well after our eastern friends have turned on the heat; flavors, textures and ole time favorites combine to turn bar-be-queuing on its head.
Even with our busy schedules, livestock shows and preparations for the new college student, we have spent more time this summer cooking on the grill than any other summer I can remember. We’ve been doing a lot of experimenting too. These nighttime grillings are not your standard steak and chicken faire. There’s the spicy Mandarin marinade with its minced fresh ginger and green onions that we use on lamb steaks and chops, the savory Bangkok spices rubbed into riblets and our, traditionally cold weather favorite, lemon garlic chicken has turned out to be as wonderful on the grill as it is in the oven.
We also found a new Cowboy BBQ sauce that has been great on beef. All these cook along side seasonal vegetables, corn and potatoes and are served with a variety of salads, from Asian Noodle Salad to 5-Color Slaw to our stand-by mixed green, pecan and blue cheese favorite.
It’s a relaxing way to spend an evening—standing over the grill while Brianne goes about her evening chores of feeding animals and working her show lambs. When we shift gears, and Brianne watches over the grill, I water the garden, pick flowers or just revel in the calm simplicity of our farm life. What a way to end the day…family, food and peace. Read the rest of the story »
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