Sunday, April 14, 2013

Rainbow Fruit Salad

Sometimes in the winter or even the spring, making a fruit salad proves to be a little harder than the summer. The only thing in season is citrus and supreming citrus to make it look pretty is time consuming.  So when I decided to make fruit salad for a party today, I popped over to the farmer's market and picked up whatever was available. Then Joey donated a mango and some kiwis to my cause and the result was a very rainbow salad--perfect for a gray spring day.

Oh you wanted a picture? Unfortunately I didn't take one and near the end it didn't look so delicious anymore...

Serves 10-12
2 Cara Cara oranges
4-5 small blood oranges
4 tangerines
5 kiwis
1 mango (probably 2 would be better)
1/2 pint small strawberries
1 cherimoya

1. Cut the ends off the citrus and then use a sharp knife to cut the sides off.  Cut the oranges into chunks avoiding the very center tough part. Toss into a bowl.
2. Peel and chop the kiwis
3. Cut the mango on each side of the hard pit in the center. Slice into cubes inside the mango skin and then cut around the edge. Use a really large spoon to scoop out the chunks.
4. Wash and drain the strawberries, cut off the greens and slice in half
5. Cut the cherimoya in half. Cut into chunks without the skin and watch out for the big seeds
6. Toss all the fruit together but add the strawberries and cherimoya on top so they don't get too smooshed. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Spring Slaw

There is nothing like cutting into a head of lettuce and then realizing it is cabbage.  But these minor mistakes sometimes make for great finds!  Today as I proceeded to make salad for Jenny & Gavin coming over I realized that the "lettuce" I had was cabbage (I got it in a produce box).  I could have just made kale salad at this point but instead I thought, I bet I can make some kind of citrus-vinaigrette slaw.  I browsed the web and didn't really find anything so I decided to make it up. In this case, the gamble payed off and this might be a salad I would make on purpose!

Ingredients
1/2 any crispy red apple (okay you can use green if you really must)
1/2 small head cabbage
1/2 red bell pepper
3 T chopped curly parsley
*I made wayyy too much dressing for this "half" recipe but just save it for tomorrow!
juice of 1/2 lemon
juice of 1 tangelo (it is tangerine and pommelo but it tasted really sweet)
salt
pepper
2 T white balsamic vinegar
2 T olive oil
1 T honey

1. Whisk together all the ingredients for the dressing, tasting as you go and then set aside.
2. Julienne the apple (cut into thin strips) & finely chop the parsley
3. Julienne and then dice the bell pepper, and cut the cabbage so it is in shreds (just cut the cabbage on an angle around the core.
4. Mix everything together in a bowl and serve.  Remember not to pour in all the dressing because you definitely made too much!

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Pork Loin with Roasted Root Vegetables

Last week I bought a 2-lb pork loin roast on sale. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it but it seemed like a good purchase.  Then my crazy work schedule + Easter happened. Finally tonight I was able to make the loin.  Did you know that pork loin roast takes only about 20 minutes a pound to cook? That means you get more meat for the price and can cook it almost as quickly as pork tenderloin!  This meal took me 45 minutes from start to finish and used just 1 pan and 1 cutting board and 1 knife!

*If you don't like radishes, you should try roasting them! They taste sweeter and a little bit more like a turnip. My husband who does not eat radishes ate these radishes and only noticed that their coloring was different from the potatoes but was happy to have them mixed in.

1 2-lb pork loin roast
5 carrots, chopped into large chunks
1 bunch radishes, halved*
1 C small potatoes, halved
olive oil
salt
pepper
1 clove garlic, sliced

1. Preheat oven to 450 and meanwhile prepare the vegetables
2. Salt and Pepper the pork loin all over and place fat-side down on a rimmed baking sheet. Cut slits into the top of the pork and cut slices of garlic inside
3. Toss vegetables with a little olive oil and salt. Spread veg around the pork loin but not touching it
4. Roast for 40-45 minutes until internal temperature reaches 145 degrees
5. Slice and serve with vegetable medley