3 days later…
On Friday, I bought a pork tenderloin because I had leeks and fennel at home. On Saturday,I threw the pork in a gallon sized bag with a bit of apple cider vinegar ,sherry,salt,and cracked pepper. I intended to cook it that night for dinner. However, DH and our friend N brought home in-n-out burger at 3. And the Fremont Art Association had their Fine Art Show reception . and when I got home from that there was the party next door…So there was no dinner that night. So I thought I would cook it on Sunday night. But on our way home from the Fog Fest , the Swedish meatballs from Ikea called. No formal dinner last night. Finally tonight I cooked it.
I chopped up two giant leeks, 2 fennel bulbs ( or anise) , 3 fist sized potatoes and a handful of portabella slices. Tossed them in a roasting pan with olive oil ,salt and pepper.I let them cook for about 15 /20 minutes ( at 350) and then I tossed the possibly over-marinated pork on top. I cooked it until the internal temp was about 155. After resting for about 15 minutes I slice it thin.everything is really yummy. The pork did not get oddly textured from over marinating . Yum .
applications for the evil league of evil are now being accepted
Requirements can be found here. Here is your chance to hang with Dr. Horrible and, of course, Bad Horse.
run the numbers
whoa. not a lot of politics in my blog. But this caught my eye. Scott Westerfeld ,one of my favorite authors, ran the numbers for the economy — trying to see which party has done better,over time, if any.
I was surprised
Maybe there is a science to the economy.
I skimmed the post by the creator of Gossip girls. Not a lot I can relate to, ( I don’t watch that show) , but she did say Registrar to vote — so she’s got some good advice.
bookcamp,final
Wednesday was the last class for his session. I’m not joining again. I might later- but for now this has been a thought.
here is what I learned:
Nope, still don’t like exercise.
Lunges .I can do them forever,once I find my balance.
sit ups are ok too.
eight minutes of arm circles are no fun
I hate jogging
concept of exercise buddy — I don’t like it . If I am going to exercise,I should go for me . Adding another person in it just makes things complicated. If I can’t or don’t want to go — another person being involved just make me feel guilty. And if the buddy can’t go or doesn’t want to go… I get really annoyed. I believe they have the right to flake , but I feel let down. I don’t like the mixed feeling.
I need to go find my gym card
made of fail
I signed up for AT&T Uverse. Today was supposed to be the install day. Unfortunately, the sales person either didn’t know what she was talking about or she deliberately misled me.
The problem : I live in an old house. I have a limited number of grounded outlets. This issue was discussed with the salesperson.She felt – no problem ,everything is wireless.
ha.Wrong. I could get it installed– but it would mean exposed wires and an extra 75.00 charge. Negating the entire first month’s savings. and well, ugly.
You know, if we had figured out it wouldn’t work, no problem. I know there is electrical work to do. I have Comcast,and my original TIVO. No suffering here. But, I have to admit ,I feel like a new toy was dangled in front of me and then taken away.
Farmer’s markets
We are blessed. On Saturday we have a farmer’s market that is a bike-able distance away. On Sunday we have two farmer’s markets that are a short driving distance away. Today, we were feeling futless ( restless yet unfocused) so we we went to both. We got some teeny tiny orange tomatoes and a mysterious yet tasty melon at the first. At the second we saw some giant leeks — and immediately thought vichyssoise. So we got leeks and potatoes. We used Alton Brown’s Leek and Potato soup recipe as our inspiration. ( confession time : DH cooked –I just tossed in an idea or two ) Here is the original recipe:
Leek Potato Soup
Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2005
Show: Good Eats
Episode: Sprung a Leek
1 pound leeks, cleaned and dark green sections removed, approximately 4 to 5 medium
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Heavy pinch kosher salt, plus additional for seasoning
14 ounces, approximately 3 small, Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced small
1 quart vegetable broth
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1 tablespoon snipped chives
Chop the leeks into small pieces.
In a 6-quart saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the leeks and a heavy pinch of salt and sweat for 5 minutes. Decrease the heat to medium-low and cook until the leeks are tender, approximately 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the potatoes and the vegetable broth, increase the heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and gently simmer until the potatoes are soft, approximately 45 minutes.
Turn off the heat and puree the mixture with an immersion blender until smooth. Stir in the heavy cream, buttermilk, and white pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning if desired. Sprinkle with chives and serve immediately, or chill and serve cold.
First problem — Alton does everything by weight and we have no scale. Happily , we found a recipe in the Enchanted Broccoli Forest and it suggested 3 cups of chopped leeks to 3 fist-sized potatoes. (It also had carrots and celery in it – wrong). This led us to the second problem —
We bought GIANT LEEKS. One leek was a generous 3 cups.We had to double the recipe, because we bought four leeks.
next — the recipe called for buttermilk and heavy cream.. I got one percent milk at the store. But a good sub for buttermilk — yogurt. which I had one cup of and needed two. Earlier in the week I had , rather impulsively , bought some creme fraiche. so 1 cup yogurt, 1 cup creme fraiche for the butter milk and 2 cups low fat ilk for the cream.
final substitution: since we left the skins on our potatoes– we used black pepper.
Results: very tasty vat of soup for two people.
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