Spicy-Orange Glazed Pork Tenderloin

This spicy-orange, glazed, pork tenderloin recipe is so easy and quick it will become one of your favorites.
Porkloin plateI served it with roasted carrots. Here’s a suggestion: make enough glaze to use on the carrots too.Porkloin glazeTo make the glaze you mix together the marmalade, lemon juice, red pepper flakes, and cumin in a small saucepan. Melt the ingredients together, but don’t over heat or boil.

Porkloin tempRoast the pork tenderloin until the internal temperature reaches 150°F.Porkloin restAs with all meat, it’s important to let the tenderloin rest before you carve it.Porkloin foilCover it with foil and let it rest for at least 5 minutes.Porkloin slicedAt the internal temperature of 150° it should be slightly pink, and medium-rare. Also, feel free to substitute any jam or jelly. Raspberry jam or even red pepper jelly would be delicious.

Spicy-Orange Glazed Pork Tenderloin
 
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This is an easy recipe for a pork tenderloin with a spicy orange glaze made with marmalade and lemon juice.
Author:
Recipe type: Easy dinner
Cuisine: American
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • Pork:
  • 1 (1 lb) pork tenderloin, trimmed
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • ⅛ tsp garlic powder
  • salt and black pepper
  • Glaze:
  • ½ cup orange marmalade
  • Juice of ½ medium lemon
  • ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • ⅛ teaspoon cumin
  • salt and black pepper
Instructions
  1. Pork: Pre-heat the oven to 400°F.
  2. Place the pork in a shallow baking dish.
  3. Season with garlic powder, salt and black pepper.
  4. Let pork sit at room temperature for 20 minutes while the oven is pre-heating.
  5. Glaze: In a small saucepan, mix together the marmalade, lemon juice, red pepper flakes, and cumin.
  6. Season with salt and black pepper.
  7. Warm the glaze ingredients, stirring constantly, until all ingredients are melted together.
  8. Do not over-heat or boil.
  9. Pork: Coat the tenderloin with olive oil
  10. Place in pre-heated oven and roast for 20 minutes.
  11. Remove the pork from the oven and spread evenly with the glaze mixture.
  12. Return the pork to the oven and roast for another 5 to 10 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 150°F.
  13. Rest, covered with foil for 5 minutes

 

Peach and Berry Crumble with Walnuts

Peach Crumble with ice cream

I bought some peaches that turned out to be not as sweet as I expected. Isn’t that disappointing? What to do with all that fruit? Here is a wonderful solution. Bake a fruit and nut crumble dessert. It’s easy and now all the fruit you purchased won’t go to waste. Serve it warm with vanilla ice cream.

Peach and Berry Crumble

You can substitute the peaches and walnuts for plums and almonds if you’d like. Any fruit and nut combination will work.

Peach and Berry Crumble 2

Here’s the printable recipe for you. Enjoy!

Peach and Berry Crumble with Walnuts
 
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Kitoula's recipe for Peach and Berry Crumble with Walnuts adapted from Ina Garten's, Barefoot Contessa.
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Serves: 8
Ingredients
  • 2 pounds peaches, cut in ½, pitted, and cut in 1-inch wedges
  • ⅔ cup granulated sugar, divided
  • 1¼ cups all-purpose flour, divided
  • 2 tablespoons orange juice
  • ½ pint frozen mixed berries
  • ⅓ cup light brown sugar, packed
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced
  • ½ cup quick-cooking oats
  • ½ cup chopped walnuts, plus extra for sprinkling
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. For the fruit filling: In a large bowl, combine the sliced peaches, ⅓ cup of the granulated sugar, ¼ cup of the flour, and the orange juice.
  3. Toss well.
  4. Add the berries and toss lightly.
  5. Pour into a 9 by 12 by 2-inch baking dish.
  6. For the crumble topping: Place the remaining 1 cup of flour, the remaining ⅓ cup of granulated sugar, the brown sugar, and the salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade.
  7. Pulse a few times to combine.
  8. Add the butter and pulse until the butter is the size of peas.
  9. Pour the mixture into a bowl.
  10. Add the oats.
  11. Work it with your hands until it's in large crumbles.
  12. Add ½ cup of chopped walnuts.
  13. Mix well.
  14. Spread the topping evenly over the fruit, making sure the fruit is covered.
  15. Sprinkle with some extra walnuts and sugar.
  16. Bake for 40 minutes, or until the fruit is tender and bubbly and the topping is golden brown.
  17. Serve warm or at room temperature.

 

Ginger root syrup for Homemade Ginger Ale

I recently had a delicious glass of homemade Ginger Ale at my friend Twyla’s house. She gave me her recipe and I also did a little online research and came up with my own. Ginger has some incredible health benefiting qualities that include digestive aid, anti-inflammatory and pain relieving properties.  It is now also being researched for its ability to help in the fight against cancer. I have listed at the end of this post informative online resources about the health benefits and healing power of ginger.
case of ginger
First you need some ginger root. I bought a case, but I intend on making ginger syrup at least once a week.  You can freeze ginger root. I’m storing it in my garage [which is freezing right now.]ginger rootI think the ginger root looks so interesting, almost like a gnarled up piece of tree.

chopped ginger

The printable recipe for ginger syrup below is easy. You don’t need to peel it, just dice it up.

ginger mash
After you have ‘whizzed’ it in your food processor, add the ginger, water and sugar to a large saucepan.

ginger mash simmer
Bring the mixture to a full boil and simmer for 15 minutes. It will look a little frothy and foamy.

ginger syrup container
Allow the mixture to cool. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve and then again through cheese cloth to remove any bits of root. Chill the syrup mixture. I used organic sugar from my local Costco and found a great container at Restaurant Depot.

ginger ale drink
To serve, I place 2 shot glasses of the syrup in a 6 oz. glass full of ice and fill it with soda water. I like it strong. I plan on drinking at least one glass a day. Cheers! Here’s to your health!

Ginger root syrup for Homemade Ginger Ale
 
How to make ginger root syrup for Homemade Ginger Ale. Ginger root has many health benefits and healing powers.
Author:
Recipe type: Drinks
Cuisine: American
Serves: 30
Ingredients
  • 2 pound fresh ginger, unpeeled and cut into small dice
  • 2½ cups sugar
  • 2 quarts or 8 cups of water
  • Cubed or crushed ice
  • Soda water
  • Lime wedges
Instructions
  1. 'Whiz' the unpeeled diced ginger in a food processor and process until minced.
  2. Stop the machine periodically and scrape down the sides.
  3. Place the puree in a large saucepan with the sugar and 2 quarts of water (that’s 8 cups).
  4. Bring to a full boil over high heat.
  5. Reduce to the heat to medium / medium low and simmer for 15 minutes.
  6. Turn off the heat.
  7. Let cool.
  8. Strain through a fine sieve and then again through cheese cloth.
  9. Chill the syrup mixture.
  10. To serve, place 2 shot glasses of the syrup in a 6 oz. glass full of ice.
  11. Fill with soda water.
  12. [Use more or less syrup according to taste.]
  13. Garnish with a lime wedge.

Informative online resources about the health benefits and healing power of ginger:
Ginger Root from Herb Wisdom
The Healing Power of Ginger from The Positive Pear
Natural Healing Uses for Ginger from Planet Save
Complementary Medicine – Ginger from The University of Maryland Medical Center and the Center for Integrative Medicine.

Happy Thanksgiving Turkey

Here’s my step by step method for roasting a holiday turkey. This one was roasted for Thanksgiving and it was delicious. I also enlisted the help of my family. Yianni, Calvin and Rebecca did a great job. First you must start with a turkey that had a happy life. Here’s the organic free range turkey from Whole Foods that Yianni ordered ahead of time.

happy life happy bird
Preheat oven to 325° F. Clean the bird inside and out. Remove all the turkey carcass offal: gizzards, heart, liver and assorted giblets. Remove the neck and place it and the rest of the offal into a saucepan. Double check for any paper and plastic that might have covered the offal and discard it. Set the saucepan aside. We will return to it later.

Rinse the inside and outside of the bird. Make sure all of the liquid is drained out and pat the outside dry with a paper towel. Place it on a rack in a roasting pan. Fill the carcass with onion, garlic and thyme. [See printable recipe below.]

Starting at the large cavity end, slide your hand between the skin and the meat to loosen the skin under the turkey breast. Be careful not to rip it. Spread a stick of unsalted butter under the skin and over the breast meat. Massage the outside of the skin to spread the butter evenly over the whole breast.

Truss the turkey by tying the legs together and then tying around the bird. This makes it easier to move the bird later for resting and carving. Calvin trussed the bird artfully and you can see his handiwork in the photo. [Ha! Handiwork! Get it?]

that's how you truss a turkey

Massage the outside of the skin again, this time with olive oil. [My hand was still buttery when I did this.] In a mortar and pestle, mix and mash the salt and thyme leaves. Rebecca did this while my hand was wrist deep in butter and oil. Sprinkle the turkey with the salt and thyme mixture.

olive oil thyme and salt rub

The turkey should roast in a 325° F preheated oven. No basting! Let the butter and oil do the work for you.

While the turkey is roasting add a few cups of turkey stock to the saucepan that had been set aside to cover all of the offal. [I bought the turkey stock in a box off the shelf at my local market.] Bring to a boil and let simmer. Strain off and reserve the liquid to make a gravy by mixing in a classic butter and flour roux. Keep the gravy warm over very low heat until you are ready to serve.

When you see the skin on the roasting turkey breast turn golden brown, cover the breast loosely with foil. This will prevent the skin from burning. Roast the turkey until a meat thermometer reads 160° F. Read the breast meat and the meat between the leg and thigh. This will take at least 2 1/2 to 3 hours depending on the size of your bird. When the turkey reads 160° F remove it from the oven and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Allow it to rest for 15 to 20 minutes before carving.

With Calvin’s artful trussing job, he was able to pick up the turkey by the string and before transferring it to the cutting board, drain off any excess liquid into the roasting pan. Those drippings we then reserved for a future gravy.

Turkey!

Yianni carved the turkey and it was a great success. We will never baste a bird again.

Happy Thanksgiving Turkey
 
How to roast a no-baste turkey.
Author:
Recipe type: Savory - Poultry
Cuisine: American
Ingredients
  • 1 (13 to 15 pound) fresh organic free range turkey
  • 1 stick of butter at room temperature
  • 1 round tbsp of Salt
  • Large bunch of fresh thyme
  • 1 large onion, unpeeled and cut in quarters
  • 1 whole head / bulb of garlic, unpeeled and cut in half crosswise
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 box of turkey broth - 4 cups
  • Equal parts butter and flour for roux
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 325° F.
  2. Clean the bird inside and out.
  3. Remove all the turkey carcass offal: gizzards, heart, liver and assorted giblets. Remove the neck and place it and the rest of the offal into a saucepan.
  4. Double check for any paper and plastic that might have covered the offal and discard it.
  5. Set the saucepan aside.
  6. Rinse the inside and outside of the bird.
  7. Make sure all of the liquid is drained out and pat the outside dry with a paper towel.
  8. Place it on a rack in a roasting pan.
  9. Fill the carcass with onion, garlic and thyme.
  10. Starting at the large cavity end, slide your hand between the skin and the meat to loosen the skin under the turkey breast. Be careful not to rip it.
  11. Spread a stick of unsalted butter under the skin and over the breast meat. Massage the outside of the skin to spread the butter evenly over the whole breast.
  12. Truss the turkey by tying the legs together and then tying around the bird.
  13. Massage the outside of the skin again, this time with olive oil.
  14. In a mortar and pestle, mix and mash the salt and thyme leaves.
  15. Sprinkle the turkey with the salt and thyme mixture.
  16. The turkey should roast in a 325° F preheated oven. No basting!
  17. While the turkey is roasting add turkey stock to the saucepan that had been set aside to cover all of the offal.
  18. Bring to a boil and let simmer.
  19. Strain off and reserve the liquid to make a gravy by mixing in a classic butter and flour roux.
  20. Keep the gravy warm over very low heat until you are ready to serve.
  21. When you see the skin on the roasting turkey breast turn golden brown, cover the breast loosely with foil.
  22. Roast the turkey until a meat thermometer reads 160° F.
  23. When the turkey reads 160° F remove it from the oven and cover tightly with aluminum foil.
  24. Allow it to rest for 15 to 20 minutes before carving.