July 11th-14th: repeats

I've been really busy with work. And teaching classes. Those two things take so much energy. I feel what little I have left I should give to my family. So I'm behind. Let's get caught up. To start: back it up a week...

I've spent the past week:

(a) in Montreal:

and (b) with a houseguest (of whom I didn't take any pictures).


For the Montreal trip, I made some juice I first tasted at my friend Janice's house, and which I thought would be good hangover juice. It's a bit of lemonade with orange juice added for flavour, and it's great whether you've been running or drinking (or in the case of Greg and me trying to beat the crowds to the Metro after the concert, both!):


Combine the juices of 4 oranges and 2 lemons. Add 1/4 cup sugar or to taste. Top up with water to 1/5 L. Delish!

Once back to Ottawa, and with Shannon in town, we cooked up a bunch of favourites, and it was a yummy week indeed. Monday, we had, from July 2010's Chatelaine: Chicken with Island Rub. Last year, I thought it was good. This year, I thought it was not good enough to keep. Tuesday, I made my favourite ragout of spring vegetables, which Shannon was not quite as keen on. Wednesday, we repeated last week's salmon with dill sauce, which was a hit. Thursday, we finished off with a repeat of Zach's visit's mixed mushroom gratin. This time I doubled the recipe and we ate every last drop.


The only new recipe we tried out came from Eat, Shrink and Be Merry: grilled pork tenderloin with a tangy apple jelly and Dijon mustard sauce.


1 tbsp butter
1/3 cup finely minced shallots
2 tbsp grated gingerroot
1 tsp minced garlic
1/3 cup apple jelly
3 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp cider vinegar
1/4 tsp each salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup sour cream


1 pork tenderloin
salt and freshly ground black pepper


Prepare all ingredients before starting.


Preheat grill. Season pork with salt and pepper. Grill pork for about 16 minutes, turning occasionally.


To make sauce, melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add shallots, gingerroot and garlic. Cook and stir until shallots begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Be careful not to burn them.


Add apple jelly, Dijon mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper. Mix well. Cook and stir for 3 minutes, until jelly completely melts and sauce begins to thicken. Reduce heat if it's bubbling too much. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream.


Slice pork  and either drizzle sauce over pork, or serve on the side for dipping.


Makes 2-3 servings.

Clockwise from right: apple-mustard sauce, grilled pork tenderloin,
mixed mushroom gratin, baby swiss chard.

I have spent quite a bit of time labelling all my old posts, so now they are searchable for those times my search box fails. I have also proven my father right, as he always says I eat nothing but chicken. Alas.