Left over

So I had a few slices of the pork tenderloin from last night, and a handful of pasta left from the chicken marsala night. I tossed the noodles in a pan with some butter and garlic, threw in the pork (cubed), diced up a tomato, and added a splash of balsamic vinegar and some salt and pepper. A little sprinkle of parsley later and dinner was ready – seriously took me less than 15 minutes! Roo loved it and asked if I could make this for his friends when they come over for dinner…who knew leftovers could be such a hit?

March menu

Sometimes the hardest part about cooking dinner is figuring out what to make. It’s so much easier (especially after a long, annoying day at work) when everything is already laid out for you, which is why I think it’s nice when Roo asks for a specific dish…OR when one of your friends has the idea of posting a monthly menu for others to try!

Hana’s March menu:

Orzo salad (adapted from Israeli couscous salad)
Breaded pork tenderloin
Greek yogurt with blackberries and honey

GOMP: 3/22-3/25

MONDAY:
– chicken marsala

TUESDAY:
– breaded pork tenderloin
– orzo salad

WEDNESDAY:
– spaghetti
– spinach salad
– garlic bread
– leftover pork tenderloin pasta

THURSDAY:
– pork chops with mustard cream sauce
– roasted asparagus

Hm, looks like a very porky week ahead. This may need some tweaking as we go.

SK’s Chicken marsala

After what seems like a really long hiatus, I’m hoping to hop right back on the cooking train. We’ll see how that goes because things have been really stressful at work lately, which makes me want to do nothing but make a beeline for the couch and lounge as soon as I come home.

Ta-da: frittata!

Upon Leeetz’s urging, I tried the frittata recipe she sent along earlier this week. I’ve gotta say, I love how brunches provide the perfect opportunity to clean out the fridge. The original recipe called for asparagus and ham, neither of which I had, so I just substituted mushrooms and bacon with great results. I had a handful of mixed greens and 1/4 of a cucumber, which made for the perfect side salad. And voilàààà – brunch is served, and fridge is cleared!

Madeleines

Last night, in a feeble attempt to distract myself from the usual Sunday night blues, I decided to whip up a batch of madeleines since I had all the ingredients on hand.

Congee

Congee, or rice porridge [zhou/粥] is what a person eats when she is sick.  Well, according to all the Korean dramas that I watch, in which case I guess this would be jook/죽.  Ha.

Not an appetizing picture, but tastes just fine:
Veggie broth, 1/2 cup cooked rice, frozen peas and one egg mixed in.

I grew up eating congee for breakfast along with side dishes such as pickled cucumbers, fried gluten, salted duck eggs, bamboo in hot oil, nori paste, and other odd-sounding but yummy foods.

Then, I went to Taiwan, and discovered mixed congee, where the dish is flavored while it is cooking.  My favorite is 皮蛋瘦肉粥 (literal translation:  thousand-year-old egg & lean pork congee).  Good for hangovers!  Never seen a thousand-year-old egg?  Here’s a picture:

Hehe.

Same ol, same ol

Is it me or does all of my food look the same??? Same colors, same ingredients, just ever-so-slightly different variations. Anyway, I don’t know if I would consider this a total success. I wish I had a large enough cast iron pan to use, but only had a nonstick, which didn’t let me brown the chicken or vegetables to the nice colors in PW’s photos. The sauce was not quite thick enough either, though I’m not really sure why. It tasted fine though, and there is definitely enough food to last us through the week, so I guess my lofty GOMP has been truncated once again. Work has been killing me, and I’m more than a little relieved that I don’t have to worry about cooking tomorrow, and even MORE relieved that I have Friday off!

Risotto, thy day has come

Can you believe it?? I FINALLY made the risotto I was originally planning to make last Thursday, then pushed off until Sunday, then delayed again once more until today. It was another hellish day at work, and even though I didn’t really feel like spending that much time in the kitchen, the cold, rainy weather made me want something warm and comforting for dinner.

Superbowl Sunday supper

Not quite your normal Superbowl Sunday fare, but I have a very nearly-empty fridge, and I do not want to visit the wasteland that is the grocery store today. Besides I haven’t figured out my GOMP yet, so I want to wait. I had just enough for some kimchi bokkeumbap! My procedure is essentially the same as L, so no need for recipe or anything.

I had some green beans to use up, so I decided to make this recipe I randomly found one day, and have used several times since.