Some of you may already know that Ormond moved down to our Florida house (with me!) and is working here in Melbourne now. So bye-bye to the Huntsville apartment, yay, and hello to cooking together, not apart.
If this blog continues it will have to take a different form, since we're not posting to show each other what we created in our separate kitchens.
Today's post is an update on what our culinary life is like now that we're together again.
When Ormond first moved here he was looking for work; in other words, he was home all day every day. It was difficult for me to figure out how to fit him into my established Florida routine, especially because he was in "every day's a weekend" mode. The first few lunches and dinners together were weird to me. First, we were on a very tight budget (no income) and second, I had to consider another person's tastes and timing. I tried making dinners the first week or so, having looked forward to doing that for years, and I tried eating a meager little ham sandwich with him when he sat down for his ham sandwich-apple-almonds lunch every day. That didn't work out. I started gaining weight and soon my clothes didn't fit. We ended up eating what we wanted for breakfast and lunch and eating separately, at our own convenience. Dinners were still together but I tried to make lighter meals, letting Ormond fix "big stuff" on the weekends to satisfy his palate.
Fast forward to now. Ormond's working so I'm on my own for breakfast and lunch. I make the occasional supper for him but I'm trying to stick to my food plan (which I'm pretty good at by now, as long as we don't have weekends at Universal, holidays, hurrications or weddings) so he does a lot of his own cooking. It's working out great. We eat dinner together, just not always the same thing.
Last week I thawed a pork loin roast that was intended for an amazing looking recipe from Serious Eats called Tacos Arabes (more on that later). I had printed out the recipe several weeks ago for the accompaniment, Chipotle Salsa, which I made to serve with some pork or steak tacos Ormond was preparing. It turned out to be really, really good! Ormond went through the stuff quickly so I made a double recipe to keep in the fridge in a squirt bottle.
Back to the pork loin roast. It had been sitting in the fridge for awhile but I ended up not having an opportunity to make Tacos Arabes, so I went ahead and roasted the meat in the oven so it wouldn't spoil.
Last night I decided to make a modified Tacos Arabes with the cooked roast. It was really awesome if I do say so myself. I took a bite of the meat, but stuck with my fish tacos for diet purposes.
The link to the original recipe at Serious Eats is here. I'll write out my quickie version below, but first, the wonderful (and simple) Chipotle Salsa.
If this blog continues it will have to take a different form, since we're not posting to show each other what we created in our separate kitchens.
Today's post is an update on what our culinary life is like now that we're together again.
When Ormond first moved here he was looking for work; in other words, he was home all day every day. It was difficult for me to figure out how to fit him into my established Florida routine, especially because he was in "every day's a weekend" mode. The first few lunches and dinners together were weird to me. First, we were on a very tight budget (no income) and second, I had to consider another person's tastes and timing. I tried making dinners the first week or so, having looked forward to doing that for years, and I tried eating a meager little ham sandwich with him when he sat down for his ham sandwich-apple-almonds lunch every day. That didn't work out. I started gaining weight and soon my clothes didn't fit. We ended up eating what we wanted for breakfast and lunch and eating separately, at our own convenience. Dinners were still together but I tried to make lighter meals, letting Ormond fix "big stuff" on the weekends to satisfy his palate.
Fast forward to now. Ormond's working so I'm on my own for breakfast and lunch. I make the occasional supper for him but I'm trying to stick to my food plan (which I'm pretty good at by now, as long as we don't have weekends at Universal, holidays, hurrications or weddings) so he does a lot of his own cooking. It's working out great. We eat dinner together, just not always the same thing.
Last week I thawed a pork loin roast that was intended for an amazing looking recipe from Serious Eats called Tacos Arabes (more on that later). I had printed out the recipe several weeks ago for the accompaniment, Chipotle Salsa, which I made to serve with some pork or steak tacos Ormond was preparing. It turned out to be really, really good! Ormond went through the stuff quickly so I made a double recipe to keep in the fridge in a squirt bottle.
Back to the pork loin roast. It had been sitting in the fridge for awhile but I ended up not having an opportunity to make Tacos Arabes, so I went ahead and roasted the meat in the oven so it wouldn't spoil.
Last night I decided to make a modified Tacos Arabes with the cooked roast. It was really awesome if I do say so myself. I took a bite of the meat, but stuck with my fish tacos for diet purposes.
The link to the original recipe at Serious Eats is here. I'll write out my quickie version below, but first, the wonderful (and simple) Chipotle Salsa.
CHIPOTLE SALSA
Ingredients:
1 7-oz can chipotle chilies in adobo sauce
1 medium clove garlic*
2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon ground dried Mexican oregano
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
water, if needed
Kosher salt to taste
Procedure:
In a blender, combine chipotles and their sauce, garlic, vinegar, oregano, and cumin. Blend at high speed until a smooth puree forms, adding as much water as needed (if any) to reach a thick yet pourable consistency. Season with salt. Can be refrigerated up to 5 days.
*I always, always add more garlic. For this recipe four cloves of garlic would not be too much.
QUICK TACOS ARABES
Ingredients:
1 2-lb roasted (to 155 degrees) boneless pork loin
1/2 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons ground Mexican oregano
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
8 oz sliced bacon
Procedure:
Refrigerate the roast overnight if possible. When cold, trim off the fat layer and slice very thinly, 1/8 to 1/4 inch.
In large bowl, mix the sliced onion, lime juice, cumin, oregano, and salt. Add the slices of pork and use your hands to toss, coating all slices well with the mixture. Let stand on counter 30 - 60 minutes.
Pre-cook the bacon slices in a skillet set to medium, until soft and greasy. Remove and place on a plate.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Put a layer of sliced pork in the bottom of a rectangular baking dish. Layer some of the bacon on top, then repeat layers until all the pork is used up. Top with a few slices of bacon.
Place the baking dish on a foil-lined baking sheet and cook in the 300 degree oven for 1 hour.
Remove the dish and stir so that some of the bacon from the bottom can be placed on the very top (this helps make crispy bits). Cook another 15 to 20 minutes.
Transfer the meat, bacon and onion mixture in small batches to a cutting board and slice thinly through everything, making little strips. Serve in warmed flour tortillas with the Chipotle Salsa.
