Friday's Sins

I almost have a whole weekend of leftovers in the fridge at present. I shall conquer my Friday dinner experiment first.

Two of my favorite cookbooks are written by Robin Miller, who has a show on Food Network that I have not seen. Though I don't like her most recent book much (too many fish recipes) I make frequent use of Robin to the Rescue and Quick Fix Meals. My recipe for balsamic pork loin came from the first. I made it, in part, because it is a "morph it" recipe, in which one overmakes a main dish, such as pork loin, and freezes extra portions (or refrigerates,depending on how many days in the future you want to use it) to make an even quicker recipe later in the week. Wonton soup and pork sloppy joes both come from this recipe.

My side dish was stir-fried greens. It is a recipe from my vegan cookbook, Veganomicon. Should I feel bad I made a vegan dish with pork to go with it? It smelled good, and tasted good, but knowing this made me feel a little dirty as I ate my stir-fried kale.

The pork roast tasted better than the kale. The balsamic vinegar, honey, and mustard made a nice sauce, though I dropped the roasting pan, causing a minor mess. I did not lose the pork loin to the floor, but a good portion of the sauce splattered all over the kitchen, my shirt, and my hair. Even though I quickly grabbed a towel, my dog was also still able to help me clean up the mess as well. She liked the sauce.

She also liked the kale. Whenever I dropped a piece (as I was stirring vigorously, as I was chopping) she ate it off the ground lickety-split. I liked the kale as well, though the mirin, garlic, and oil were not as evenly distributed as I would have liked. The mirin really made it much tangier and less vegetative.