Time For Olive Oil

It isn’t just for salad anymore.

Olive oil – really good extra virgin olive oil – can also be enjoyed on a “fettunta”, a slice of homemade unsalted bread.  It also goes very well with a beef steak, Caprese salad with fresh tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil, and gives a delicious flavor to bean minestrone, tomato soup and boiled cannellini beans served “al fiasco” (This method of cooking usually involves putting the beans in a wine flask and cooking them VERY slowly.  If you’d rather not use a wine flask, you can do it the traditional Tuscan way by using a cone-shaped terra cotta pot with a wide base and a narrow opening at the top.)

As much as I LOVE olive oil, I just wish it wasn’t so darned expensive!  Nowadays, you almost have to parcel the thing out drop by drop (Who can cook like that? )

I use olive oil now mostly for flavoring (I use cheaper canola oil for for frying and sauteeing.)

October Is National Pork Month

Pork may bill itself as the “other white meat,” but it’s actually the most widely eaten meat in the world – almost twice as much as chicken, according to the USDA. It’s ingrained in American culture – not only is ham the No. 1 lunch meat eaten at home in the U.S., but even icons like Uncle Sam and Wall Street trace their origins to the industry.

October is National Pork Month, which recognizes that centuries old industry full of delicious tradition.  A healthy alternative, pork is already a fall staple for tailgating and holidays (Packed full of protein, it’s also great for low-carb diets.)

ROAST PORK LOIN WITH APPLES AND CINNAMON

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 60 minutes

1 1/2 lbs. pork roast, any variety

2 apples, cored, peeled, and sliced into wedges

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon black pepper, ground

1 teaspoon ginger, ground

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, ground

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, ground

1/2 cup dry white table wine

1/4 cup honey

1 tablespoon lemon juice

DIRECTIONS
			1.		Rub pork loin with olive oil, pepper, HALF of the ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon.
			2.		Combine the other half of those spices with the wine, lemon juice and honey; stir in the apple wedges.
			3.		Preheat oven to 350°F.
			4.		Place pork in shallow baking pan.
			5.		Roast to an internal temperature of 160°F., about 40 minutes.
			6.		Remove from oven, cover and keep warm; let rest for 10-15 minutes. Reserve all juices.
			7.		Heat apple mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer.
			8.		Cover and simmer until apples are tender, about 5 minutes.
			9.		Add any pork juices, simmer a few minutes more.
			10.		Remove from heat. Slice pork loin; arrange on plates, pour warm sauce over slices, garnish with apples.

One Pizza, Hold the Dough?

Epicurious.com has a recipe for — get this — pizza without that high-carb, white bread crust.

It involves mixing together a combination of boiled basmati rice, beaten egg, corn, tomato, and mozzarella cheese.  As the egg cooks, it becomes what essentially amounts to a fritatta, binding together with the rice, corn, tomato, and cheese to form a pizza without the traditional bread crust.

For someone like me who is trying to watch their sugar/carb intake, this is a great idea (Although personally, I would use brown rice as opposed to basmati.  Brown rice doesn’t spike one’s blood sugar NEARLY as much as basmati does.)