Furlough Midterm

Last night it was like I was back in school again sitting my stormwater final exam...I had two minutes trying to figure out how much runoff a 10 year storm would yield in an 20 acre urban setting with over 75% impervious surface, with disconnected wetlands and a curb and gutter system. EVERY question after this initial question hinged on whether or not my answer was correct....a stormwater pressure cooker (and I still can't answer that question, nor do I even know if it is a valid question).

Anyway, so I had a little anxiety about dinner last night. It marked the middle of my furlough, so I had Mom over for dinner again and put myself to the test cooking for her and Todd. She, by the way, walked from her house to my house (roughly 6 miles of urban pavement in the dark, and lots of winter ice...champ).

I decided to cook the other white meat and the seed of a leafy plant: pork and quinoa. And to throw that trick question in to the exam, I wanted to do so without dairy products (being a little lactose intolerant anywhere I can cut dairy is good...though I love all things dairy it is super hard to restrain myself!). Pork is not my first choice in a meat, but the recipe for adobo rubbed pork loin with pico de gallo sounded super flavorful and I wanted give that other white meat another chance. To complement the pork and pico de gallo flavors, I looked up a tasty quinoa salad. I had a fantastic quinoa dish at Cafe Gratitude this past fall and I wanted to see if I could recreate some of the taste (though not vegan style). And, to add a little extra green to the table I made a delicious guacamole that brought it all together.

Mom had seconds so either she was REALLY hungry from the walk, or it was pretty darn good. Probably a bit of both. Everything hinged on the pork as the main course, or so I thought. I think it ended up that each part of the meal was flavorful and hearty enough to be the main course! Here's a close up of the treats:

The quinoa salad and pork tenderloin. The pico is added to the pork and was unbelievably tasty.


Mom was excited to be in a warm house again and Todd, knife in hand, was just ready to eat already...stop taking pictures Cindy!

We ended the evening with a little cocoa by Todd - here's a process graphic:


All in all it was a pretty darn good meal. Todd loved the pork and my mom was smitten with the quinoa. I have to say, the quinoa was unreal - delicious lime flavor and bursting with cilantro, cherry tomatoes and black beans. I could have made a meal of the quinoa, guac and pico de gallo. The flavors were much needed during this long, cold winter. If I was true to the whole eat local and seasonality of our food - which I am trying to be better about - we would have had a meal of hard snow, fresh cut willow twigs dusted with switch grass awn from our front garden and accented with a little road salt. I needed a little light-hearted food goodness for my for midterm furlough and it was the most fun exam I've ever taken.

Adobo Rubbed Pork Tenderloin Recipe from Epicurious (modified a titch):
Pork

• 5 tbsp paprika
• 2 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp coarse salt
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 3 pinches cayenne pepper
• 2 lbs pork tenderloin, trimmed, cut into 3- to 4-oz pieces

Pico de gallo

• 15 oz black beans cooked and rinsed
  
• ~ 40 cherry tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 cup diced red onion
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions
• 3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tbsp minced jalapeño pepper
• 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp salt

To make pico de gallo, mix all ingredients.

For pork, preheat oven to 350°F. In small bowl, mix paprika, black pepper, salt, chili powder, sugar, and cayenne. Rub both sides of each tenderloin piece with spice mixture (I let it sit for a good three hours). Preheat skillet over medium-high heat and pan-sear pieces until golden brown on both sides. Transfer to pre-heated broiler pan in oven until done (6 to 8 minutes for each inch of thickness).

Serve 1/2 cup pico de gallo over tenderloin.

Black Bean and Tomato Quinoa from Epicurious (modified a titch):

• 2 teaspoons grated lime zest
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
  
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
  
• 1 cup quinoa
• 1 (14- to 15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• ~ 40 cherry tomatoes, diced
• 4 scallions, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
  

Whisk together lime zest and juice, oil, sugar and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl.

Wash quinoa in 3 changes of cold water in a bowl, draining in a sieve each time.

Bring 2 cups salted water to boil (1/2 teaspon for 2 c water). Add quinoa and bring to boil. Cover and turn heat to low. Simmer for 15 minutes or until tender and water has boiled off. Add quinoa to dressing and toss until dressing is absorbed, then stir in remaining ingredients and salt and pepper to taste.

Guacamole for two (Stephanie's recipe):

• 2 avos
  
• 1/3 red onion diced
• 10-15 cherry tomatoes diced
  
• juice of 1/2 lime (or a little more)
• dash of cumin, sea salt and ground pepper to taste
  

A few other fun photos from the evening...
Making the pico.


Salivating over the guac...hmm..not the best photo here, but Stephanie's recipe is awesome - lots o' lime and a bit of cumin makes all the difference!

Thanks for walking all this way Mom!