Day 5: Looks Like Meat's Back on The Menu Boys (and Girls)

Let's get goin':
Today was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. A time-honored day of peace and remembrance. Not to mention a day off from school for many students and teachers. The plan was: cleaning and cooking. Instead I took Arya to the vet (low appetite) and did cooking. The vet isn't as worried as Colin and I are, but she got an antibiotic shot and guidance to go back to the humane society for blood-work if she doesn't perk up soon.

Following the regularly-scheduled menu tonight is:

• Roasted Pork Loin with Apples (How to Boil Water: life beyond takeout p. 172)
• added in an extra apple and a potato to "beef it up"

Playing with fire:
Roasts aren't difficult, they're easy and delicious one-pot meals. They're time-consuming however. First comes the vegetables.

Arya doesn't want the veggies.

Fammie isn't sure why vegetables are on the ground.

After the vegetables are skinned, cut, and prepped the meat gets seared and buried in a nest of veggies.















Finally, after the meat is done, it's time to mix up the cider vinegar, apple cider, mustard, butter, and drippings sauce.
















Sunday dinner on Monday night:

The roasted veggies and pork loin roast with apple cider sauce.

If you look carefully you can see my ankle boot and Star Wars pajamas.

Tomorrow we plan the next few days of menu.

Day 3: Thursday. Dinner's Revenge

It's great to be a meat-eater:

Tonight is chicken. Tonight is roasted apples. Tonight turned out pretty ugly. Smelled great, tasted better.

• Roasted Chicken Thighs with lemon and oregano (Bon Apetit December 2012) -Add some sliced Braeburn apples to the above for a yummy fruit

It's been a tough week for us. I sprained my ankle on Saturday. Colin and I are battling a cold (and winning). eBay's Bucks are ambiguous to redeem on the mobile eBay and PayPal apps which caused Colin to worry that he was double-charged for purchase. Pretty stressful. Let's have some comfort food. Let's love ourselves, our home, our kitchen, and our meal. The perfect answer is always chicken.

One problem: Fammie doesn't agree that it is comfort food. She wants the tuna back. The cat's don't approve.

Apples for roasting.

It's great to cook for yourself:

This recipe calls for boneless chicken thighs. Do you know how tough it is to find boneless chicken thighs? I'm not sure the cooks at Bon Apetit shop at real grocery stores. So I de-boned them myself, nearly cutting my thumbs off in the process. Meat's ugly. My fruit is a little prettier.

Lemons for caramelizing.

The chicken recipe called for thin slices of lemons to brown prettily. Turns out, Thursday night I'm not a pretty cutter. Thank goodness for apple-corers.

Roasted apples with lemon and oregano.

Apple corers even make roasted apples look good.











It's great to eat what you cook:

There's a good reason I haven't photographed the meat. It's pretty, but only in the belly.

The prize for Ugliest Dinner: Roasted Chicken and Roasted Apples

We've been watching House of Cards while eating recently. It is great to enjoy meals on their own, but House of Cards is just so good.

The aftermath.

Tomorrow is Friday. Tomorrow is pasta. I always love pasta. I hope to share it with company.