Pork Enchiladas

Sorry for the lack of posting. I am officially moved out of my cottage in Eugene and back home with Mommy. Pretty awesome huh? Nearly Law School Grad moving back home. People are asking me what I'm getting my degree in. They are shocked when they find out I'm a professional/grad student. swell.

I finally received my new cycling shoes via Steapandcheap.com. Along with them I had to get clip-less pedals. After spending an entire day unpacking junk and moving it from Mommy's garage to my bedroom in Mommy's house, I thought it would be great to take a ride on my trainer with said shoes and pedals. Well, I go to remove my old pedals, pedal wrench and all, and I got the left pedal off not problem. Right pedal, Problem. I stripped the nut completely. Pissed and frustrated (sorry DB) I threw my bike in my car in hopes of making it to REI the next morning. At REI the next morning, the tech spent an hour trying different tricks to remove the stubborn pedal. No luck he finally told me that I would have to replace the crank set and even if I could get the pedal off, the crank got so torqued that it would be stripped anyways. Not what I wanted to hear. Especailly since I was not the one who origionally installed said pedal. That was courtesy of Tom from Eugene REI, who btw, lacks motivation and perhaps inhaled one too many herbal products in his day. My bike is under warranty and figuring that it is a relatively new bike and technically came with this problem I told REI tech man that I didn't want to pay for a new crankset and I didn't have time to wait a week since I have a triathlon in a week. I'm not typically a very demanding person, but I'm not going to fork out more money for something that has nothing to do with my error. Being the kind and patient gentleman that he apparently was, REI tech man swapped out my crankset with pedal with another one from the same bike they had in the store. He then brought to by knowledge that the pedal I had on there wasn't even the right pedal for my bike. (Thanks, Tom!)

After much thanks and the problem solved, I proceeded to venture to the local aquatic center to register for a pass and swim. It was wonderful (mostly). The pool here does not use chlorine, they use some sort of salt system. It's much gentler on skin, hair and swimsuit. Unlike the UO Rec Center, the pool had a completely empty lane and I had to share with one other person once things heated up, but the lanes are nice and wide so I didn't end up smacking my arm, finger, toes into the lane line. On top of the pool, the aquatic center also has a nice rec room and a bunch of drop in fitness classes. I probably won't take too much adwantage of this now but once winter rolls around and triathlon season rolls out, I will be very glad to have these amenities available to me and a very reasonable price.

Once I showered from the pool I thought it would be a great idea to try out my new pedals since I hadn't rode my bike outside for about a week. I did a few spins on my trainer to figure out what I needed to do to release by feet from the pedals. Off I went. First stop sign, I kind of forgot about the whole pedal thing and slowly proceeded to tip completely over landing on my elbow and hip. RIGHT in front of 2 cars with drivers half concerned half chuckling. I've never fell off a bike in my life except one time in the back yard when I was 6. Yes, I clearly remember this as I have always been a child of caution. With my ego bruised... better yet... destroyed, I got right back up and pedaled the hell out of that intersection. I origionally planned on doing 20 miles but I have yet to bike around Hillsboro much and since a lot of the area around I live is rural/agriculture, the roads are narrow and do not have shoulders. They also frequent large farm vehicles. Not wanting to rick anymore stop sign acrobatics or becoming a farm truck pancake, I did a 16 mile loop and called it good. Can I just pause for a moment, and have a minor FREAK OUT about how unprepared I am for next Sunday?!

I feel that I have had a productive week and I hope that if the weather cooperates, I might take the bike on another route, more suburia-esk with bike lanes. However, this might mean more stops and more tippage.

On to the recipe. While dropping off some furniture at DB's home, I decided to make Pork Enchiladas. From scratch people.... no canned sauce.

Pork Enchiladas *adapted from the Joy of Cooking*

Ingredients
2 large onions, chopped
4 medium jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
2 tbls finely chopped garlic
1/4 cup red pepper flakes
2 tsps ground cumin
Two 28-oz cans diced tomatoes, drained
Roughly 2 lbs of port terderloin
12 corn tortillas
1 cup shredded cheese ( I mixed cheddar and Monterrey jack)


In a preheated oven, bake pork for roughly 25 to 30 minutes. Set aside to cool.

In a large skillet cook onions and jalapenos until tender (~ 7 min). Add in garlic, pepper flakes, and cumin.
Continue stiring for another minute and add in tomatoes. Once the tomatoes are combined and heated through, remove skillet from heat and cool. Meanwhile, shred up pork in a large bowl. Puree cooled sauce in a food processor. Combine about a 1/2 cup of the sauce with the pork. Place about another 1/2 cup of the sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish. Fill each tortilla with the pork mixture, roll and stick seam side down in dish. Once done, cover with remaining sauce and sprinkle with cheese. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 10 -15 minutes until the cheese is bubbly.

Sorry folks, pictures are on DB's camera. You will have to wait. I suggest not using 1/4 of red pepper flakes because your mouth will feel like they are melting off. DB didn't think it was that spicy but I sure did. Maybe a tablespoon will suffice instead. I guess that is what happens then the Chinese girl from Oregon attempts Tex-Mex.

The dogs seem to be settling in just fine

(yup, that a dog in the upper left corner, not a pillow)

One Down, Many more to Go

YAY! I finished my first triathlon today! The weather was horrible (though, could have been worse... read: it could have been snowing), but it was super fun! I was faster in my swim than I thought I would be and same for the run. My bike however... was slow. Nothing like a huge ego killer than getting passed by every 55 year old woman in sight.... the ones you left far behind in the swim...lol. However, my good ol' Walmart bike held up and I am still pleased with my time. My feet were numb for about a mile and a half through the run, but one I could feel my legs again, I made up for some time. The results of the entire race can be found here then click "view all". Mybike photo can be seen here and my finish photo can be found here

After our race, I prepared a yummy leg of lamb Pre-Easter dinner for DB and his parents. I read a few recipes prior to get a good idea of what to do but winged the rest of it. REsults: good. Sorry, no pictures, we were too hungry to wait (or remember to take pictures.) The amounts of ingredients are an estimate, as I don't typically measure things.


Roast Leg of Lamb with Basil Fig Sauce

Ingredients

One Leg of Lamb (we bought a boneless one from Costco)

Marinade
2 tablespoons Fresh Rosemary
3 tablespoons minced garlic
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil
1/4 cup yogurt

Basil Fig Sauce
1 lemon and its zest
a handful of fresh basil leaves
olive oil
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup dried figs

The night before, rub the lamb with rosemary, garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil, and yogurt. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Once the lamb has been marinated, remove from the fridge. Squeeze about 3/4 of the juice from the lemon all over the lamb. Place on an ovenproof pan and roast at 400 degrees for 20 minutes per pound. (FYI, lamb is fatty so this needs to be a deeper dish because the meat will render out a lot of fat and juice)

In a food processor combine all the ingredients for the sauce, using the remaining lemon juice and zest. Puree until smooth (a few fig seeds will remain).

Once Lamb is finished, cover with foil and let rest for at least 20 minutes.

Serve with basil fig sauce and watch the dogs drool.

Corned Beef and Cabbage

DB and I celebrated St. Patricks Day with this delicious easy meal. It uses a slow cooker and thank G*D since I had a slight flea problem to deal with that day.... (more on this later)


Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage

Ingredients

1 corned beef package (I bought mine at Safeway. It was labeled as GF so YAY!)
1 head of cabbage, quartered
3 carrots, chopped
2 large Yukon gold potatoes, diced into large pieces
Fresh parsley to garnish

Carrots and potatoes in the bottom of a slow cooker. Rinse corned beef of excess brine and pat dry. Trim away the fat layer. Place on top of the vegetables and empty the contents of the included spice package on top of the meat. Fill the slow cooker with enough water to cover the meat and cook on high for 6 hours. About 20 minutes before you're ready to serve, Stick in cabbage and continue cooking. REmove from slowcooker and sprinkle with chopped parsley.


That's it.

This meal is hearty, quick (in the sense that you "set it and forget it"), cheap (the beef is less that $2/lb) and delicious and I saved the broth for future use. Num Num

Rainbow Chard with Sausage and Portabella Mushrooms

Ingredients:

2 links of sausage, cooked and sliced (I used DB family's)
1 bunch of rainbow chard, ribs removed and torn into pieces
1 cup portabella mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon seasoning (I use Kirkland Signature Organic Salt-Free Seasoning)

Saute mushrooms on medium high for about 10 minutes. Add sliced sausage and continue sauteing for another 5 minutes. Add garlic, chopped chard ribs, and seasoning. Once the ribs begin to soften, add in chard leaves and cover with a lid. after a minute or two, mix leaves with the other ingredients and replace the lid. Turn off the heat, but leave the covered pan on the burner for 10 minutes.

Sausage and mushrooms cooking away

A buttery slice of a portabella.

Ethics, smecthics

Hello World,

I'm back. Over the past few days, I've been studying away for the MPRE. I took it this morning and all there is to do is to wait 5 weeks for the results. Let's hope for that score of 85 so I can actually practice in Oregon.

The weather has been fabulous the past couple of days. Yesterday, I was bogged down with doing practice exams when my mommy called me just to see how I was doing. She asked if I went on a run with The Beagle yet and I had not. Well, she guilted me into it. The Beagle and I set out and because I was getting tired of my usual routes, I decided to combine two of them. It was a good route, but unfortunately, my knees really hurts now. :( There should be a link to the route at the end of this post... I hope.

Okay so on to why anyone reads this thing.

I have had a few mishaps in the kitchen this week. SF Brownies made with cocoa powder: mishap. But never fear, I made something delicious and healthy.

Rainbow Chard with Caramelized Onions

Ingredients

1/2 of a large white onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, diced
1 bunch of rainbow chard

Heat a splash of olive oil in a saute pan and turn on medium high. Dump in onions and stir for about a minute. Turn the heat down to medium and continue cooking with the occasional stir. While the onions are caramelizing, wash and dry chard. Remove the stems but do not toss them. Tear the chard leaves into medium pieces (about 4 pieces per leaf). Dice the stems separately. After about 8-10 minutes, the onions will have caramelized and hopefully, not burned. If the onions are starting to look crispy, turn the heat down. Once the onions are looking good, toss in the chard stems and cook for another 2 minutes. Add in garlic and chard leaves and cook until they have shrunk in size and are tender. Season with a dash of salt and pepper, but that's all they need.

I also squirted a bit of lemon juice on the finished product because I had a CSA lemon going bad.








Aw.... and now for you meateaters:

Mushroom and Onion Burgers

Ingredients

2lbs ground hamburger
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
1 can mushrooms
1 egg
3 tablespoons soy sauce (I used GF)


Chop up mushrooms, onion, and garlic in a food processor until minced. In a bowl combine hamburger, minced mushrooms, onion, garlic, and egg. Once thoroughly combined and your hands are thoroughly frozen, mix in soy sauce. Divide the mix into 8 balls and than flatten each ball into a patty. Cook or grill as you would any other burger.







Sorry, I wrapped and froze all the patties before I could get any pictures. But believe me, these are delicious and probably healthier than your average homemade burger.