Exercises and Dieting.

I went to my exercise class on Wednesday afternoon and our instructor told us there was an enteric bug going around here, lots of vomiting and diarrhea just to warn us. Nice gift for Christmas time. Another woman had made some Christmas cookies including some made with walnut flour. I queried that but she said quite firmly and with certainty, that people were only allergic to peanuts. I don’t think she is right. I know Tim Horton’s has withdrawn their Walnut Crunch because of nut allergies. It was my favourite too. Prior to that my favourite was Orange Twist and they withdrew that too. Guess I am not too lucky with them. Because I don’t bake cookies, and on the assumption there will be more cookies showing up at class, I have ordered a bunch of small hand creams for everyone. One woman was talking about having diabetes and she ate at least two cookies. I told her how my sugar readings had gone down a bundle since I’d lost weight (she needs to) but she said she found it difficult to lose weight, guess what, everybody does. There is another woman in our class who is absolutely huge and really, really needs to lose weight. She puffs and pants through many of the exercises and isn’t able to do them all properly. I have had weight problems all my life, but I fail to understand how people allow themselves to get so huge. She could do with a stint on The Biggest Loser although I wonder how many of them keep the weight off once they leave the school.

I wasn’t feeling too good this afternoon, after class. Then I saw Ivy at Happy Whisk wasn’t feeling to hot either today. I went to lie down for a while as, being a very sunny day, the sun was pouring in our window making where I sit like an oven. We only get the winter sun which is nice, but sometimes….. I seem to be OK now. Maybe it was that cookie I ate! I did count it on my food sheet by the way. I still do that constantly on FitDay. It is helping me keep off the weight I’ve lost although it doesn’t seem to be helping me to lose any more.

Any recipe by Jacques Pépin is a winner in my book and this one from Food & Wine is no exception. I have never seen vacuum packed chestnuts, I would have to buy cook and peel my own.

Wine-Braised Pork with Chestnuts and Sweet Potatoes

Contributed by Jacques Pépin

• ACTIVE: 30 MIN
• TOTAL TIME: 3 HRS 40 MIN
• SERVINGS: 8
• 
  

Legendary chef Jacques Pépin sears pork shoulder to make a terrific crust, then braises it slowly with stock, wine, chestnuts and sweet potatoes until it’s meltingly tender.

1. One 4-pound boneless pork shoulder
2. 2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
3. Pepper
4. 1 onion, finely chopped
5. 5 garlic cloves, crushed
6. 3 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth
7. 1/2 cup dry white wine
8. 5 parsley sprigs, plus chopped parsley for garnish
9. 3 thyme sprigs
10. 1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes (about 3 medium), peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
11. 1 pound vacuum-packed roasted peeled chestnuts (3 cups)

1. Season the pork with the 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Heat a large cast-iron casserole over moderately high heat. Add the pork, fat side down, and add 1/2 cup of water. Cook until all of the water has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Continue to cook over moderate heat until the pork is golden brown, about 8 minutes. Flip the pork and cook, turning occasionally, until browned all over, about 5 minutes longer.
2. Add the onion and garlic to the casserole and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly golden, about 5 minutes. Add the stock, wine and parsley and thyme sprigs and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook over low heat, turning once, until the pork is just tender, 2 1/2 hours. Add the sweet potatoes and chestnuts, cover and cook until the pork and sweet potatoes are very tender, 30 minutes.
3. Transfer the pork to a cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the sweet potatoes and chestnuts to a platter. Strain the jus into a bowl and degrease with a spoon; season with salt and pepper.
4. Slice the pork and arrange it on top of the vegetables. Garnish with parsley and serve with the jus.
5. Make Ahead The braised pork can be refrigerated overnight and reheated before serving.

Have a great day