Cupavci, Heading West, Movie,

As I frequently do on a Saturday, I go to Victoria St. Market to get bananas. What a joke. Bananas don't cost nearly as much as I end up paying. This week I went for my bananas and ended up buying some cream, and some of their desserts. I believe the one we had tonight is called Cupavci but the girl who sold it to me said she couldn't pronounce it and I couldn't hear what she what whispering anyway..they really should teach their staff what desserts - or anything else - are called. Why I am fussing about it, we both found it to be delicious and want to be able to ask for more. The ones in the store were covered in almonds which were obviously toasted and in some kind of syrup. The whole  thing was absolutely delicious. Matt assures me I can get more if and when they have any. Maybe I'll phone them tomorrow and ask if they have some or will have some at the weekend.

Fairly quiet weekend - Lisa phone to say they were leaving and had decided to head West. Not sure they will find anything that interesting although they might find the odd lake in the way. I'll be interested to see where they ended up. Stratford-on-Avon, Ontario, is West of here if they were headed that way.

Tonight (Sunday) I watched The African Queen which is a wonderful movie and apparently the only movie Humphrey Bogart won an Oscar for. I think he deserved more than one. He is one of my favourites. Maybe I should say 'was'.  Of course Katherine Hepburn was in this movie too.

It occurred to me that many of the recipes I have for the Instant Pot are sweetish or certainly include either sugar or honey. So I did some Googling. I had already defrosted a pork tenderloin so I hunted for recipes without sugar. I found two I liked. This is the one I actually cooked. Have you noticed that the finished result of your recipe never looks quite the same as the pictures!!

Instant Pot Pork Tenderloin

An easy pressure cooker recipe for Instant Pot Pork Tenderloin served with a creamy mustard sauce

and onions. Low carb, keto, and gluten free.

1 pork tenderloin (1 - 1.5 pounds)
1 small onion thinly sliced
1/2 cup water
1 Tbs olive oil
salt and pepper
For the sauce:
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
1 Tbs dijon mustard

1. Cut the pork tenderloin in half so it’s half as long as before. If unseasoned, season all sides with salt and pepper.

2. Turn on the pressure cooker’s saute mode for medium heat. When the display reads HOT, add olive oil to coat the bottom of the pot. Add pork and cook until golden brown on one side, about 5 minutes. Flip to cook the other side for a few minutes. Transfer the pork to a plate.

3. Add onions and cook for a few minutes, stirring frequently. Turn off the saute mode.

4. Add water, stirring and briefly scraping up any brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Return the pork to the pot, nestling it on top of the onions.

5. Secure and seal the lid. Cook at high pressure for 4 minutes, followed by a 10 minute natural release. Make sure to wait the full 10 minutes; do not open even if the pressure is completely released before 10 minutes have elapsed.

6. Uncover and insert a thermometer into the thickest part of the tenderloin -- it should read 140-145 F. Transfer the pork to a cutting board and let it rest, where it will continue cooking. Do not slice yet.

7. Turn on the saute mode. Add heavy cream and mustard to the pot, stirring together. Bring to a boil. Let the sauce boil for 8-10 minutes to thicken, stirring frequently. Turn off the saute mode and stir for a minute to let the boiling subside. Stir in parmesan cheese until melted.

8. Slice the pork into thin slices and serve onto plates. Pour the sauce on top.

Servings: 3

Source: Savory Tooth

Have a great day

 

Oktoberfest, Movie,

I saw a headline which said that Oktoberfest was over, I assumed in Munich. Ours hasn’t even started yet. It starts on Friday with the “tapping of the keg” and goes on for a full week. It is, I am told, the second biggest Oktoberfest and during the week you will see men in their lederhosen and women in their dirndles. Both very expensive items to purchase I understand. I used to have a dirndl skirt when I was a teenager in the UK. I loved it, but I didn’t realise at the time it was part of a costume. I didn’t have any more of the traditional garb than the skirt. In the middle of this we have our Thanksgiving as well. I believe finding accommodation in the area is very difficult too, maybe I should rent out a room – I don’t think. Having someone returning late at night drunk out of their gourd would not be pleasant.  I think we will just stay clear of it all as we usually do.

Over the weekend they showed The African Queen on TV, with no ads. I wasn’t going to watch it having seen it several times, however, my attention was attracted because Alex Trebek of Jeopardy fame was doing the introduction and telling us how the director made sure to film it in Africa and how he picked a small river with little traffic to use for the setting. Alex certainly peaked my interest so I watched it after all. Considering it was made in the early 50’s it really wasn’t bad as far as the effects went. The acting of Bogey and Hepburn was brilliant of course and I really enjoyed seeing it once again. Something I didn’t realise, Bogey’s part was supposed to be an Englishman but he couldn’t do the accent so they changed it to a Canadian.

I made this recently and finished it last night. I decided it would be good to share with you as, at least in this part of the world, it is getting to the time where we need warming foods to eat.

White Chilli

1 Tbs Butter
2 med onions, chopped
2 4 oz cans green chopped green chillies (mild)
4   15 oz cans any kind of white beans (Navy, Pinto, Great Northern, etc.), un-drained
6 tsp chicken bouillon granules (or
6 chicken bouillon cubes)
2 bean cans water
2 tsp ground cumin
3 tsp chopped cilantro
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper or more to taste
3 cooked chicken breasts, torn into bite sized pieces
Shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1. In a 4 1/2 quart (or larger) saucepan, cook onion in butter until soft, add bouillon, beans, water and chillies.  Simmer till heated through (and bouillon cubes are dissolved if using cubes) - about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Then stir in cayenne pepper, cilantro, cumin and chicken and simmer again to let flavours mingle and everything is heated through.  Serve with shredded Monterey Jack cheese on top.

Servings: 4

Source Source: WW Recipes
Author Notes
Serves 4 (hungry) or 6 (mildly hungry) people.  OK to freeze leftovers to serve later.

Have a great day

Routers, Movies and Eggs in a Cup.

I had no internet connection this morning. Turned out it was my router which wasn't talking to my modem. Will have to check it out later, haven't time right now. At least my modem is still happily chatting to my computer and the internet. Its a bowling day again, so not sure when I will get round to fixing it. Problem is, although I do have an anti-virus system, routers are supposed to work even better. That apart, I was going to mention that one of the TV channels here, Turner Classic Movies, has been running Oscar films for a month. The film itself doesn't have to have had an Oscar, but someone has to have won something. Last night they showed The African Queen. Humphrey Bogart got the Oscar for his part. I haven't seen this movie in years and had forgotten what it was all about. The only scene I remembered was Humpty Gocart in the water, pulling the boat through the reeds and Katherine Hepburn looking over the bow at him. What a super movie it is. I really enjoyed it. Technically there were one or two small things, but the basic story was still excellent. I was hesitant to watch it again, but I am so glad I did. This morning on GMA, Emeril Lagasse, who is one of our well know TV cooks here, did breakfast for the crew - it was a promotion for the upcoming Mother's Day breakfast which they have been doing for a number of years - and made what he called "Eggs in a Cup". To me it almost looked the same as Convent Eggs which I have been making for years. He mentioned shirred eggs which is an old egg recipe that very few make any more. But I guess these recipes both stem from those. My Convent Eggs are served for hors d'oeuvres and are always very popular although no real reason they couldn't be served for breakfast. Just never thought of it before. I have actually published this recipe before, but having seen Emeril this morning, I thought I would publish it again. If you would like to see Emeril's recipe go to GMA to find it. Convent Eggs Cordon Bleu Cook Book Butter for greasing ramekins 2 eggs 2 Tbs heavy cream salt and pepper OPTIONAL ½ oz Brie ½ oz chopped ham Shu Chan's (friend) Options sautéed leeks Parmesan Cheese 1 Butter the ramekins then put in cheese and ham if using. Slide an egg into each ramekin, season and add 1 tbs of cream. Bake for 8 minutes at 350F 2 Alternatively add leeks to bottom of ramekin and sprinkle eggs with Parmesan Servings: 2 Have a great day.