Pork & Veggie Stew with Creamy Polenta

1. For Stew:
2. 2 tablespoons olive oil
3. 1 1/2 pounds boneless pork loin, cut into 1-inch chunks
4. Salt and freshly ground pepper
5. 1 large fennel bulb, finely diced
6. 1 small Walla Walla sweet onion, finely diced
7. 1 jalapeno chile, seeded and finely diced
8. 2 garlic cloves, minced
9. 2 teaspoons mild chile powder
10. 1 tablespoon ground cumin
11. Pinch of dried oregano
12. 2 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth
13. 1 cup 1/2-inch-diced carrots
14. Two 6-ounce red potatoes, cut into 1-inch dice
15. One 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
16. 1 pound tomatillos—husked, rinsed and cut into 1-inch dice
17. For Creamy Polenta:
18. 1 3/4 cups dried polenta
19. 1 1/2 quarts water
20. 1 tablespoon sea salt
21. 4 oz. cream cheese, softened
22. 1/2 cup half & half or heavy cream
23. For Garnish:
24. Manchego cheese, thinly sliced
25. 
    

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium casserole or Dutch oven, heat the oil. Season the pork with salt and pepper and cook over medium-high heat until browned on 2 sides, about 2 minutes per side. Add the fennel and onion and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 7 minutes. Add the diced chile, garlic, chile powder, cumin and oregano and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add the carrots, potatoes, tomatoes and tomatillos, cover and simmer over low heat until the pork is cooked through, at least 25 minutes. This can be left on the stove for up to 1 hour before serving.*
2. While stew is cooking, prepare polenta. Bring salted water to boil over high heat. Slowly stir in polenta. Lower heat to medium-low while stirring. Cook over medium-low for 15 minutes, stirring continuously. Add cream cheese and half & half or cream while still stirring. Adjust seasoning (salt & pepper, if desired) and bring heat down to low. Allow to cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Place about 1/2 cup polenta in bottom of bowl. Cover with stew. Garnish with Manchego. Find a cozy spot to curl up and eat~ or sit with the family at the dining room table :-) Enjoy! *This is even tastier when reheated the next day since the flavors have all been able to meld!! Just reheat and serve~ the stew can also be frozen for up to 2 months.

Reflections of a Caterpillar...and Some Stew Too

I don't know about anyone else, but the weather here in Salem has been so very autumny! As I am sitting in my somewhat cozy dining room watching the rain fall causing the oak leaves in our yard to tumble to the ground, I feel a bit like a caterpillar starting a little cocoon~ I can still see what's going on around me, but I am quite snuggly in my own little space. Okay, so enough of the caterpillar comparisons and on to what I really planned on writing...

With the season and weather change comes ones' need for warm and comforting food. A few things come to mind, but for me it's usually stew or soup~ served, of course, with some kind of tummy-warming carbohydrate like French bread, pasta, rice or, in this case, polenta. I was going to just make a beef stew, but I also have been trying to think outside the box lately. With this in mind~ and some funky veggies in the fridge~ I decided to make a stew with pork loin. I found a recipe for Pork & Tomatillo Stew on the Food & Wine website (one of my new favorite magazines). Not wanting to totally copy it, I made a few changes. We had it served with creamy polenta and some shavings of Manchego cheese (one of my new favorite hard cheeses).

The whole family sunk their spoons into the soft polenta and tender pork with veggies~ even David, who hasn't been feeling good, enjoyed it. It may not be chicken soup, but I think it definitely qualifies for a "mother's soup-recipe penicillin"!

Honey Bunches Muffins

These were supposed to be made with raisin bran and regular milk, but we didn't have any, so I improvised. The muffins got great reviews from everyone that ate them~ moist, not overly sweet and with just a bit of a crunch, they are perfect for going with morning coffee or as an afternoon snack!

1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 cups Honey Bunches of Oats cereal
1-8 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup water
2 cups unbleached flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons raw sugar (also known as turbinado sugar)

Preheat oven to 400F degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or spray lightly with non-stick cooking spray. In a medium bowl combine sweetened milk, sour cream and water and stir in cereal; let stand until softened, about 8 minutes.

Stir oil and egg into cereal mixture. Add flour, b. powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt. Mix just until blended. Divide batter among cups. Bake, until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean, 18-20 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack; serve either warm or cool. Makes 12 muffins

Thoughts from the Middle of the Week

Wednesdays are now one of my favorite days of the week which seems really strange since it usually gets a bad wrap as "hump day" or in the child's verse, "Wednesday's child is full of woe". This day is special to me for a few reasons~ I meet with a group of ladies for a terrific Bible study, it's my day off from my job as a fencing instructor, AND it's the day that Mary and I, along with my other kids sometimes, get to make and try new recipe ideas!

Today was no exception of any of the reasons~ Bible study was really great as I even brought some Honey Bunches Muffins to share. I mentioned to the gals that these were an experiment, and they were happy to be guinea pigs! Mary and I also made some delicious soup for dinner. Plus we bought some tofu and rice thread noodles that we plan on trying sometime in the next week or so when we ran by our local United Grocers to pick up a couple of things~ we always end up with a few more goodies than we plan when we stop by there.

This weekend should prove interesting as I am heading to Camp Winema on the Oregon coast to cook for about 80 people at Salem Alliance Churches' high school retreat. I've been doing it for the past 4 years, and it's one of the highlights of my year! The food is so much fun to make, and it's a blessing to be involved in such an amazing weekend!! I try to make stuff from scratch, and we always try new recipes every year. Look for photos and recipes next week!