Tuesday 18 August 2009

That's dinner sorted

I have a five minute pause in my working day and am trying to recollect what is in the fridge. I picture myself standing in front of the fridge (strangely located in our messy hallway due to lack of space in the tiny galley kitchen) I have opened the door and felt the delicious icy blast of air dropping toward my toes, but i am finding it hard to peer through the (mental) fog to see what, on the shelves, can be made into a quick dinner tonight.
We have a polish teenage girl staying with us at present. Her schedule dictates that she eat between 6 and 7, so i am trying to conjour up a tasty meal that won't suffer a few extra minutes cooking if she or I is running late. Sometimes (and a little strangely) it seems to take her that long to open the door. We have had several attempts to show her how to use the lock and door handle, there really is nothing unusual about our door, but it does seem to prove a stumbling block to this young lady. We will try another lesson tonight in the hope that we won't, for the first time in a week or 2, be dragged out of bed in the early hours to let her in.
In the meantime, dinner approaches. If my memory serves me correctly we have pork loin steaks, pork sausages (good quality but sadly not gluten free) and salmon fillet. The last 2 mealtimes have already seen sausages and salmon fillet grace her plate so there is little choice but to head for the pork loin steak, however quickly it needs to be cooked.
But what to accompany it? I know that we have apples on the fruit dish crying out to be eaten, cream in the fridge and a touch of brandy in the cupboard but I really don't fancy a heavy creamy sauce on this summer day. There is a big pot of Amora Dijon mustard that could provide the backbone to a mouthwatering basting sauce but again, it is just a touch too rich for today.
A herby marinade, fragrant but not too strong? Growing in the pot of herbs at the bottom of the stairs outside are oregano, marjoram, pineapple mint, sage, common thyme, rosemary & fennel. As I type this I can see some glaring ommissions to my herb growing - and I can't excuse most of it. The basil - unsuprisingly - was eaten by slugs and I know from experience that replacing it in this damp summer will be akin to providing another special feast for these particular monster specimens.
But what happened to the parsley? savory? coriander? or perhaps a few rocket leaves?
I wish I had an answer, but the day that I went to the garden centre I was so distracted by quince trees and cherries and loganberries (none of which I bought, of course) that I managed to arrive home with any of the herbs i set out to buy was something of a miracle.
The menu is looking better, pork loin quickly marinaded with some slivers of juicy fat garlic cloves bought from Plenty (a lovely new addition to our grocery shopping), fresh sage, fennel seeds and olive oil - perhaps a dusting of smokey paprika to serve? Raw shredded kohlrabi (courtesy of my mum's veg box) with a mustardy dressing and steamed rice. There is still a serving or two of homemade mango frozen yoghurt in the freezer left over from the weekend, so dinner is complete.

I'm dreaming of eating...our new gluten free choc chip & raisin cookies, dipped in a steaming mug of coffee (but not till 10.30!)

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