Don't Forget the Pork

Ok, so I lied. Corn has been plentiful lately, but then again, so has pork. Good thing I've gotten addicted to hiking 4 miles every day amongst the redwood trees in the lovely trails of the Oakland Hills - cause I've been living, quite literally, high on the hog.

First, there was the fabulous rock & roll wedding I went to on Saturday, where fiddle, musical saw and singer/songwriter and visual artists extraodinaire Cynthia Wigginton got herself all hitched up with drummer and visual artist and children's book author Adam McCauley. It was like a 1990's San Francisco rock scene reunion. I felt rather honored to be in such fine company.

And the food was perfectly provided by a local company called Rising Sun Catering - locally grown, lovingly prepared and simply seasoned, the star flavor was simply that of the food. There were plump, juicy grilled shrimp wrapped in prosciutto, lightly breaded and fried sweet vidalia onions with bleu cheese aoli, crisp baby butter leaf lettuce dressed lightly in a zesty vinaigrette w/ fresh mint and sharp goat cheese...and then there was the pork tenderloin that was juicy, tender and absolutely cooked to perfection. I have no idea what it was seasoned with; the only thing I remember is that it tasted exactly like... perfect pork. And if that weren't enough...

Sunday I shared a moonlight garden potluck at my Gay Husband (aka Martha Scarborough)'s house. Amongst other delights, the menu featured massive pork chops seasoned with the excellent secret ingredient: Mrs. Dash! I give it 3 thumbs up. Mrs. Dash - who knew the little lady could have such an impressive influence on pork?

And then tonight after spending 3 hours painting my bathroom with little more than a couple beers to "sustain me", I remembered that my co-worker Kimio had brought me his latest version of a recipe he's been working on refining: pork chops that are brined and then cooked w/ sweet peppers, onions and some kind of vinegar. Just what the doctor ordered. It's such a treat to work with fellow food freaks. Perhaps he will share the recipe with Soup and Song, eh Kimio?

Yep, what a lucky gal am I to know these fine pork purveyors!

Tomorrow I s'pose I oughta cook something healthy & low fat w/ what I've got in the fridge: broccoli, red bell peppers, a few shitake mushrooms, ginger, coconut milk and some snap peas. I think I hear the curry calling...