Imagine my surprise....

when "scuba man" popped up out of the water while I was sitting on a rock enjoying some time at the beach.  He was begging to have his photo snapped.

Happy Wednesday! 

Pork and Carrot Curry

David and I love to cook and we are fans of bold flavors.  Asian, Greek, Italian, Indian.....we love them all. Cooking Light magazine and Clean Eating Magazine have been sources of inspiration for me lately as I have been adding new recipes to try.  As a result, we are eating better and healthier.  

The pork and carrot curry recipe in the January/February issue of Clean Eating Magazine caught my eye as something that we had to try.    I had planned to make it for dinner on Friday night; but by the time I drove home in the sleet,  I was not in the mood to cook.   I gathered the spices, prepared the pork and stuck it in the fridge to marinate until Saturday night.   The only change to the recipe itself that I made was that I used smoked paprika instead of plain paprika.  The curry was so flavorful.  It was spicy without being hot.  It was absolutely perfect for a cold, snowy night.

The recipe said that it served four.   I planned to measure my portion; but David and Connor have large appetites and I was concerned that we wouldn't have enough for everyone to be satisfied.  I thought some basmati rice would make a great addition to the curry so we served it with the curry along with naan on the side.  With the addition of the rice and the naan, it was plenty for the three of us.  I was actually able to save about one serving (1 1/2 cups) and I know it will make a delicious left over lunch.   The magazine lists the calorie count for the curry as 289 for the 1 1/2 cup serving.  I had 1/4 cup of basmati rice which came in at about 160 calories.  If you are counting Weight Watchers points, I got a total of 11 points plus - 7 for the curry and 4 for the rice.   I didn't have any naan and I am satisfied.  I'm not hungry nor am I miserably stuffed.   We will definitely be having this one again.

Pork and Carrot Curry

Adapted from Clean Eating Magazine January/February Edition

1/2 cup Greek yogurt

3 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. ground coriander

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. smoked paprika

1/2 tsp. ground turmeric

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1/4 tsp. ground cayenne pepper

1 lb. pork tenderloin, trimmed of visible fat and cut into 1 inch cubes

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 yellow onion, halved and cut into thin wedges

14 1/2 oz. chopped tomatoes and their juices

10 oz. small fingerling potatoes, scrubbed well and halved lengthwise

3 carrots, peeled and cut into sticks

chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish

Combine yogurt with ginger, garlic, coriander, cumin, smoked paprika, turmeric, salt and ground cayenne pepper.  Mix well.  Add pork cubes and stir to combine.  Cover and place the coated pork in the refrigerator and marinate overnight.   When ready to cook, pull pork from the fridge and let sit at room temperature while you prepare the other ingredients.

In a large pan with a tight fitting lid, heat oil on low.  Add onion and saute, stirring constantly for one minute.  Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft but not brown, about 5 minutes.

Add pork and all of the marinade to the pan. Stir in tomatoes with their juices, 1/2 cup water, potatoes and carrots.  Increase heat to medium, cover and simmer until pork is cooked through and potatoes and carrots are tender. Garnish with cilantro and serve immediately.

I hope you get a chance to try this.  I am already looking forward to making it again.

Silent Sunday...

Have a beautiful day...

It's All a Matter of Perspective...

and mine needs to change.

Photo of the Day - Friday

taken out of the car window...somewhere in Maine.

 Have a wonderful weekend,

It's not always sunshine and light...

but it's still beautiful to me.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - LOBSTAH LOVE

 

 Have a beautiful day...

Photo of the Day - Tuesday

You never know what you will find on the beach...

Photo of the Day - Monday

Happy Monday...

Photo of the Day - Sunday

Hope you've have a wonderful weekend,

Inside Out Pork Dumplings

Dumplings and potstickers are some of my very favorite things to eat when we go for Asian food.  I literally crave the flavors in them.  I've tried my hand at making them at home and was not successful.   I couldn't get them to seal properly.  I think I stuffed the wontons too full.   It was a huge mess and it hasn't been something that I've been willing to try my hand at again.

When I saw this recipe in a copy of Whole Living magazine that I got from my mother-in-law, I knew that I wanted to make it.  It had all of the ingredients and flavors that I love without all of the fuss of trying to make the little dumplings.  Even though we basically quadrupled the ingredients, I didn't quadruple the amount of dumplings in the recipe.   The dumplings were a little tricky as you are supposed to cook one wonton at a time in boiling water for a minute.  That was just way too tedious for me.  I added more than one to the pot and just kept them moving with a pair of tongs.   I just used the amount called for in the recipe which I, personally, think that were enough.   By that time, I was definitely ready to eat.   I couldn't find baby bok choy so I used a head of napa cabbage.  We decided to use rice wine vinegar instead of white vinegar; but since we were quadrupling the ingredients, I didn't have enough.  No problem!  We had a bottle of Sake so we used half rice vinegar and half Sake.    

The flavors were delicious and everyone loved it.    The addition of sriracha and a drizzle of soy sauce made it even better.  I am quite sure that this will be a recipe that we will make again and again.  I think that next time I will forego the wontons and serve it over some forbidden or red bhutanese rice with some chopped, toasted peanuts on top.  Yum! 

You can find the recipe here at Whole Living Magazine.

Thanks so much for stopping by,

"Wish I Were Here" Wordless Wednesday

 

 Patiently waiting on summer...