A New Recipe, As Promised

            My brother Rob and I both love to cook and we’ve engaged in a life-long, unspoken competition to see who can come up with the best new dish. We had many discussions about pork tenderloin. He distained the boneless variety as being too easily dried out when roasted. I, on the other hand, keep one or two in the freezer for an easy dinner, maintaining that “they don’t dry out if you cook them right.” (I really am a snotty little sister, aren’t I?) I spent a good deal of time coming up with recipes to prove my point, and tonight, two years after his death, I’m still doing it. Here’s one way to cook boneless pork tenderloin so it won’t dry out:

            There are only two of us, so I usually cut the tenderloin in half before I freeze it. The result is a nice little roast that we can enjoy for dinner and then if there’s any left, I can do sandwiches or Chinese soup.* Boneless pork tenderloins usually come split down the middle, so you wind up with two pieces. For this recipe, I cut a ½ deep groove down the center of each piece, lengthwise. I salted the pieces with a citrus/sea salt blend** and gave them a few grindings of pepper. Using a peeled bosc pear, which I had cored and cut lengthwise into 8 pieces, I filled the grooves with lengths of pear and laid a branch of rosemary on each one. Then I put them together and tied them. I seasoned the outside of the roast, drizzled olive oil over it and put it in a pan with the rest of the pear. You can use as much or as little pear as you like. I just think the pear/rosemary combo is great. Roast the meat at 350 degrees until the internal temp is 130, then take it out and tent it with foil. Let it rest for at least 10 min. Serve in 1” slices, with the additional pears from the roasting pan and some nice, grainy mustard. Let me know what you think.

*Otherwise known as Oodles of Noodles. This wonderful foodstuff was a staple of my diet when I was in college, and turned out to be an effective hangover cure in later years. I still keep a supply though hangovers are part of the past. It’s great for transforming left over anything.

**I got it at the craft fair at Town Hall at Thanksgiving. The women who make chocolate in Truro sell it. Yummy!

A Whole Year!

   Well, I just realized something: I’ve been writing this blog for a whole year now! Wow. I’ve actually written 33 posts over the last year. A perfect score would have been 52, one for each week, but 33 isn’t too bad for the first year.

   Most importantly, I want to thank my loyal followers. Writing a blog is interesting, because most of the time I don’t know if anyone is actually reading what I’ve written. It’s like tossing a cookie off a mountain, hoping someone below will catch it and enjoy it. I really appreciate the feedback. Comments are most welcome. I know I promised at the beginning that I would write stories of Provincetown, and I will, but as some of you must have noticed, I’m not above commenting on current affairs. Actually “commenting” may be too mild a term. “Ranting,” “bitching” and “running off at the mouth”, might better describe some of my recent tirades. If this bothers you, my apologies. I seem to have found my politics in the autumn of my life, and occasionally I must vent. This blog provides a great place to do that, however, I have not forgotten my original promise, and I will keep it. You can expect more amusing (sic) anecdotes about my early days here in town, and more recipes as well. Just know, all of you, that I’m very grateful for your readership and feedback, and I’ll keep throwing cookies off the mountain.  

Christmas Story

Okay, here’s my Christmas story:

   Every year we have the unofficial Christmas decorating race on our street. Whoever puts up lights first starts it off, and it goes on until every house is resplendent.  My efforts usually involve a decorated, lighted wreath and strings of lights around the door, all of it pretty simple, but enough to be included in the neighborhood holiday spirit. Most of our neighbors are Catholics, and St. Peter’s is right down the street, so it gets VERY Christmassy around here.

   Except that I’m Wiccan, so one year, not too long ago, I decided I needed a symbol of my own to display. In Wicca, we have a pentacle, which is essentially a five-pointed star inside a circle. The points of the star represent Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Spirit. I made a pentacle out of lights and hung it in the window of our house. The lady from across the street, who was a pillar of the church, came by to admire our decorations.

   “Oh,” she said. “Something new! What a lovely Star of Bethlehem! Where did you get it?”

   “Why, thank you,” I responded. “I made it myself. Would you like me to make one for you?”

   Her eyes lit up.

   “Oh, would you?”

   Of course I would and I did, and she hung it in her front window every year at Christmas.  To her, it was a Star of Bethlehem. To me, it’s a symbol of my Pagan faith.

Something for everybody. I like that.

Happy Holidays.

THE DONALD

The thing that bothers me, keeps me awake these nights, is that it seems that no matter what idiotic, inflammatory statements Donald Trump makes, he remains at the top of the Republican list of choices for the nomination for President of the United States. Now, I know it’s almost a year until the election, but really, people, isn’t anyone else getting nervous? What if he is the Republican candidate? Oh, no, you all say, he’ll never make it that far. Really? I wonder. Remember Sarah Palin? What if he does get nominated, or worse, elected? With each passing day his chances for success improve.

    Of course we live in a free society, and he can say whatever he wants to say. Because he is so wealthy, he can air his views from a very wide platform, and that is his right as an American. However, his recent remarks indicate he’s perfectly fine with ignoring some of the most basic principles upon which this country is based. These are principles I am very fond of, and hearing him talking about keeping an entire religious group out of the U.S. and perhaps incarcerating those of that group who are already here makes me very uneasy. Don’t get me wrong. I’m very glad Trump has made his views clear. I am glad to know where he stands. I’m not glad that so many people appear to agree with him. It makes me wonder where I’m living. I thought we had evolved beyond thinking like the Donald’s. Do most of the Republicans in this country really buy what he’s selling? How long are we going to listen to his raving? When will he disappear so we can get down to the serious business of choosing our next leader?  The only way to silence him is to withdraw support for his campaign. I know it’s entertainment that rivals the most extreme “reality” TV, but the clock is ticking on this. Let’s not sacrifice our national integrity for the sake of entertainment. I long for the day we say,

            “Donald Trump, you’re FIRED!”