I wiped away the weeds & foam. / I fetched my sea-born treasures home... Ralph Waldo Emerson







Thursday, February 13, 2020

Cooky Sheet Meals



Hi! This is last Monday's post, but it got sidelined by expected and unexpected guests and the intense house cleaning prep needed before their visits.



It's time for a cooking post! Today's topic, one pan roasted meals. Now I think this idea had been around for quite awhile but it only recently captured my interest when British lifestyle blogger  Gillian on Tales from a Happy [beautiful, perfect] Home reviewed a cookbook that is focused on the idea:
cooked avocados? huh.




I also had read an amusing to me internet article on "Hacks  [don't you just loathe the catchphrase hacks?] You Never Thought Of---How to Keep Your House Warm in the Winter." So funny, all these things I'm sure we learned as children, like seal drafts, turn the heat off when no one is home, etc---and one of my faves, Use Your Oven as Often as Possible. Now my mom swore a well designed, well-vented oven would not emit heat or aromas, but I admit mine does both and I have always made use of that to keep this drafty little house warm. Roasts, stews, bread, and crumbles, all are planned for chilly days. So the idea of a big pan of nice veggies and meat was suddenly appealing.




I made the same recipe as Gillian reviewed on her blog: winter veggies with pork. I had to order Chinese "Five Spice" seasoning from Amazon.



She mentioned the chops were very dry so I tried pork tenderloin, always economical and tasty. But yes, dry too, and unlike roasting the meat separately, with the veggies in the pan there was no way to deglaze the caramelized bits for a sauce to reduce the dry aspect. I ended up heating some jarred beef broth to spoon over the meat. Notice she also made only two chops for a family of four?




Here is my version.



Oddly I  liked the meal a lot, but found the idea of reheating the leftovers unappealing, not sure why.


The cookbook is beautifully if somewhat sparingly photographed. I especially liked the two page spreads showing the foods both cooked and uncooked.






It also has interesting charts,



The recipes are just suggestions--hate yams? use squash instead. There are salads and desserts as well as main courses. And I think easily made vegetarian changes, though I didn't look closely yet.


Drawbacks:
This sounds silly or small minded but all the instructions of this admittedly British book are in Celsius temps and pound/ gram/ kilo amounts. Apparently in England one cooks with a scale not a measuring cup, how annoying. Sure I can note the American info but I've never encountered this before and do not enjoy the extra steps of converting everything. [So I just guesstimated amounts, though I did look up the temp.]

And then there is the Pan.The author says any pan will do. Fine. But one still ends up with a very big messy pan to scrub. Parchment doesn't work, the oil and juices run through; aluminum foil may work but seems wasteful as does using disposable pans. Keep in mind that my dishwasher broke three years ago and remains non-functioning. Maybe a good DW on Pans cycle would help with that issue.
I plan to try other recipes, will keep you posted. I am especially attracted to the various veggie combos and spices. I think they'll be delicious tossed with my quinoa recipe from friend Bonnie.

next?


.......................

My first Paperwhite bloomed Monday, Feb 10. Fast! I could smell its odd but pleasing scent that morning.


Mo supervising, on right



And if you look behind the daffs, you can see I have gotten the main central portion of Blue Baskets together.  Many many thanks to Penny for her early help providing an Electric Quilt schematic.





And I believe I have solved the border issues. It was getting too big and too white, so I am hopeful this will work.



My puggy Cupid  model is sad and hiding from the again-very dark grey day. Check back tomorrow for our Valentine to you all.




Beautiful Full Moon pics, Feb 9, from Mel, in Kansas.








love

lizzy

gone to the beach....








Tales from a Happy Home blog : here

The Roasting Tin by Rukmimi Iyer here






7 comments:

  1. Oooh love your baskets--especially backing up those spring-ey daffodils...
    I tried a few one pan recipes and they just didn't do it for me...probably my interpretation though...
    What a grey of a greyness around here today...
    I sewed some long strips of telephone book papers with what's left of my orange bits...
    maybe a smallish coin thing...
    So far--5 little minis have emerged from the
    RSC this month...
    Hugs, Julierose

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  2. I love your border idea for the baskets and the center looks wonderful! Really Super!!
    I love roasting and baking when the days are cold. When the food comes out I leave my door open to warm the house.
    Can you spray the pan with PAM to make it easier to clean? I don't put my pots or pans in my dishwasher.

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  3. Beautiful flowers! (Although I think paperwhites smell like old wet diapers, lol!) Your stripey blue basket quilt is really gorgeous - even though I never much liked baskets before! I think the stripes in them add to their appeal to me.

    I like 'oven meals' but not necessarily in one pan, although one of the home-meal-box services (Home Chef?) now offers ready-to-cook oven meals already on the tray. My sister has been getting the regular Home Chef boxes and says oddly enough that her new favorite veggie is roasted brussel sprouts - which she would never TOUCH as a kid! Isn't it funny how our tastes change? My favorite oven meal I got from my cousin and it's great when you're expecting company but don't have a definite time of arrival... It's brisket cooked in an oven bag, and a potato casserole that's like twice-baked potatoes. If the potatoes are covered so they don't dry out you can let the meal cook 4-6 hours and sit down to a good meal (with a salad for veggies)!

    I don't know about your pans, but several years back when I got new NICE non-stick cookie sheets I read the labels before I washed & used them, and they specifically said NOT to use cooking spray. Apparently something (the propellant?) burns on the pans and actually makes things stick later. If you like the oven one-pan meals you might look into getting a nice new non-stick pan and see if it cleans up better. The last new one I got comes really clean after a 5-minute soak in the sink, and it was not very expensive either.

    The moon was so pretty, the picture really doesn't do it justice! The sky was actually pretty clear so the moon was sharply visible - my phone camera just doesn't do great night shots... Is it bad that that's my main criteria for choosing my next phone? LOL!

    Thanks for sharing, and I hope you and Mo have a great Valentine's Day!!

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  4. Mmm, I like the subtle setting fabric for your string baskets, it really lets them shine. I can't really wrap my head around roasted avocado either, for my family guacamole is the only useful way to serve avocado, though I also like a crisp avocado and grapefruit salad.

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  5. Your basket quilt has turned out wonderful. I love the ‘ on point’ setting with the sashing and triangles. Gorgeous.

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  6. My brother likes grilled avacados. I think I tried it once...must not have been impressed as I have never done it again.

    The paper whites look great posed in front of Baskets. I can't wait to see it with the boarder finished. It completely changes the feel of it.

    Hope you enjoyed time with your guests :)

    Kel

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  7. Such a lovely combination of Paper Whites and your basket quilt which is coming on a treat. Can't keep a good pug out of a photograph. Well done Mo. Penny

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