Who said we can't have the best of both worlds?

The past few days I was really, REALLY not in the mood for cooking. In fact I even uttered that to my Quay Lo and he said that I might want to consider telling my friends and readers that I am going to close down Quay Po Cooks for a break. I don’t know why, but I just felt out of it. I wondered if an episode of depression was starting to kick in!  Then after a short conversation with my Quay Lo who is ever so supportive about how I feel and ever willing to do anything to make life easy and happy for me, including foregoing a real meal, I decided to not take the path down darkness instead I went into my kitchen and started cooking.  


Just a few days ago, when my classmate, Puteh posted on her FB:
"Depression is NOT a sign of weakness, it is a sign that you have been trying to be strong for too long. Put this as your status if you know someone who has or had depression. Will you do it, and leave it on your status for at least an hour? Most people won't, but it's mental health week and 1 in 3 of us will suffer at some point in our lives. Show your support. I copied and pasted, will you?"


I re-posted that on my FB status because I agreed 100% with what was said. In reply, I have written on my FB that we are what we think and my blog is instrumental to my healing. So now I have to walk the talk. This made me change my thinking that very moment and I went straight to my fridge. I took a piece of pork loin out of the freezer and let it thaw. Then I started to gather all the ingredients and prepared to braise the pork loin with lots of vegetables and herbs for dinner. Braised pork is one of my Quay Lo's favorite dishes.

When the pork loin was done perfectly and the gravy was prepared, I told my Quay Lo that dinner will be ready soon. He came into the kitchen and looked at the pot of gravy, cooked vegetables and the braised pork loin and an idea struck him. We had talked about cooking ahead so that on evenings we didn't feel like cooking, we would have something in the freezer that we could simply warm up. He observed that we could save the pork loin for future meals (he loves pork sandwiches) and use the gravy and the aromatic vegetables from the braising pot for a soup. His wave length was on minestrone, so he suggested that we add more chicken stock, a small amount of diced boiled potatoes for thickening, a can of Italian tomatos, a can of black beans, and a handful of freshly cooked pasta. Though the vegetables and gravy were already well spiced, we added freshly ground oregano. We ended up with a two quart braising pot full of soup which we simmered for half an hour then let it sit for another two hours, before reheating qnd having our first meal of it. I knew the reason he suggested this was because he wanted to have the soup ready so whenever his Quay Po goes cranky, he can just tell her “Honey, it is okay, no need to cook if you don’t feel like it.”  By this time, the heaviness in my heart was gone. We now have a whole braised pork loin, well seasoned and cooked perfectly, wrapped and ready in the fridge and an ultra delicious soup placed in three containers (each enough for a meal for both of us) in the freezer as welll as that evening's dinner.


My god daughter, Cheryl posted on the status of her FB "If you have a wonderful husband or a boyfriend who works hard to take care of you and would do anything for you, then re-post this as your status to give the honest good men out there the recogniton that they deserve. Because great men are few and I am proud that I HAVE ONE.:)" Cheryl, if you are reading this post, I am happy you feel blessed because we will be a happier person if we all have gratitude. My Quay Lo told me that gratitude is one of the most important keys to a happy life and if we can truly be thankful for what we have, we will be contented and what we don't have will not bother us.

I did not re-post that on my status, but I am giving my Quay Lo the recognition here for successfully pulling me out of my "CRANKINESS" and into cooking a nice meal for him instead! It is one that I am proud of. The soup was so good and I know the pork loin will be "killer". Yay! Quay Po Cooks will be here to stay for my Quay Lo, my friends, family, my readers and especially my blogger friends! So remember when you feel down and out, you can change your thinking!  Trust this, you are what you think:D

Here are the recipes for the pork loin and the last minute self created pasta and vegetables soup (Quaylo says it's "minestrone"). Both braised pork loin and the soup is SOO delicious that I am not shy to blow my own trumphet! Tell me if this is not the best of both worlds! I would also like to dedicate this post to all those who have or had depression and wish you all speedy healing! HUGZZ!!

Braised pork loin

Ingredients:

2 to 3 lbs boneless Pork loin without skin and tied with kitchen twine

1 green apple, chunks

2 stick celery, cut into 1 in piece

200 gm asparagus, cut into shorter length

1 ½ medium white onion, cut into 6 portions

5 cloves garlic with skin

4 shallots, sliced

1 sprig of fresh rosemary

2 or 2 sprigs of fresh thyme

1 bay leaf

1 cup white wine

2 tbs sunflower oil

Enough of chicken stock to cover the pork loin

To Marinate pork loin:

Ingredients:

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp ground coriander seeds

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp cumin

Method:

Mix all the above and rub thoroughly over pork loin and set aside and let it marinade for about 30 minutes.

Method of Braising the pork loin:

Heat oil in the cast iron pot. Add onion and garlic, stir fry till onion is slightly limb. Add shallots and stir fry till fragrant. Remove onion, garlic and shallots and set aside. Use the oil to sear the pork loin and make sure all sides are browned.  Remove seared pork loin from pot and set aside. Remove half of the oil from the pot and turn the heat up to high. Throw in all the vegetables and mix well with the oil. Return the pork loin back into the pot. Add chicken stock till it completely covered the pork loin and top it with the cooked onion, garlic and shallots, rosemary and thyme. Braised it in an oven at 220 degrees C for about 50 mins or till the meat thermometer reads 72 degrees C for medium cooked pork.  Remove all contents from the pot and reduce the stock till it thicken. You may thicken it further with 1 tbs corn flour in 2 tbs water.  Return all the cooked vegetables into the pot of gravy. Make sure you cover the pork loin and let it rest for 15 mins before cutting to serve. I served it with mashed potato and buttered asparagus.

For those who want to know how to tie the pork loin here is a good video tutoial:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sbv4z_842ik&feature=relate


Vegetables, Beans and Pasta soup

Ingredients:
Reserved liquid, vegetables and gravy from braising the pork loin
1 litre chicken stock
1 can Pomodori tomatos, roughly chopped, with liquid from the can
1 can black beans with liquid from the can
200 gms cubed ham (smoke cured will work especially well here)
2 small potatoes, skinned, par boiled, and cubed
1 tsp fresh or re-ground oregano
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
salt and black pepper to taste (be sure to taste before adding) 
140 grams of cooked pasta shells or macaroni*

* We had a bag of corn and "vegetable", gluten free, pasta that had been purchased by my Quay Lo by accident so we decided to use it up. It was quite good actually but semolina flour pasta is more traditional.


Method:
After braising, remove the pork loin (this would work well with braised beef as well) and add the above ingredients to the pot. Simmer for thirty minutes and let stand until completely cooled (this will result in a nice exchange of flavors between braising herbs and spices with the newly introduced ones.) Store and reheat as desired.

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