Food and Fun Friday - Pork Loin and Candied Ginger

 One of the benefits about working in a grocery store is I am often working when the meat department does markdowns. I will admit, the majority of my meat purchases HAVE to have that 'manager's special' sticker on them, cutting the cost of the meat, most time, in half. There is not a thing wrong with the meat. It's just that the expiration date is near.

And by expiration date, that doesn't mean it's 'bad'. It means the 'recommended' time for being on the shelf is near. If you plan on using it in the next day or two, it's fine. Throw it in the freezer - that's great. 

Anyway...

I had a little pork loin I picked up for under $3. And 'sort of' using this recipe from Cafe Delites I made this dinner Monday night.

The rice I already had, as well as the spices for herbs for the rub and gravy. The green beans were 99 cents. The apples were from the bag of apples I picked a couple of weeks ago. 

I had my meal and made up 4 more meals. Well, one didn't have the beans, but you can only stretch them so far. 

Based on a rough calculation, I made a total of 5 meals for under $10. That's $2 a meal! Beat that McDonalds!

Time spent? Maybe 30 minutes total prepping everything. That means cutting up 4 apples, making the rub for the pork and searing it before throwing it in the oven. I happen to have a rice cooker (great appliance to have, by the way) so no time there at all. And with 4 meals in containers, throw them in the microwave to heat and under 5 minutes you have a hot, tasty meal. 

At the same time, and inspired by the ginger I grew in my garden (a tiny piece harvested), I peeled and sliced up 2 'hands' of ginger. 

Now Savvy and I love candied ginger. We will reach for it when the old stomach isn't feeling great. And when we want a little 'zing'! Plus, it's great if you feel a cold coming on - burn that cold out of your system.

So using David Lebovitz's Candied Ginger recipe (by the way, I adore his books and want every one of this cookbooks) I started the ginger while cooking dinner.

Now, I know I probably left my ginger on simmer much longer than he states in the recipe. But I simmered rather than cranking up the temperature. And because of that, I think the ginger, which was a bit fiberous, had a chance to soften. The result was this jar of goodness...

(Confession time - I did semi-cover with a lid toward the end and it overflowed onto the stove top. UGH! So I lost some of the syrup.)

Right now Savvy and I are torn. It is 'bury your head in the jar' good as it is. Or I can take the ginger out, letting it drain, and tossing in sugar and letting it dry. More practical for putting in a baggie and taking in your purse to work. 

So...

I am going to take part of it out and coat in sugar. The remainder will stay in the jar, in the fridge, for at-home use. Plus the syrup will be used in hot tea in place of sugar. Can't you imagine a nice, hot cut of tea sweetened with some of the ginger syrup. Heaven!

It's been a yummy week all the way around!