Come here Friday and give me a hug!  Ahhhh thank you.  Happy Friday to you!

After visiting the new local market last week, I left with a nice pork roast that I was planning to roast for sandwiches, stir-fry and whatever else rolled through my brain. This dish was an ad hoc lunch prepared in less than 15 minutes on Saturday afternoon.

A couple of days prior, I slow cooked the pork roast for about 8 hours with a combination of Apricot Jam, Rosemary and splash of apple juice. To say the least – the meat was amazing! So tender, juicy and full of flavor.

Ingredients (Pork Roast)

• Pork Roast
• 1/2 Cup Apricot Jam
• 1 Tbsp. Dried Rosemary
• 3 Tbsp. Apple Juice

Method

1. Add all ingredients to the slow cooker and set to low and cook for 8 hours.  Your final roast should look similar to this below.  Oh so good!

Ingredients (Pasta Dish)

• 2 Cups cooked Pork Roast
• 1 Cup Button Mushrooms
• 1 Cup Broccoli
• 1 Cup Baby Spinach
• 1/4 Cup Chopped Walnuts
• 1/4 Cup Feta Cheese
• 2 Cups Spiral Pasta
• 1 Tbsp. Hoisin Sauce
• 2 Tsp. Soy Sauce
• 1 Clove Garlic
• 1 Tbsp. Ginger
• 2 Tbsp. Orange Juice
• 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil

Method

1. Preheat Large Pan on Medium- High Heat and add olive oil.
2. Add pork pieces and mushrooms, sautee for 3-4 minutes until the pork and mushrooms caramelize.



3. Add Ginger and Garlic, Cook for 3 more minutes
4. Add Soy Sauce and Hoisin Sauce



5. Add Orange Juice and Broccoli – stirring to coat the broccoli ( be sure to add a sprinkle of salt on the broccoli to ensure it stays bright green.
6. Add Spinach – cook for 1 minute while stirring ( If you find the hoisin sauce is sticking to the pan which is quite possible due to all the sugars – add a tablespoon of hot water to the hot pan and de-glaze the pan and get all those great flavors.



7. Add Walnuts and cooked spiral pasta (you can use whatever pasta you have on hand as well).



8. Plate and top with Feta Cheese.
9. Enjoy!

As part of the zesty tradition, I can’t wait to hear what people both think of this recipe as it is so simple but quite tasty and also what’s your favorite type of pasta. Again happy Friday and I hope you have a great weekend.

Take care

Zesty

Oh my goodness it is Friday.  Last evening was spent at the house prepping and cleaning all the outside walls of saw dust and wood shavings.  Why you might ask?  Well because the spray foam insulation team is arriving today at 8:30 am and will be raring to go… I hope!

It only took a few hours to somewhat tidy up and make all the corners accessible.  I am going back first thing this morning to ensure I didn’t miss any spots as it was kind of dark and my light burnt out.

To take us into the weekend….. I have a special treat brewing in the oven.  How about a walnut decadent brownie?  I thought you might like that.  This is super easy to make and also very simple create gluten free.

Below is the  recipe as well as my simple instructions to get this in the oven.  Get ready to enjoy.  I also had a chance to try some new vanilla that was sent to me from the fine folks at Shining Dog Vanilla.  This is Pure Vanilla Extract made from certified organic vanilla beans.  It contains no added sugar or fructose. and is quite delicious.

Ingredients

• 1 Cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 6 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 4 Large eggs
• 2 Cups sugar
• 1 Tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 Tsp. salt
• 1/2 Cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 Cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Method

1. Preheat oven to 325°. Lightly butter 13×9x2-inch baking pan.
2. Melt butter and chocolate in a heavy medium saucepan over low heat, stirring until chocolate mixture is smooth. Cool.
3. Using mixer, beat eggs and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy.
4. Beat in chocolate mixture, vanilla and salt.
5. Add flour; beat just until blended and then toss in the walnuts.
6. Pour batter into prepared pan, smoothing top.
7. Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean ( 30-35 minutes )
8. Remove and let cool.



9. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: If you do not have chocolate you can always substitute and use cocoa.  You may find that the brownie will be slightly more bitter and less smooth as well.

So I am pretty pleased it is Friday.  We are planning an apple picking day tomorrow if the weather is suitable.  The weather has been terrible the last week so hopefully it is decent for a day in the orchard.  I am sure if we make it there – there will be some apple recipes coming your way.

Ohhhhhh I almost forgot.  Today is the deadline for the POM Tea giveaway.  Be sure to enter.  Have a great weekend.

Take care

zesty