Let me start by expressing my excitement because I got a real unique product to introduce to you all:
Zukay Live Salsa
I came home to a package that contained 6 jars of these beauties. The product is a salsa and/or relish that contains live cultures. It is a probiotic condiment containing Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium…sound familiar?! Find out more at ZUKAY.com. And check back in as I use these tasty add ins in various ways.
THE DINNER REVIEW:
Every free opportunity I had today, I was sneaking peaks at postings where the blogger made this delightful dish and offered up some suggestions in regards to the recipe … to change.. not to change. It seems we have some pretty creative cooks out there! Here’s to ya! It’s suggested you go to CEimB and check out the Blogroll.
My version, of course, must come two ways… Pork and Pork-less.
Pork: When it comes to meat, my husband eats it and therefore makes the cut selection at the store. For this recipe, I told him what was suggested: Bone In Pork Chop, 3/4″ thick. He opted for about 1/2″ thick Boneless Pork Sirloin Steak. Does this present a challenge to the cook? Well, yeah! It’s thinner, it’s a different cut (probably not the cut for the cooking method in the recipe…we shall see).
Pork-less: Guess it’s gonna be TOFU! Sage rubbed Tofu. Lets be open minded here.
Here are the ingredients…
With the exception of the vegetable broth because I substituted white wine.
Step one was done this morning with the Tofu. I removed it from it’s carton, drained it and pressed it in between papertowl until lunch time. However… I dropped it (in the sink NOT on the floor) …so wasn’t able to slice it into nice even blocks.
Step two was done to both menu options. I mixed up the rub (double batched it) at lunch time and put it on both Pork and Tofu, to let sit in the fridge until ready for cooking tonight.
Step three .. follow the recipe in 2 separate pans. Lets take pause.. now I can’t show pictures as I go along because my kitchen looks more dangerous than a war zone when I’m working two meals. Things are flying – there may be a little screaming now and then – a definite “yelp”, “yip”, “ouch”, “oh no”…. Ted and Shane try to sneak out in fear of their lives but…well that might prove life threatening as well, especially if obvious help is needed. Ok, on with the show…. Ted was right in the middle of it tonight cooking the pork which made it a lot easier.
The only changes I made to the instructions were: reduced the cooking time for the onion, apple, and sage to 2 minutes before adding the cabbage, carrots, etc. I reduced the cider vinegar to 1 TBS each ( 1 to the pork and 1 to the tofu). Lastly, I added wine instead of broth.
The results:
Sage-Rubbed Pork with Warm Apple Slaw
close up of pork and slaw
Curious about the Tofu?…
- The happy Apple
Apple C 
oh la la.. thanks for the intro to the salsa!
The salsa looks like it’s going to be good. It is truly all natural.
Funny that we both picked a chardonnay to serve with the meal too – or we just have great taste!
Jessica – we both have great taste 🙂
How cute is that gnome! 🙂 I am curious about how the tofu tasted in this. And I love the idea of white wine instead of the broth. Very creative!
What a great post! You are such a trooper to cook 2 meals each week!! My kitchen is a disaster zone trying to just follow the recipe and get one meal cooked…I can’t imagine doubling the disaster potential!
Your pork and pork-less dishes look great and I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe this week!
Thanks for cooking with me!
Peggy: Although the tofu wasn’t crispy, it had good flavor since it had the opportunity to absorb the sage rub during the afternoon. I think mixing it with the slaw perfected the dish with Tofu.
Jennifer: The kitchen gets quite frantic when I’m doing the 2 meals. But when the hubby helps – it works out great.