Shortly after I started my LJ, I decided that it would be, on the whole, mainly a glorified food diary, though I would sometimes share details of my hobbies, family and work. In the last couple of years, I’ve posted some interesting and, occasionally, innovative, recipes inspired by food bloggers, in particular, and the internet, in general. As work has become busier and my energy levels flagged, posting anything new has become more and more of a challenge.
Therefore, I’ve posted items which were tagged ‘picspam’ more often than ever before. Beside containing a few ‘hopefully’ pretty food pictures, there wasn’t really anything recipe-worthy in them. And, more meals are featuring reworkings of leftovers from the freezer.
This post is one such and was made much easier with the addition of this newcomer to my kitchen. I don’t know WHAT I’d do without a microwave. When the door button broke on my last machine (trapping my plate and part of that evening’s supper inside) I resorted to calling over a neighbour with a handy claw hammer to pry the door open. And bought this replacement the next day.
Even though today’s the 3rd day in a row of sweating through a miserable summer spring cold with a sore throat, hacking cough, runny nose and fever, I still felt I had to do some cooking for the upcoming week.
Pork is the most popular meat in the world by far, according to USDA world consumption statistics. In Canada, pork outperforms chicken and today’s menu featured it in 3 forms.
A smoked picnic shoulder ham (bone and meat) and a prosciutto end went into a pot of soup made with cannellini beans. Chunks of home made bread added substance to an already hearty soup.
Pork chops were the centerpiece of the rest of the meal which included couscous, asparagus and hollandaise.
Yesterday, I treated myself to a rustic version of the classic Eggs Benedict featuring a slice of no-knead bread, ham sliced off the bone, asparagus, poached eggs and reheated hollandaise sauce. You DON’T have to make it to order. Which is a time saver when you’re not feeling well.
And here’s something sweet to offset all that pork. Pulled out of the freezer and thawed quickly in the microwave.
Cooking is Fun ... Really!! 
I didn’t know pork was the most popular meat. I love the look of your eggs benedict and your asparagus dish with hollandaise sauce looks amazing as well. How frustrating to have your supper locked in a microwave! I’m glad you have a replacement xx
I didn’t realize pork was that popular either. As to the locked microwave, I didn’t care about the food but I didn’t want to lose my plate. 🙂 Getting a new microwave was cheaper than getting the old one fixed.
Who knew that about pork. I would have thought chicken ruled. My microwave started smoking the other day. I had to pop out pretty quickly too or no instant oats for breakfast which would have meant having to make decisions about breakfast pre coffee. Could have been disasterous.
I thought chicken would win too. Your microwave was smoking … that sounds pretty scary. Mine had been making popping noises periodically so it may have been on the way out.
It was only light smoke 🙂
I thought it was goat and if it were numbers of people, goat would win but by amount, pork is the overall winner. I love pork and could eat my weight of pulled pork, I think. I love your meals and your new kitchen assistant looks really spiffy.
Thank you.
I didn’t know about the pork either; I hope you’re feeling better! Isn’t it nice to have a stocked freezer – As the only adult in my household and now that i’m alone most of the time (although number 2 just keeps coming back!) I know that I’d be in a lot of trouble when I’m sick if I wasn’t able to pull meals out of the freezer, either all or partially.
I like to use the microwave defrost button to very gently reheat hollandaise!
Still have a dry cough but getting better otherwise.
When I got home tonight, I took thawed bbq’d chicken tikka cubes out of the fridge, put them in a pocketless pita wrap with shredded lettuce and tzatziki sauce and served it with leftover couscous. No cooking needed. 🙂
I reheated the hollandaise at power level 2 for 10 sec at a time stirring after each period until it loosened enough to flow. Perfect!
All the dishes look delicious to me especially since I’m a big big fan of pork (I could easily live without a trace of beef though…). Chicken is my number one, then comes pork. I’m sure China adds a lot to the pork statistics. I’ve read somewhere pork is much loved in China. Moreover, probably cold meats (hams, sausages, etc.) eaten around the world and which are usually made with pork must count a lot.
I couldn’t live without a microwave either. My old one broke and I remember it was a nightmare waiting for the new one’s shipment. (By the way I now have also a black microwave 🙂 and am very happy for my colour choice).
Thank you. Chicken and pork compete for first place on my plate but I DO like a nice steak or even a burger or two periodically. I’ve had a microwave for >20 yrs and the day it broke was a major panic for me. 🙂 I went to Wal-mart the next day and bought a cheap new one.