Molasses Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Apricots

Sore Muscles are no fun!

Eating chicken every day of the week is also no fun.

If you lift weights/train or are like most families then its probably something you eat a lot of.

So to break out of the everyday mundane chicken for dinner rut, I've got a pork tenderloin recipe for you. It's got sweet nutrient-dense blackstrap molasses, apple cider vinegar, ginger and orange juice.

We all know the importance of recovering and replenishing your muscles after a hard work out to help them rebuild and restore themselves. The time frame in which you eat something is also important. But did you know that gram for gram, pork tenderloin is actually slightly lower in fat than chicken breast? It's also lower in cholesterol. Three ounces of extra lean pork tenderloin has 62mg of cholesterol versus 3 ounces of chicken breast, which has 73mg.

Blackstrap molasses is also extremely good for you. Just check out these stats! To name a few of the minerals it has, it's rich in calcium, iron and manganese. Just 2 tsp of the stuff provides you with 11.8% of your daily calcium intake. Not too shabby. Make sure to get unsulphured molasses because it retains the most vitamins and minerals. It is the purest form that hasn't been treated with sulphites (one of the nine most common food additives that can cause allergic reactions). . .That being said, now you have something other than ginger cookies to use it in!

Molasses Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Apricots

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs. lean pork tenderloin, trimmed of excess fat
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• 2 tbsp unsulfured blackstrap molasses
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
• 2 cloves garlic, minces
• 1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• sea salt & pepper to taste

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400*.
2. Whisk together orange juice, molasses, cider vinegar, ginger, and garlic and then add the apricots.
3. Season tenderloin to your liking with salt and pepper. Add a small glug of olive oil to a frying pan on medium-high heat. Once heated add the pork tenderloin. After searing one side for about 1-2 minutes flip and continue until all sides are seared. Once the meat starts to turn colour, it browns quickly, so pay attention!
4. After browning the meat you now need to cook it through. Place it in a baking dish with the orange juice mixture and roast for 45 minutes in total, turning the tenderloins over 30 minutes through to get the top sides into the juice.
5. Test with a meat thermometer to make sure its done. It should read at least 170*, when its no longer pink.
6. Take the pork out of the baking dish and wrap in foil to let the meat rest for 10 minutes or so before you slice it. This will let the meat reabsorb its juices making it very tender, juicy and flavourful. Serve with sauce.

This is what it should look like after searing:

It's time to replenish!

Grandma's Classic English Scones

The Queen's Diamond Jubilee may be over but I can still celebrate by making scones and having afternoon tea in the garden.

This is an old recipe from my childhood that my grandma use to make all the time while I was growing up. My grandad sure did love them and so did I, among all the other wonderful things she made for us. She used to cut them as individual round scones, which is what I do now, but would sometimes bake them as a "ring" and then cut them into triangles.

When my grandma passed away, my grandad continued the tradition of making these scones. I think it was something like every weekend that he would make them specially for us. We would just be walking into the house and he'd be leading us to the kitchen saying with a big smile on his face, "come look what I've made you" in that British accent. He would be so happy.

This recipe is probably 4 generations old now. It's been passed down from my grandma's mum, to my grandma, to my mum, to me. It's something that will be made over and over again, and it's one of those classic things that just doesn't get old.

Now these are your classic British scones. A little bit sweet, and best cut in half and spread with butter or for an extra special treat maybe some pure strawberry and Devonshire (clotted) cream. They can be eaten warm or cold and are so easy to make you can whip them up in no time to enjoy with your cup of tea.

When making these make sure that your mixing bowls and ingredients are nice and cool so that your scones wont be too heavy or dry. Just like making pastry. You can customize these with any dried fruit or spices you like. If you don't like currants or raisins, try cranberries and orange zest or blueberries? The options are endless really, but I like these just the way I remember them from growing up.

Grandma's Currant Scones (makes 6 scones)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of self-raising flour, sifted
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cold salted butter
• 1 large egg
• about 1/4 cup of 2% milk, more for brushing
• 1/2 cup of currants or raisins

For Serving:

• Fresh strawberry jam
• softened butter
• Devonshire cream (for that extra special treat with tea)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 425* F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment.
2. Combine flour and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
3. Next, cut the cold butter into small pieces and add it to the flour and sugar. Mix until it resembles fine crumbs. Then beat in one egg.
4. Add milk and blend.
5. Mix in your dried fruits until just incorporated. 
6. On a clean lightly floured counter top, form the ball of dough into a large circle and cut out six 2" rounds with a cutter or glass, which works just as good. You can also free form your scones into 6 smaller balls of dough using your hands, just give them a little pat down on the tray before baking.
7. Arrange scones in two rows on the cookie sheet. If you wish you can brush the tops with a little bit of milk to get a glossy finish.
8. Bake for 12 minutes until lightly golden on top. Cool on a wire rack.

[note: these can also be made by hand. If you add 1 tsp of baking powder to the 2 cups of self raising flour, this will give you an even fluffier scone.]

Variations to Try:

• Cranberry Orange Scones:
• replace raisins/currants with 1/2 cup of dried cranberries and 2 tsp of grated orange zest.
• Lavender:
• instead of raisins add 2 tsp of chopped dried lavender and 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract.
• Ginger Scones:
• replace raisins with 1/4 cup roughly chopped crystallized ginger and add 1/4 tsp of ground ginger to the flour mix.
• Blueberry Scones:
• replace raisins with 1/2 cup dried blueberries and add 1 tsp of pure vanilla extract when you add the egg.

Store in an air tight container to keep fresh.