Pork and Onion Skewers with Quinoa and Broccoli

The skewers are after the fashion of the Greeks.  Chunk a 1 lb. pork tenderloin into 1-1/2" cubes and marinate them along with some raw onions in a mixture of 1/3C olive oil, 2 minced garlic cloves, 3T chopped fresh oregano, salt and pepper to taste.  Marinate for several hours or overnight.

While at the grocery, it dawned on me to look in the speciality rice section for some new grain/rice.  Quinoa(pronounced keenwa) is what we tried.  It is very high in protein and fiber and has a wonderful kind of nutty flavor.  Start by soaking the grain in water for an hour or so.  We made a pilaf  by sautéing  some minced carrot, celery and garlic in olive oil.  Add the drained quinoa and continue to saute for 5 min.  Add liquid; in our case chicken stock.  We added about 1-1/2C stock for 1C quinao.  Allow this to simmer while you skewer and grill the meat and onions (about 15 min. on the Weber) The liquid will be completely absorbed.  The broccoli was steamed as usual.

Try the quinoa; we think you will like it.

Parmesan Cheese Crusted Cod with Fresh Pasta and Broccoli

We found some fresh tomato-basil pasta at our farmers market and decided it would be good with broiled fish.  Make a white sauce by mixing 1T butter and 1T of flour in a sauce pan.  When it is smooth and bubbly, add milk/cream until it reaches the consistency you desire.  Add 3T fresh basil leaves that have been chopped and salt and pepper to taste.  Cover and warm until you are ready to use it.  Season some flour with salt and pepper.  Scramble one egg with 1/4C water in a pie plate.  Make a mixture of 1/4C dry bread crumbs and 1/4C grated parmesan cheese.  Roll the fish in the flour, then the egg, then the bread crumbs.  Broil in the oven until flaky, about 5 min. on a side.  Cook the pasta in boiling water.  Fresh pasta requires much less time to cook than dry pasta; perhaps 2-3 min. at the boil.  Sauce the pasta and serve along with the fish and steamed broccoli.