I am, of late, eating a meat dish in the early afternoon for energy, and then a salad later at night, in hopes of losing and maintaining weight as I age.
The dishes are still very tasty – I’ve just minimized, which is what I’m doing with most facets of my life these days.
I encourage you to vary this afternoon entree– beef, turkey or chicken breast, lean pork and fish. I think the tastiest, cleanest meat on the planet is Kosher, even though I had pork today! Trader Joe’s has a great selection of Kosher meats, and Chicago, where I used to live and am not far away, has wonderful Kosher butchers in the neighborhoods.
Start with a third of a pound of pork tenderloin or roast. If you buy good, lean, preferably organically fed piece of pork, you can divide it into serving sizes and store in your freezer in quart serving bags. Tip: frozen meat will keep longer if you double bag it.
Defrost the meat, rinse it in cold water and dry the excess moisture with a paper towel or two.
Heat a no-stick skillet – I happen to have an analon hard-anodized 12” skillet and love it. Put heat on low for now.
Take one or two cloves of garlic, peel and slice as thinly as possible with a sharp knife. Put the garlic aside.
Slice the meat thinly. Then put a couple of tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil in your skillet. Turn up the gas to medium high and throw in the meat. Save the garlic for later.
In my little herb grinder, I placed the following:
10 black peppercorns
half teaspoon of fennel seeds
minced garlic
minced onion
dry flaked parsely
some red pepper – I have powdered cayenne on hand.
Use only a small amount of herbs/spices because grinding brings out all the flavor and a little goes a long way.
Don’t use salt in cooking because it dries out the meat!
When you turn the meat over, sprinkle on the herb/spice mix.
Chop an apple into big pieces and add to the pan.
It won’t be long before it’s all done. I suggest cooking until meat and apple are a light brown.
I usually strain any fat or juice in a hand held strainer. Serve in your dinner bowl or plate, then salt to taste with Kosher salt and enjoy. Remember to thank the Lord for providing!
I find I can go through the entire day with a small breakfast and then this simple meat meal. Once or twice a week, I’ll sub veggies, soup, or beans for the meat, but I’ll still make a salad in the evening. Great time for a beer to go with it!
