old-fashioned pork schnitzel & new potatoes

schnitzel, anyone? lederhosen & beer stein optional. ;)

as soon as i spotted some free-range pork schnitzel fillets from spragg’s meat shop at the local farmers’ market, i just knew that another culinary experiment was about to take place… this is a slight variation on wiener schnitzel, which is traditionally made with veal. schnitzel reminds me of backpacking travels through germany and austria — and, of course, beer halls! prost!

since the potatoes do take some time to cook through, i recommend prepping & cooking the potatoes before the pork…

the new potatoes:
- add 1/4 white onion (rough chop) & canola/sunflower oil to pan on high heat
- add 2 cups of organic new potatoes (chopped into bite-sized pieces) to pan
(tip: try an assortment of purple, yellow & red potatoes to add a punch of colour!)
- season w/ chinese five-spice & ground black peppercorns
- cook for approx 10min on high heat, until potatoes are browned and cooked. remove from pan.

(tip: try poking a potato w/ a fork. the potato should be relatively easy to poke thru w/o resistance.)

sourdough batter:
in small prep bowl, whisk the following ingredients together to create a light batter:
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 egg
in another prep bowl, place:
- 1 cup breadcrumbs (i used old sourdough bread crushed w/ mortar & pestle.)
- season w/ chinese five-spice

asparagus omelette w/ pink grapefruit & cottage cheese

the yummy no-carb breakfast is not a myth. while i do enjoy the occasional banana nut muffin or bowl of multigrain cereal for brekkie, i’d rather kickstart my day with some good ol’ natural protein for an energy boost. this asparagus omelette with pink grapefruit & cottage cheese is the perfect example of a fresh, protein-rich brekkie without the carbs… and it makes an awesome breakfast-for-dinner, too!

sauteed asparagus:
- heat 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (evoo) in saucepan on medium heat
- add 10-12 frozen asparagus spears
- season w/ ground black peppercorns
- cook asparagus for 3-4min in saucepan
- set aside

the omelette:
- whisk together 2 free-range eggs w/ 2 tbsp skim milk in small prep bowl
- add fresh cilantro (rough chop) & dash of ground black peppercorns to bowl & combine ingredients
- heat large saucepan on medium heat, add 1 tsp light unsalted margarine to pan
- add egg mixture to pan

black pepper asparagus quinoa w/ balsamic calamari

apparently there are times when noodle soup, herbal tea & takeout pizza start to get old really fast… though not in that particular order. this was the case this weekend after four long days of fighting that nasty cold & flu bug that’s been going around. soup, tea & pizza are typically faves of mine, but after four days of eating just that, i was looking to re-introduce some new flavours to my palate. though that can be a bit of challenge if you’re still feeling sluggish and haven’t yet made the weekly trek to the grocery store to stock up on essentials… so it was back to my freezer and pantry to hunt down some good ingredients & dream up another culinary experiment. here’s what i came up with… and i have to say, it wasn’t too shabby for a post-cold&flu cooking experience in slow-motion. :)