Paint!

Productive today. Oddly I'm usually productive when William is gone. Spent most of the day cleaning. Wiped down all the trim work and cabinets, tried to get rid of the last vestiges of William's smoking. Vacuuming. Dishes. Laundry. Got out the attachments and got all the corners of the carpets that one normally can't reach during the normal hoovering. Deep cleaned my bathroom. Sorted out four trash bags worth of old linens and curtains. Got rid of some old clothes as well.

Went out shopping for a break during mid-day. Found another cooling pet mat for Tucker. Spent my Kohl's cash on a new pair of linen trousers. The dressing rooms were closed, so I had to guess at the size and they actually fit. Not very flattering, but they are comfortable as hell and very breathable for trousers, much more so than jeans. Then hit Lowes and found a gallon of OOPS paint for $9. It was the exact type I needed for my bathroom and a lovely shade of sage green. So in the next few days, maybe after this run of days at work I'll get the dropcloth out and paint the walls.

Set my office back up too. William had taken it over for his zone when he was living upstairs. In the spring he moved downstairs, so it's been abandoned for a few months. Cleaned it up, sorted through his crap and put my filing cabinets and computer back there. Will be nice to have a place to do the bills again. Not so much for writing. The room lacks the comfort or ambiance needed to really have a proper session, but my office is back.

Back to work tomorrow. Not quite sure how they convinced me to work on a Wednesday, and I wouldn't have worked it if William was home. The paycheque had better be worth it. 5 days x 12 hours. I'm too old and sick to be working 60 hour weeks.

Spicy Korean-Style Pork Medallions with Asian Slaw

Found a good recipe last night. Tasty, although I'm sure the large amount of raw cabbage will do me no favours today. Or my coworkers. Was still good. I cut back on the spice level and the flavour was still here. Ran out of Sriracha, so used a Huy Fong sauce instead. Prep was actually pretty simple, get the pork marinating, make the slaw, fry off the pork. Just a lot of chopping cabbage. Good for a hot day that you don't want to heat up the kitchen too much.

Photo to come when I can get my mobile charged enough to upload.
(Edit)




Servings: 4-6
Ingredients

1 large or 2 small pork tenderloins (about 1-1/4 lb.)
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
3 Tbs. light brown sugar
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
1-1/2 Tbs. minced fresh ginger
1 Tbs. Asian sesame oil
1 Tbs. Asian chile sauce (like Sriracha)
1 lb. napa cabbage, thinly sliced (about 6 cups)
1 cup grated carrot (about 2 medium carrots)
4 scallions (both white and green parts), trimmed and thinly sliced
5 Tbs. canola or peanut oil
Kosher salt

Preparation

Trim the pork of any silverskin and excess fat, and cut on the diagonal into 1/2-inch-thick medallions.
In a small measuring cup, whisk together the soy sauce, 2 Tbs. of the rice vinegar, 2 Tbs. of the brown sugar, the garlic, ginger, 1/2 Tbs. of the sesame oil, and 2 tsp. of the chile sauce. Toss 1/2 cup of this mixture with the pork medallions in a large bowl; reserve the remaining mixture to use as a sauce. Let the pork sit at room temperature for 25 minutes or refrigerate for up to 2 hours.
Meanwhile, in another large bowl, toss the cabbage and the carrot with half of the scallions, 1 Tbs. of the canola oil, 1 tsp. salt, and the remaining 2 Tbs. rice vinegar, 1 Tbs. brown sugar, 1/2 Tbs. sesame oil, and 1 tsp. chile sauce. Let sit for 15 minutes, toss again, and transfer to a large serving platter.
Heat 2 Tbs. of the canola oil in a 12-inch, heavy-based skillet over mediumhigh heat until shimmering hot. Remove the pork from the marinade, shaking off the excess, and transfer the pork to a clean plate. Discard the marinade. Add half of the pork medallions to the skillet, spacing them evenly. Cook them without touching until well browned, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook until the pork is just cooked through (slice into a piece to check), about 2 more minutes. Set the pork on top of the slaw. Pour out the oil and wipe the pan with paper towels (if the drippings on the bottom of the pan look like they may burn, wash the pan). Return the pan to medium-high heat. Add the remaining 2 Tbs. canola oil, and cook the remaining medallions in the same manner. Top the slaw with the remaining pork, and pour the reserved soy-ginger sauce over the medallions. Serve immediately, sprinkled with the remaining scallions.