Tag Archives: mint

Hardcore Hobbit: Large Supreme Repast (Juniper Pork)

Posted on April 11, 2011 | Leave a comment

It’s time to work on our rep! In LOTRO cooks that are a part of the guild prepare certain recipes that help them earn a reputation as a scrumptious cook. Ok maybe not scrumptious but it is rep all the same. One of those recipes is the large supreme repast. Wow….that was a potential typo of doom. The game says this meal is made of pork, spiced potatoes, mint sauce, mixed herbs, mixed spice. As luck would have it I had just visited a local epicurean spice store that is sadly closing it’s doors. This means ofcourse I picked up all sorts of fun spices to play with for unbelievable prices…and play with them I shall. I absolutely had to use the juniper first! It called to me, it told me to do things. Tasty things. Shall we?

  • 1 tbl dried juniper berries
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 12 black peppercorns
  • 1 tbl smoked sea salt
  • 9 oz red potatoes, wedges
  • 8 oz pork tenderloin
  • 1 tbl dried parsley
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
  • butter cooking spray
  • Hardcore Hobbit Mint Sauce
  1. Grind the juniper berries, 1 clove of garlic, smoked salt, and peppercorns together. Rub the mixture to coat the outside of the pork tenderloin. Allow to sit for atleast 1 hour.
  2. Boil the potato wedges for 15-20 minutes or until fork tender but not too tender.
  3. In a separate bowl, press the garlic and add the parsley, oregano and pepper flakes. Add some salt and pepper if desired. Add the cooked potatoes and toss to coat. Pour the potatoes onto a baking sheet and spray with butter spray.
  4. Heat the oven to 425F. Cook the potatoes for 35-40 minutes.
  5. Heat a skillet to medium high. Add the pork tenderloin. Sear on all sides for 2 minutes. Move the pork tenderloin to the oven and cook for 25-30 minutes.
  6. Allow to rest 5 minutes before slicing. Serve topped with a drizzle of mint sauce and potatoes on the side.

Serves 2. Each serving contains 324 calories, 9.5 grams of fat, 5 grams of fibre, 36 grams of protein and 21.3 grams of carbs. Great served with a side of steamed asparagus to complete the dish. I have to say I am totally in love with the way juniper goes with pork. So floral and woodsy at the same time! Perfect for a hobbit dish. I must explore this spice more.

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Hardcore Hobbit: Rack of Lamb with Mint Sauce

Posted on March 28, 2011 | Leave a comment

In the game this lamb dish is made with mint sauce, mixed herbs and rack of lamb. This is definitely a special occasion dish, I don’t know many people who have a rack of lamb on any old weekday night. It was definitely a hit, the lamb was so tender and the mint sauce drizzled on was just perfect! I can’t wait to do it again sometime. I’m hoping next time we can grill the meat. I have a feeling that grilling this will lead to epic levels of tasty.

  • Rack of lamb
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 medium onion
  • 2 tbl fresh tarragon leaves
  • 1 tbl malt vinegar
  • 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • Hardcore Hobbit Mint Sauce
  1. Puree the onion, garlic, lemon juice, tarragon, vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper in a blender. Massage the marinade onto the rack of lamb and allow to sit, refrigerated for atleast 4 hours.
  2. Preheat the oven to 400F and heat a pan over medium high heat. Spray with cooking spray.
  3. Sear the lamb on both sides in the pan. Move the lamb to the oven and cook for 20-30 minutes.
  4. Cover the lamb with foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.
  5. Drizzle with a bit of mint sauce just before serving.

You know what. Just because this is a special occasion dish let’s not talk about the nutritional info just this once. Keep in mind though the more you trim some of that fat off your rack of lamb the healthier it is. Don’t trim too much off though or you will sacrifice flavour. Serves 4 ( two chops each typically). Amazing when served with a side of pan seared polenta and on a bed of wilted spinach as pictured.

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Hardcore Hobbit: Mint Sauce

Posted on March 21, 2011 | Leave a comment

Not to be confused with mint jelly. I demand to be minty! This is such a nummy sauce filled with flavour for drizzling over all sorts of meats. Great on lamb, pork, beef, game meats especially are great for this one! In the game you make mint sauce out of mint, mixed spice, and vinegar. So simple and so tasty. You can make this the day of as long as you allow it to sit at room temperature atleast 3 hours before serving. Otherwise, this delicious sauce is great for storing. Bring it out with a flourish when a delicious meat that demands to be minty graces your table. You wouldn’t want to deny freshmaker now would you? If you know what I’m talking about give yourself a big pat on the back for your comic reading prowess. Hehehe. If you don’t it’s o.k….be free little poptart. *sigh* I know…geek.

  • 1/2 cup malt vinegar
  • 1 tbl brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped mint
  • 2 tbl finely chopped tarragon
  • 1/4 tsp ground pepper
  1. Combine the water and sugar in a bowl. Bring to a boil while stirring to make sure the sugar dissolves completely.
  2. Add the vinegar, mint, tarragon, and pepper. Allow to cook for 1 minute then remove from the heat. Allow to steep for atleast 3 hours before serving.

Makes eight servings. Each serving contains 11 calories, no fat, no fibre, 3 carbs, and no protein. Just drizzle away!

O.k…..one more….I thought we were having stovetop? I want none of this soul toast.

Alright, now I have to dig through my comics and read that one again. Goodtimes.

 

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Sham Shake of the Shamrock

Posted on March 18, 2011 | Leave a comment

I hummed and ha’d about posting this one since there are already so many recipes of this out there. You know…it can’t hurt to have another one. So no picture this time sadly since I consumed this bad boy last night without snapping a single pic. I was so excited when I heard the shamrock shake was out again…I love mint…mmm…mint. I figured I deserved that tasty minty treat, so I looked up the nutritionals on it to see how hard of a hit I would be taking. Then I found out for an itty bitty small it would cost me 530 calories and 14 grams of fat. Big time frowny face over here. Might as well have a big mcnaughty for 10 more calories and 10 more grams of fat. Sheesh. Well, this was in need of a hungry hobbit makeover bigtime. So, I celebrated last night with an attempt that won me over…granted I had no taste comparison since I haven’t had a shamrock shake in years.

  • 1/2 cup vanilla frozen yogurt
  • 3/4 cup skim milk
  • 1/4 tsp mint extract
  • green food colouring (optional, I don’t since food colouring like that weirds me out a bit)
  1. Combine and blend, blend, blend!!!
  2. Omnomnom.

This makes one serving of sham shake goodness. Contains 175 calories, 2.3 grams of fat, 27.7grams of carbs, 8.9 grams of protein, and no fibre. Although, I totally recommend adding a clear fibre supplement to this. Does nothing to hurt the taste but makes this even better for you. Now those values make me much happier. I will sip my sham of a shake and think no more of this other shake silliness.

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Posted in Beverages, Craving Buster

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Thai Glaze

Posted on September 2, 2010 | Leave a comment

What started as a mint jelly turned into a thai glaze. Hehe it’s crazy how stuff like that happens sometimes. We picked up mint at the market, while we were there the basil called to us, then we found some tasty hot peppers, then lemongrass…well something had to be done! Done it was. I made jars of this stuff to have on hand as a glaze for all sorts of meats or to add to a stirfry as a dressing. Makes a nice subtle marinade too! It was definitely a fun experiment in canning.

  • 1 cup mint, minced
  • 3/4 cup basil, minced
  • 2 tbl lemongrass puree
  • 2 hot peppers, seeded and finely chopped
  • 2 tbl lemon juice
  • 3 cups splenda
  • 1 gelatin sheet
  • 3/4 cup rice wine vinegar
  • 1/2 cup basil and mint minced finely combined
  • 1 1/2 cup water
  1. Combine the 1 cup of mint, 3/4 cup of basil, lemongrass and water in a saucepan.
  2. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and cover. Allow to steep 30 minutes. Strain and press all liquid out of the leaves.
  3. Combine all the liquids, splenda, and pepper in the saucepan. Boil 2 minutes stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and stir in the gelatin sheet. Add remaining herbs.
  4. Store using prefered method.

Makes enough to fill 3 250ml mason jars. Each jar contains 64.4 calories, .1 grams of fat, and .8 grams of fibre. Yeah…each jar. That is the kind of glaze you can go nuts with. Want to see our first invention using it?

Tasty! We used the glaze as a marinade with a couple of chicken breasts. Did up two portions of rice noodles according to the package. Added a tbl of soy sauce and honey to the noodles, tossed, and topped with the grilled chicken all nicely sliced up. Goodtimes. Can’t wait to try this with pork sometime. The glaze is a really bright and lemony type of thing. Not as spicy as I had hoped but my husband thinks a couple of coats during grilling will yield more spice.

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