It's good to know the meat guy.

I've discovered Pork. It really is the other white meat, and damn is it tasty. And we got a deal on a good cut at the grocery store. It pays to know the folks working at the meat counter, they'll slice a gigantic chunk of meat up into managable pieces that can be frozen a few at a time. Genius.

And then I discovered Sweet Pork, adapted slightly from my Mexican cookbook. This stew is unbelievably good. Cook up some rice to serve with it, if you want.

Olive oil
1 lb pork fillet, cubed
¾ cup flour, seasoned with salt & pepper
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups chicken stock
1 tsp ground coriander
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small can mild green chiles, chopped
1 can diced tomatoes
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 small can pineapple chunks, each chunk cut it half
1 large (or two small) sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 tbsp chopped cilantro

you'll need a skillet, and a large baking dish or large casserole.

Preheat oven to 350.

toss cubed pork in flour. Heat a few tablespoons oil in the skillet, then add the pork, turning frequently to brown it on all sides (we just want to brown it a bit, it doesn't need to cook all the way through). Transfer meat to large baking dish. Add onion to skillet and cook until soft, adding more oil if needed. Stir in chicken stock, and bring to a boil. Add coriander, garlic, green chiles, tomatoes & bell pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes. Pour into the baking dish, over the pork.

Bake for one hour, then stir in the diced sweet potatoes and pineapple. Cook another 30 minutes, or until pork is tender. Garnish with chopped cilantro. Can be served with rice.



and you all know what goes best with good food. . . . good books!

my Charles Stross addiction has finally brought me to his Merchant Princes series. I blew through The Family Trade in two days, and am nearing the end of The Hidden Family. Sure, the concept of traveling between parallel worlds has been done to death, but when's the last time someone used it to smuggle drugs and make a boatload of money? Stross is one of my favorites, and his treatment of capitalism is just delicious. book three, The Clan Corporate, is also on loan from my trusty library.

Just finished Paraworld Zero, by new author Matthew Peterson. It's your standard orphan boy finds out he can do magic, gets spirited away from Earth by a new friend, and finds himself in a strange new world. except, it's like good. and cute, and funny. at first, it felt like Harry Potter meets Star Wars, then it kinda turned more into Star Wars meets Harry Potter. Full review to show up soon. .. . because i've got a lot I want to say about this book.

also on loan from the library is Maggie Anton's Rashi's Daughter, Book I: Joheved. i just can't resist a book with hebrew words on the cover. who knows, maybe this will be my jumping off point to Talmud? i'm about 50 pages in, and it's good. Can't find any faults with it. It's vindicating to know that life for Jews in the middle ages wasn't nightmare after nightmare, 24/7. you gotta love those midaevil scholars.

ARCs received:
St. Lunatic High School, volume 2 by Majiko (I'm really starting to dig this
loli-goth artwork. that outfit on the back cover? i want that!)
Ugly Stores for Beautiful People, by James Burr. You know, i vaguely remember promising myself something about self published stuff. . . .but most of these stories have already been published in literary magazines, so we shall see.