The festive season is almost coming to an end as we prepare to welcome a brand new year in just over a day’s time. Oh my gosh, time really doesn’t wait for anyone, does it?
2015 has been a really rough year with few things positive. It’s filled with losses of loved ones, grief, illnesses, pain and plenty of regret too. We spent Christmas in the hospital when my maternal grandmother (who is dying of pancreatic cancer) was re-admitted with pneumonia. It was the most sorrowful Christmas I ever experienced.
I had a close brush with death itself a few months back and realised that every day was like a gift given to me. It was kind of surreal and whenever I think back of those times, I can’t help but drop tears of immense relief and gratitude.
All those years of resentment and hatred towards a person would just mean nothing when he/she is gone. And then we would understand how much we are actually hurting ourselves when we have to hate someone because this person has done so much to hurt us. Maybe we all should learn to forgive whether or not the evil one will change his/her ways. Or perhaps put it this way – just how many genuinely good and kind-hearted people there are in this world? Very very few. So why don’t we focus on precious people and things that are more worth our time and effort and let go of worthless baggage that does nothing but only drag us down further? Every drop of tear merely strengthened me and reminded me never to be any one of you. I wish you all nothing but peace and conscience.
Farewell 2015. You haven’t been the best but still, thank you for everything.
This recipe is like the pork version of a Coq au vin (French-style chicken braised in wine) except that cranberry sauce is used instead of wine. If you have bought cans of ready-made cranberry sauces from supermarkets to pair with roast turkeys or meatballs during your festive feasts and are wondering what to do with the remaining sauce, well, this is an ideal dinner recipe to make for the family.
Pork Tenderloin with Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients (serves 2)
300g pork tenderloin, sliced into steaks of 1/2″ thickness
400ml chicken stock
2 red onions, peeled & cut into quarters
120g cranberry sauce
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp sunflower oil
corn starch solution (mix 1 tbsp corn flour with 2 tbsp water)
salt & freshly ground black pepper
steamed potatoes & vegetables as sides
Instructions
1. Season the pork with salt and pepper.
2. Heat oil in pan and brown the pork steaks. Remove and set aside.
3. In the same pan, stir fry the onions till soft and add the stock, cranberry sauce and honey. Bring to a boil.
4. Return the pork steaks to the pan and reduce heat to simmer for half hour.
5. Thicken the gravy with corn starch solution to your desired consistency.
6. Serve with steamed potatoes and vegetables.
Happy New Year! Here’s to 2016. Love the idea of using cranberry sauce instead of wine. (But maybe a splash of wine too?)
Gina