Pork fillet with sweet potato mash

I like eating pork fillet because it is the leanest meat part. It's not too flavoursome and tastes quite like chicken in my opinion. I have cooked pork medallion before, so I wanted to try oven bake a whole fillet to keep all the juices in. My only concern was not to under-cook the pork, because as you know rare pork is a no-no. Why? Because some diseases might not be get 'killed' and you can get infected by eating raw meat or something that sounds close enough to that. For my meat, I decided to go for a spice/herb rub. I pan-fried it first to sear all the sides (about 3-5 minutes) . I then put it the oven to cook all the way through (180 degrees for about 20 minutes). My pork fillet was quite small, which is why I did not cook it for too long in the oven, since you do not want to over cook the meat as well. After baking, I let the meat rest for about 15 minutes before cutting in, to allow the juice to stabilise/ equalise. I also prepared some sweet potato mash and pan-fried some button mushrooms, to go with the pork. The result is a happy meal.

Kitkat (from Japan)

This is one of my favourite childhood chocolate treat. Don't you just love that crunchy wafer coated with milk chocolate. Like their slogan say: 'Have a break...have a kitkat'. Sure.

I think that everyone is aware and must have tried the original version which is the plain chocolate one. In Australia, they now have added mint and cookie & cream flavour to the range. However, according to Wikipedia (not that it can be trusted but), there are over 100 flavours in Japan.

One of my bro's friend went to Japan and brought some of these popular kitkat. They come in those super cute packaging and I actually like that they come in small bite-size wrapping.

I had so much fun taking pictures of these because it is so colourful altogether. I definitely give a high-five to the designer of these packaging. We had vanilla, strawberry, red bean, and sakura matcha flavours, including my addition of the original and mint crunchy. Aha.

Leave the packaging alone, the kit kat are not only super cute, but taste really good. The flavours just match what you would expect. My favourite is sakura matcha. I am not too sure what sakura taste like, but I had a subtle taste of coconut pandan which won me over. I also like the vanilla and the strawberry. While I do like red bean and the chocolate had that distinct flavour,  I think it was too overpowering for me. Overall, it was a massive sweet treat.

Group picture, including the ones we already had at home.

  

Individual picture:

Strawberry, red bean and sakura matcha

Vanilla and sakura matcha (in a more stylish packaging aha)

Chocolate and minty

And why not a last picture:

 

Throwback in the kitchen

A long overdue post. Winter has set in already (can you believe it!). Hours, days and months are flying away...which is why you want to make the most out of every day (well sort of- it does not hurt to try, right). I have to agree though that it is easier to say (or think) about something than actually doing it. But....the key is not to make that a habit.
Alright enough of wise words. Not much has really happened in the kitchen this week, let's blame the change of season (or hmm ...).

Let's begin with a super easy dish: spaghetti with bolognese sauce. I actually added a healthy hint to it by adding some celery and zucchini (mmm). It was one of my best executed sauce so far. The secret is to cook the mince beef until dry (that is all the liquid/fat has been absorbed/evaporated) and then add your vegetables. I saw recipes usually mention to cook the vegetables first, but I prefer cooking the meat first.

It is winter and brocoli is in season (yaaaaaaay). Brocoli is one of my favourite veg and is so nutritious. I stir-fried some chicken breast and shiitake mushroom, then added the carrots and brocoli and covered with a lid until both are cooked.

 

I also prepared some lentil soup to accompany the dish (or just to keep warm).

 

I made oat meal for the first time ever. I have never really liked oat meal, until recently which is why I would not cook it. However I have come to appreciate it now and  it is seriouslyeasy to cook. The best thing is that you can add in your favourite toppings- I stirred in some honey, chia seeds and blueberries. Result is a simply delicious and healthy way to start the day.

Back to some less healthy dish, we had fish and chips for Saturday lunch. Like I mentioned in an earlier post, I am more into grilling now. So I grilled both the chips and fish in the oven. This gives both the chips and fish a crispy finish.

 For Sunday dinner, I cooked veal steak (and I must add that the meat was ridiculously tender- now I was not expecting that but really enjoyed it, as a matter of fact), with sweet potato mash, some spinach and grape tomatoes on the side.

Well this is quite a quick wrap-up of the week...hmm at least of the dishes I cooked.
All I can wish now is for everyone to have a good weekend and keep warm.