Relishin' RelishRelish Recipes

The final thing I cooked from my collection of recipes from the RelishRelish menu service was your basic Pumpkin Bread. This is a quick bread recipe. Frankly, I'm still daunted by the idea of using yeast in anything other than that aging yet trusty second-hand breadmaker I've got taking up space in the kitchen. The machine sells for more than a hundred dollars; I got mine for fifty at the local thrift store - and it has been worth it.
 

The only quibble I had with the Pumpkin Bread recipe was the addition of a bunch of vegetable oil. I do my best to eliminate oil from baked goods, so never add any to brownies. I just substitute a no-nonsense applesauce and go on about my business. There's no difference in taste to me. and the fat content of the final product is lower. I didn't give in to the oil temptation here, but instead used extra pumpkin. I added a bit of butter in as well; so much for that lower fat content. 

The batter consisted of flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, eggs, water, and the aforementioned pumpkin and butter. The recipe also called for chopped pecans, so into the batter they went. It looked good and tasted good, too.

Pumpkin Bread batter

I was worried, though, because you never know what will happen when you mess around with ingredients. I also had to reduce the recipe by half because it was going to make two loaves. I only have one loaf pan and didn't want to improvise any further. I poured the batter into a greased and floured loaf pan, then baked for 45 minutes in a 350 degree oven. I crossed my fingers, went on to other things, and soon smelled a fabulous aroma coming from the kitchen.

I removed the bread from the oven and administered the "toothpick" test. The toothpick did come out clean, so I figured it was done. I laid the pan on its side to cool for a bit, and walked away.

I returned about five minutes later to find the center of the loaf slowly dribbling onto the stove. Oops! Looks like it wasn't really done after all. Back into the oven it went for another 15 minutes. And when it emerged, it did look tasty. This time I stuck it a few times with a toothpick just to be sure there would be no more messes on the stove top; that is until I cook again. (There's limited mise en place here, it's more mise en mess.)

I waited as long as I could and cut off a big hunk. Then I slathered on butter, and ate it up. The pumpkin bread was fresh, still warm from the oven and the butter melted with ease. I swooned. Since then, it's been my breakfast and late afternoon snack. It's all gone, and I still want more.

Pumpkin Bread and Butter

I'll confess, I am a certified RelishRelish junkie and heartily recommend the service for anyone looking for easy, fast, fresh food with a gourmet attitude. It's affordable, and you choose what recipes you want to prepare each week. The service also provides a grocery shopping list and all recipes every week.

When I've OD'd on Relish though, I look for other recipes that are equally satisfying and simple. And it's a long, slow slog through cookbook after cookbook, recipe after recipe, only to be disappointed. On the other hand, I discover delicious food, too. Wonder what I'll be cooking next? I sure hope it's not Alinea. There's a copy around here somewhere...

Spicy Tenderloin

Here are a couple more results from my selection of recipes via the weekly menu service at RelishRelish.

The crockpot-friendly Pork Tenderloin with Sweet Potatoes sounded promising. I haven't had a lot of luck with crockpots over the years; most of the time there's a funny taste, or the taste is just so bland that I'd rather eat towels. Dry, fluffy towels fresh out of the dryer.

Regardless of the condition of the towels at my house or in the kitchen, if I see a crockpot recipe, I automatically think of how it could be turned into a stove top recipe. This recipe was a breeze to make on the stove. First I browned the tiny tenderloin in my trusty Calaphon pan. I chopped sweet potatoes and onion, then placed them in a separate pot with garlic and brown sugar. The tenderloin went on top. I added chicken broth, covered, and let the whole thing go for about a half hour.

In the meantime I got going on the suggested side dish, Breadcrumb Broccoli. I created some instant breadcrumbs by whirring toasted and chopped bread with a hand blender; mine's a lovely shade of red. I definitely am not organized enough to keep breadcrumbs on hand or in the freezer, so the hand blender did good things on a short notice. It's also pretty hilarious to have itty bitty breadcrumbs flying all over the kitchen!

I steamed the broccoli until just tender and drained. In the pan the broccoli cooked in, I added the breadcrumbs and fresh thyme from my counter-top Aerogarden (love it!) When the breadcrumbs were golden, I removed from the heat and added broccoli, Parmesan, and pepper, then tossed to combine. This was easy and tasty.

Breadcrumb Broccoli

By the time the broccoli was ready for the table, the pork tenderloin and sweet potatoes looked luscious. This was just right for a cold winter evening - pure, satisfying comfort food. The chicken broth made the sweet potatoes extra-special, and the addition of the brown sugar? Perfect. I ate this at night, and then again for lunch the next day. Wonderful!

Pork Tenderloin with Sweet Potatoes

I also prepared the Breakfast Burrito with Spicy Hash Browns. While easy enough to prepare, and satisfying in a "fill me up" sort of way, the burrito wasn't anything spectacular that makes me beg for more. And the Spicy Hash Browns were not spicy. I also didn't finish those, so I believe they're headed down the drain through the garbage disposal. I have to say that's one of the worst things about cooking for yourself. If you don't like the recipe, you're stuck with it. You can't always pawn it off on a friend. You can't always find a friend who has an active compost pile in the middle of a snowy winter who would appreciate a bag of boring hash browns.

Score for RelishRelish thus far? Very good! I have one more recipe to write about: Pumpkin Bread is on the way.

Hash Browns looking good!