Orange and red - a simple fruit salad

Yesterday, my youngest sister moved home from college for the summer, so my other sister and I decided we should celebrate / get together and have a good homemade dinner. I also received a wonderful belated birthday gift in the form of some amaaaazing news, but I'm not at liberty to share just yet! ;) There shall be plenty more where that's coming from!

Middle sister made some really fantastic-looking fresh, wild salmon that we scoped out at the deli, and I compulsively filled up my shopping cart with nothing but fruit (and some coconut water). It was only after I got home and realized that much fruit for one person was a little overboard, a salad would be perfect for sister dinner!

It's mostly an excuse to photograph gorgeous summer fruits, but the recipe is below, of course! Easy-peasy and super delish.

Simple Orange and Red Fruit Salad

Serves 4

A good-size bunch of red seedless grapes (up to two cups worth, or so)

8-10oz strawberries (half a pack, usually)

1 naval orange, peeled and separated into segments

1 crispy apple (such as Honeycrisp, Fuji, or Cameo)

I like a good, chunky fruit salad, so the grapes go in whole. Follow that with the strawberries, using a small knife to chop off the leaves, and then slice berries in half length-wise, or if they're enormous, then to preferred bite-size. Using a sharp knife, trim any excess pith off the orange and cut into bite size chunks. Slice and chop up the apple and toss in a medium sized bowl. Use a rubber spatula to stir. Serve and enjoy!

The orange juice keeps the apples from oxidizing and turning brown, but if you decide to skip the oranges, you'll want to drizzle in a little lemon juice to keep them looking white and fresh. Having a really crispy apple complements the soft strawberries and oranges, and the grapes add some tang. Of course the beauty of fruit salad is that just about anything can go in one. I'd be up for some blueberries and raspberries next time, and probably some whipped cream on top!

Prosciutto-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin with Lemon Herb Sauce

I've been on a prosciutto bender lately (yep, that's a thing). For a while, I was buying cantaloupe and wrapping prosciutto around the slices -- a popular starter referred to in Italy as prosciutto e melone. It just sounds amazing. Anyway, time passed and numerous meloni were consumed, and then I just got plain old sick of it. Except I still had a pricey pack of prosciutto in the fridge, so I decided to use it for good instead of... well, nothing.

Preparing meals for one can be a little challenging when it comes to number of portions and how long leftovers will last. I did a little rummaging around in my fridge to see what I had, other than the prosciutto, and when I remembered a small pack of organic fresh thyme, I thought of this prosciutto-wrapped pork tenderloin. I adapted this from a recipe in the October/November 2011 issue of Cook's Country Magazine, but I made a few small changes, mostly for ease of preparation, as I was making this to provide take-to-work lunches for myself. Here's the way I did it:

Prosciutto-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin with Lemon Herb Sauce

1 pork tenderloin (1.5lb package, pretrimmed)

5-6 slices thinly-sliced prosciutto

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup chicken broth

juice of one lemon

2 tablespoons minced fresh green onions (or chives)

salt and pepper to taste

Put the oven rack in the middle position and preheat oven to 450F. Pat tenderloins dry with paper towel. Wrap the tenderloin in prosciutto, covering as much as you can.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat until it just starts to smoke. Brown the pork on all sides, 5-7 minutes, then transfer the tenderloin onto a wire rack set in a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake 25-30 minutes or until internal temperature of meat reaches 145F.

While tenderloin is in the oven, heat the remaining oil in the same skillet over medium heat. Add flour, thyme, and garlic and cook, stirring constantly for about 1 minute. Stir in the broth and lemon juice and cook until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Transfer sauce to a serving bowl and add green onion. Season with salt and pepper to taste (I suggest skipping the salt as prosciutto is already salty, and the lemon and chicken broth in the sauce will also provide salt). Slice pork and serve with sauce.

Serves 3-4.

Days to Edinburgh move-in: 117

Balsamic Vinegar Sauteed Brussels Sprouts

A year ago, if someone had told me I would be eating brussels sprouts (and like them!), let alone buying and preparing them myself, I would have thought, "Crazy! I hate brussels sprouts!"

I really did. And in fact, I still kind of do, except therein lies the rub. I had a memorable experience as a child, during a visit to my aunt and uncle's house, when I was made to sit at the kitchen table until I had eaten all of my brussels sprouts. If I recall, they were steamed. And they were terrible. Steamed brussels sprouts = I can't handle it. Paired with my stubborn streak (my mom's probably thinking, "Just a streak?"), the whole experience turned me adamantly anti-brussels sprouts. But over the last several months, I've taken a liking them roasted and, as I learned, sauteed. Where roasting gives them a crispy texture, browning them on the stovetop brings out a sweet nuttiness, and when paired with vinegar, it's just the kind of lunch that a rainy day calls for.

And so easy!

Balsamic Vinegar Sauteed Brussels Sprouts

Serves 2

16-20 smallish brussels sprouts

2 tsp olive oil, divided

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

pinch kosher salt

pepper to taste

Rinse the brussels sprouts and pat them dry. Chop off the brown ends, peel off outer leaves, and cut in half. Combine brussels sprouts, 1 tsp oil, the balsamic vinegar and the salt, and toss to combine. Heat the other teaspoon of oil in a nonstick pan over medium heat, and add the brussels sprouts mixture. Sautee for 8-10 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally. Serve immediately.