Paleo in PDX

Happy Monday, everyone! I’m pleased to have my lovely friend, Ashley of Craving4more guest posting for me today, so I can enjoy my time back home with friends and family. Ashley creates amazing recipes and flavor combinations, and knows food well. I’m fortunate to have spent time with Ashley on numerous occasions while she still lived in Portland and am grateful for our friendship. Thank you, Ashley for sharing your beautiful words and creations.

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I am so delighted to have been asked as a guest, to share a bit about myself and about the things that I create in the kitchen.

I am a food lover for sure. Growing up in a family of gourmet food brokers, I learned to appreciate the very best in terms of the flavor and quality of things which pass my lips. I was exposed to the most amazing tastes on earth. Experiences that I will never forget have much to do with the foodie environment of my youth. I will also be forever grateful to my mother for the blessing and the curse of my kitchen creativity. Unable to ever follow a recipe, she has passed along the gift to me of the ability to create some of the most astounding things on earth to ever touch the palette. Yet, this blessing is accompanied by the impossibility of precision in replication, as recording, measurements, and even recollection of items, ingredients, and methods are few and far between. As a result, I believe my madness in the kitchen creates flavorful and delectable inspirations.

I have an overwhelmingly complex relationship with food. My culinary creations, though, have become my artist’s portfolio. I daydream about the possibilities of flavor combinations and the perfect melange of taste, texture, and color in what I create. When I sense, smell, or see a perfectly ripe tomato or discover the existence of vanilla truffle salt, I am filled with excitement and awe until I can possibly get to work in my kitchen canvas.

I mulled for some time over the perfect recipe to share on Alisa’s blog today. She creates such wonderful recipes herself, I was determined to compose something fabulously fantastic for her readership. I wanted to use the finest and freshest seasonal produce, my favorite herbs and spices, but also challenge myself a bit as well. Neither of us are particularly fond of pork, so I decided to take it upon myself to compose an utterly fantastic dish using the “other white meat” that would have us salivating simply at the sound and sight, but also in the end, when all is said and done, craving4more.

Bacon Basil Fig and Balsamic Pork Tenderloin

• 1 lb. pastured pork tenderloin
• Sea salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat grill to medium heat. Liberally salt and pepper all sides of the tenderloin. Reducing grill heat to medium-low, grill tenderloin until it has reached juicy, moist perfection. Depending on your grill, this is usually 7 minutes to sear the first side, 6 minutes for the second side, and 5 minutes for the final side. Allow to “rest” approximately 5 minutes before slicing.

Bacon Basil Fig Balsamic and Tomato Salsa (it’s a mouthful to say, and an amazing mouthful to savor)

• 2 large heirloom tomatoes, chopped
• 6 large fresh figs, chopped
• 1/4 c. fresh basil leaves, minced
• 2 thick slices pastured bacon, coarsely chopped and fried until crispy
• 2 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
• Sea salt and pepper

Directions:

Combine all salsa ingredients and allow to marinate at least 30 minutes. Serve atop the grilled tenderloin.

This truly is better than good. It’s pretty darn spectacular.

I hope you enjoy it!

I know food.  My relationship with food is both vast and intimate.  I know the chemistry of food, I know the art of food, and I oh so know the emotion of food.  I adore food and yet I grieve it.  My goal, though, is to respect food for what it is – nourishment. My hope is to entertain, educate, bless and fill your cravings.  May you be truly nourished and full.  Most importantly, though, smile. Meanwhile, you can visit me over at Craving4more, and find me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.