Day 33: Accomplishing The Artichoke

Menu:Artichauts Brais'es A La Provencale JC
(Artichokes Braised w/Wine, Garlic and Herbs

Pork Tenderloin in Plum Sauce ME

Mediterranean Salad ME

Three Berry Smoothie ME

Four years ago was the last time I cleaned my oven I was home alone and it caught fire. You can't open a self-cleaning oven to put out a fire because the door locks. So I panicked and called the fire department. They came and I got a kick out of one of the firemen because he asked me if the bottom of the stove possibly had debris on it that could have caught fire. I told him it did have pizza droppings but I wiped all that up before I started the self-cleaning. Pizza he said Oh no and he said a curse word or two. And then he asked to use my phone. He then called the firehouse to ask them if someone could immediately take his pizza out of the oven before it burned. There were three firefighters in my kitchen. All three of them and myself laughed and got a kick out of that one. Needless to say, Michael has done the oven cleaning since then.

Because of that fire I had to get a new stove and as I mentioned in a previous post it has never worked right. The repairman comes tomorrow to fix the new stove because we got a recall notice on it. I didn't want him to see my oven a mess so I self-cleaned it today. I started very early this morning. I didn't realize it takes a long time because the door won't unlock until the oven has completely cooled. I was wondering if I was going to be able to cook today. But it all worked out. I ran to the grocery store and got a pork tenderloin and made my secret plum sauce. I used Julia's saute'ed mushroom recipe and then put them in with the pork and sauce.

The artichoke dish was something different. And we both liked it. I've been getting a little more comfortable working with artichokes. If your not careful they will poke you! After I got the onions, artichoke, garlic and herbs going, I added the suggested potatoes to the dish. I then put the tomato pulp over all. It was so tasty and served with the pork in plum sauce, it gave the meal a holiday feast feel.

We won't be needing dessert tonight. The smoothie was like having a big milkshake. I used raspberries, blackberries and strawberries and then added heavy cream, milk, ice, sugar and vanilla to it. Wow, it was a nice tall glass of heaven.

Facts:
Day 33 of 100 (365 days means would mean I'm not even close to being a 1/3 of the way done)

Pounds Lost: 2
Pounds Gained: 3 (I lost 5 when I first started)
Happiness Level: 100% (Will be seeing my kids real soon now)
Missing My Kids: 100%
Cooking Enjoyment: 100% (I am using more of Julia's techniques with my own recipes what a difference)
Eating Enjoyment: 100% (Very good meal)
Meal Presentation: 100% (It looked good to me)