Pork with Roots

I've made this recipe quite a few times since I found it on Anne's Food, a big thank you to Anne! It's an excellent recipe, if you like pork and winter vegetables (ie. root vegetables), which I do, the combination works so well together, though I think this should rather have been called Roots with a little Pork. Still good. The balsamic vinegar and honey combine together to give it a good flavour as well. I've also made this with Chinese daikon and kohlrabi; I can't see why you couldn't use parsnips either. Serve with brown rice or a good thick slice of whole-grain bread.

Pork with Roots
250-300 g lean pork, no bones
2 medium carrots
200 g rutabaga
100 g celeriac (celery root)
1 white turnip
1 yellow onion
1 bouillon cube
200 mL water
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
dried thyme, oregano and tarragon, a good pinch of each
freshly ground pepper
2 tsp good runny honey
2 Tbsp olive oil

Cut the carrots into thick coins. Dice the rutabaga and turnip into large dice, and the celeriac into small dice. Cut the onion into wedges. Cut the pork into bite-sized pieces.

Heat up the olive oil in a large pot. Brown the meat on all sides. Add the carrot, rutabaga, turnip and onion, and give it a good stir. Add the bouillon cube, the water and the balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle each pinch of dried herbs over the vegetables.

Bring to a boil, cover with a lid and lower heat to low. Let it simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until all the vegetables are soft. If the heat is too high, you may have to add more water.

Season to taste with runny honey and freshly ground pepper.

Port Credit's Harbourlicious

The fourth year of Winterlicious is taking place currently, part of WinterCity, this is an event that allows upscale and trendy restaurants to offer three-course Price Fixe lunches and dinners, typically $15-25 for lunches and $25-35 for dinners. It is an interesting concept, driven partly as an attempt to drive up business in the lean winter months, when people are more likely to want to cocoon in their homes, avoiding the cold and snow, until spring and its accompanying warmer weather arrives. I would like to see some sort of Autumnlicious/Harvestlicious event, the same sort of deal, but featuring locally grown fruits and vegetables when they are at their peak in the Fall. Following in the success of Winterlicious, some restaurants are difficult at best to get seatings, Port Credit, located on the shores of Lake Ontario mostly along Lakeshore Boulevard in south Mississauga, has introduced an event they call Harbourlicious, which runs much longer than the two weeks of its Toronto counterpart, it runs from February 1 to March 17, some 45 days. There are lots of events going on during this event, theme nights like Mardi Gras and St. Patrick's Day; Corkless Mondays, where the restaurant pays the corkage fee when you bring your own wine; live music; a Chocolate Lover's brunch; and, of course, the three-course Fixed Price meals. Participating restaurants include Breakwater Restaurant; The Crooked Cue; The Pump House Grill Co.; Snug Harbour Seafood Bar & Grill; The Brogue; Lake Effect Patio Bar & Grill; and ten Restaurant & Wine Bar. I must confess that most of these restaurants I have never even heard of, I live close to this area, but have never ventured down to the Lakeshore to check out the local restaurants and happenings. Perhaps this event will pry me out of my own personal cocoon.