French Recipes For Pork Tenderloin

On the Turf

Well, we started preseason aka “the best season” on Wednesday, August 10. After sitting in meetings for almost four hours, we headed home, only to return a short while later. From there, we met our coaches and were told we had an hour to pack our things into five bags total. Why? Well, we were headed on a camping trip at Adams Eden! Considering pretty much only , took on the challenge of making her 18 teammate’s dinner. It was quite amusing (particularly serving us from the pot on the floor), but her pasta turned out to be truly delicious!

 Immediately after dinner, we decided to go on an excursion through the wood to find this “awesome” waterfall. After at least 30 minutes of walking and climbing (and falling) down a steep mountain we reached the falls. But wait, it was a mini-stream with the largest water fall being three feet high. Let’s just say we were less than thrilled, particularly , who succumbed to the peer pressure of climbing through a muddy area, dirtying her sweatshirt and drenching her water bottle in mud. After we navigated our way through the dark back to our cabin safely, we chatted and made up our own games for several hours. After discussing our sadness about forgetting to bring food to make ‘smores, we headed to our bunk-beds, all 19 of us crammed into one room, and woke up in the morning feeling less than well-rested for our running test that afternoon.

Yet while Day one was vivid and memorable, Days 2-9 were all just one big blur. We practiced three times a day. In fact, the only thing we ever seemed to do was play and eat, play and eat, play and eat…with a little bit of sleep in between. The freshman slept on the living room floors and couches of the upperclassman and each house took turns making and hosting lunch for the team.

Simple Pleasures | French Cooking Recipes | at Home | chef Lisa ...

As I watched my daughter and her co-campers suit up in their fencing gear I thought of how hot they must be. Like a thirsty person in the desert who sees a mirage, when they drew their foils I empathically saw a refreshing snack for these hot fencers: melon balls and cured meats skewered on their foils. The making of these skewers requires little explanation, but I have included  a few ingredient notes so you can make the best skewers possible. Parma prosciutto is cured pork leg from Parma, Italy. It is available at many grocery stores (you can buy it pre-packaged although many deli sections carry the leg and slice it for you). If you cannot find imported prosciutto, you can use the domestic prosciutto. Alternatively, you can substitute Spanish cured hams such as Jamón Serrano Coppa and lomo are two other cured pork meats of which many people are not familiar.  Coppa is from the back of the head area and Lomo Embuchado is taken from the pork tenderloin. Lomo is imported from Spain and leaner than coppa, jambon or prosciutto. Coppa is sold in many grocery stores (i.e., Whole Foods sells Apple Farms Coppa). Lomo is available in primarily specialty meat or cheese shops but you can easily buy it and other Spanish treats from La Tienda online When it comes to picking a good melon the primary thing you want to look at is where the vine was attached to the melon.  There should be a shallow, round indentation with no stem or pieces of stem attached. Stem remains on your melon means that the melon was harvested prematurely (by cutting or pulling) rather than detaching naturally when it was ripe. As a result, the melon will not be as sweet.  Additionally, for cantaloupes the skin under the netting should be the color of straw, without bruises or cuts, and the cantaloupe should feel heavy.  If it is fragrant, that is an added bonus. As for watermelons, if you thump the melon it should have a hollow sound.