Roast pork dinner

Jac said: “I know you had a crappy day at work, so I cooked something nice for dinner.” I was exhausted and feeling blue from a very long day at work, but I felt instantly better when I walked into the kitchen and smelled our roast dinner.

You guys know how much I love roast pork. The tender, juicy meat and the salty, crispy crackling.

Jac served the pork with steamed green beans and broccoli and roasted root vegetables (potato, sweet potato, carrot). You can’t see it very well in the photo, but on the plate under the pork is apple sauce Jac made, and a little of my sister Juji’s onion jam. Why was the sauce and onion jam under the meat? Well, I’ve never been a big fan of pork and apple sauce but Jac thought I’d enjoy it if I gave it a try. She didn’t ask me if I wanted any, she just hid it under the pork! Her trick worked – I ate the pork with apple sauce and enjoyed it. But I think Juji’s onion jam made all the difference. It was fantastic with the pork.

Jac cooked the root vegetables in the drippings from the roast. Yes, pork fat. We don’t cook vegetables like this very often, but when we do, I savour every morsel. I love potatoes roasted in pork fat, it’s one of my favourite ways to eat potatoes. It’s so gloriously indulgent and delicious.

The crisp steamed greens were the most healthy items on the plate. :)

I love most roast meats, but roast pork has a special place in my heart because it comes with crackling. Crunchy and salty on one side with soft, melting fat on the other side. Why oh why must the most delicious, pleasurable things be so bad for us?

There is always enough left over for roast pork and vegetables for work lunch, or roast pork sandwiches. Sometimes Jac will freeze a chunk of the leftover pork – and then sometime later when I’ve completely forgotten about it, surprise me with it for another meal.