If you think I have my hands full with moving in less than 3 weeks and all that there is to do, how about we add to the scenario that my husband had spinal surgery last week?
No, I am not kidding. In actuality, we are very fortunate. He has been suffering for several years now with leg pain that was masquerading as other diagnoses which it turned out not to be.
Recently our path finally led us to the true source of his problem, as well as the neurosurgeon who could fix it.
Once the diagnosis was clear, ( thanks to our internist’s continual efforts to lead us to the correct diagnosis by referring us to the orthopedist who referred us to the physiatrist (rehabilitation physician) who referred us to the fantastic neurosurgeon), it was inside a week from consult to the successful outpatient surgery performed only 5 days ago!
We are so grateful to all involved who made this happen, and in such a small window of time before our scheduled move.
We had truly feared as my husband’s condition was suddenly increasingly worsening that our hopes and dreams of hiking, biking, and being active in our new home on the west coast might be just that, a dream.
But with the events of last week we can now look forward, (with some time for him to build himself up to almost the athlete he once was), to that dream coming true.
And while he is recovering from the surgery, I am trying to pick up the slack in the packing department as our moving day is quickly approaching. And since he is not to lift, bend or twist…there will be no more packing for him!
He will, however be able to supervise me so that should make up for some of his discontent !
But as always, we have to eat! So I have been making simple meals that require very little prep time, such as the Grilled Herb-Marinated Pork Tenderloin in the photo above.
This is a recipe from Ina Garten, aka The Barefoot Contessa, featured in her Back To Basics cookbook. All my cookbooks are packed, but I have been making this for quite some time now.
It is a favorite of mine for the summer on the grill. Other than the time spent marinating in the herbs, garlic and lemon juice, it requires little cooking time. Leftovers make great cold sandwiches.
As long as I had the grill hot, I sliced a couple of Russet potatoes in wedges, tossed them with olive oil, kosher salt, and pepper, and grilled them while the pork was cooking.
Grilled Herb-Marinated Pork Tenderloin (Ina Garten, Back to Basics)
zest of 1 grated lemon
¾ cup fresh lemon juice (4-6 lemons)
½ cup olive oil (plus more to brush the grill)
2 tablespoons minced garlic (6 cloves)
1 and ½ tablespoons minced fresh rosemary leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
kosher salt
3 pork tenderloins (approx 1 lb each)
fresh ground black pepper
Directions
Combine the lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, rosemary, thyme, mustard and 2 teaspoons of the salt in a 1 gallon resealable plastic bag. Add the pork tenderloins and turn to coat with the marinade.
Squeeze the air out of the bag. Marinate in the refrigerator overnight, or at least 3 hours.
When ready to cook, preheat the grill. Be sure to brush the grill with some oil to prevent the pork from sticking. Remove the tenderloins from the marinade and discard the marinade but leave herbs clinging to the meat.
Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper, then grill, turning a few times to brown all sides, for 15-25 minutes-until the meat registers about 137 degrees at the thickest part.
Transfer the tenderloins to a platter and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Let rest for at least 10 minutes.
Carve in ½ inch thick diagonal slices. The thickest part will be pink; this is just fine! The thinnest parts will be well done.
Season with salt and pepper if needed. Serve warm or at room temperature with the juices that collect on the platter.