Grilled Orange Thai Chili Chicken

1 - 1 1/2 lbs. chicken tenderloins

1 cup orange juice

2 tablespoons Thai chili sauce

1. Mix orange juice and chili sauce together; pour over

tenderloins and marinate in refrigerator for several hours

or overnight, turning tenderloins once.

2. Grill until tenderloins are done through, turning once

(usually 3 - 4 minutes on first side, then about 2 minutes

after turning).

3. Serve with more Thai chili sauce for dipping purposes.

NOTES:

1. I always use tenderloins, but I would imagine boneless

breasts would work just as well, or possibly even thighs

and wings; obviously, cooking times would need to be

adapted to the cuts used.

2. There are various recipes on the internet for Thai chili

sauce, but for convenience I use Kikkoman Thai Style

Chili Sauce, which I find excellent. You can adjust the

amount in the marinade to suit your taste and your

preferred level of chili heat.

Hedgie's Heaven

This has become my favorite cooling summertime dessert. Or snack. Or whatever.

1/3 cup papaya, peeled, seeded, cut up, and chilled

1/3 cup fresh blueberries, chilled

1/3 cup heavy cream

1. Place all ingredients in bowl.

2. Stir a bit.

3. Eat.

NOTES:

1. I prefer the smaller Solo (or Hawaiian) papayas for their

sweeter and richer taste, but the larger (Mexican) papayas

work quite well.

2. Fresh blackberries work just as well as blueberries; the two

mixed together are also excellent. Raspberries are good, too.

Strawberries I don't personally like and haven't tried, but I imagine

they'd work, also. Grapes probably would, as well; I just hadn't

thought about trying them until just now.

3. For those who are health-conscious, instead of heavy cream

one can substitute 2 - 3 tablespoons of yogurt; regular, reduced

fat, and fat-free yogurts all work.

Pear Salsa

(Adapted from Taste of Home Backyard Grilling: Recipes and

Tips to Grill Like a Pro, Reiman Media Group, Inc., 2006)

This salsa goes particularly well with pork, but also with

chicken and fish, especially grilled.

3 - 4 pears, peeled and chopped

1 - 4 tablespoons red onion, chopped (amount to taste)

2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped

3 tablespoons lime juice

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 - 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper (amount to taste)

Mix ingredients in bowl; serve chilled.

NOTES:

1. I personally prefer Bosc pears, as they're not only

tastier but somewhat firmer than most other pears and

hold up better if the salsa is left over for several days.

2. The recipe actually calls for 1/3 cup of red onion, but

I don't care for that much in this recipe.

3. Dried mint can be substituted for the fresh, but the

result isn't quite as flavorful.

4. I've found this salsa is best if kept overnight before

serving, as the flavors have time to mingle and develop;

also, it keeps well for 3 - 5 days in the refrigerator.

Hedgie's Own Semi-Greek Salad

(WARNING: I've evolved this recipe over a period of several years, and

I just sort of know how much of everything to toss in, so the measurements

given here are rough approximations.

Oh, all right: Read "guesses" for "approximations.")

1 large red bell pepper and 1 large green bell pepper

OR

1 medium red, 1 medium green, and 1 medium yellow or orange bell peppers

1 red onion

1 - 2 Roma tomatoes

OR

10 -12 cherry tomatoes

2/3 - 1 cup of pitted olives

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning (mixed herbs)

3 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese

3 tablespoons of Greek salad dressing

2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

Core and seed bell peppers and chop into bite-sized pieces; place in a large mixing bowl. Chop and add onion to taste. Dice Roma tomatoes OR quarter cherry tomatoes and add to taste. Add olives, Italian seasoning, feta, salad dressing, and olive oil, and stir to mix well. Refrigerate. Serve cold.

NOTES:

1. I use only a small amount (a tablespoon or so) of red onion because I've found that the

onions can sometimes overwhelm the other tastes everything else, but it's really a matter of

taste and experimentation (that's equally true of all the ingredients here).

2. I generally use a mixture of green and black olives because I like both, but that isn't

essential.

3. For the Greek dressing, I prefer Ken's Steak House Greek with Feta Cheese,

Black Olives, and Imported Olive Oil, but I've also used Kraft Greek Vinaigrette

with Feta Cheese and Oregano, and it's quite good, as well.

4. Occasionally, I'll toss in a tablespoon of fresh dill, finely minced, as well as the

dried Italian seasoning herbs.

5. This salad is best if it sits overnight before being served because the various

flavors blend better; it can be served as soon as cold, however, and is still good.

Pork Medallions in Sour Cream Sauce

(Recipe adapted from 1001 Delicious Recipes for People with Diabetes, Second

Edition, edited by Sue Spitler, Linda Eugene, & Linda Yoakam, Surrey Books, 2007)

1 - 1 1/2 lb pork tenderloin, sliced into 1/2 inch medallions

1 cup apple juice

1/2 - 1 small onion, chopped (amount to taste)

1/2 teaspoon dried sage

2 tablespoons flour

10 - 12 oz. sour cream

salt and pepper to taste

1. Panfry pork medallions in lightly greased frying pan until done,

3 - 4 minutes per side; remove from pan.

2. Add apple juice, onions, and sage to pan and bring to a boil; reduce

heat and cover, simmering until onion is tender, 5 -6 minutes.

3. Combine flour and sour cream in bowl, then add to frying pan,

stirring until sauce thickens, around 1 minute, and season with

salt and pepper.

4. Return pork medallions to pan and heat over low heat for 2 - 3

minutes.

5. Serve over fettuccine.

Serves 6 - 8.

Leftover medallions and sauce can easily be reheated

the next day; the dish holds over well, particularly if the

leftovers aren't poured over pasta or rice before saving.

* * *

Notes:

1. Yogurt can be used instead of sour cream (in fact, that's what

the original recipe calls for). Either yogurt or sour cream can be

low-fat or fat-free, if desired.

2. The original recipe also calls for 4 quartered shallots as well

as the onion; it isn't at all necessary, but does add a slightly

different taste to the sauce.

3. The original recipe calls for spinach fettuccine, which works

quite well, but regular fettuccine does, too. So does rice.

UPDATE: I just made this using the yogurt (fat-free, in fact),

and decided to try something a bit different and spicier, so

I added in about 1/4 teaspoon of hot (as opposed to sweet)

paprika right after adding the flour/yogurt mixture to the frying

pan; the result was quite tasty. I suspect one could also use

cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, or tabasco sauce in a

similar fashion to liven up the sauce; it would be necessary

to experiment to arrive at the right amount for individual tastes,

I suspect (I'll probably be adding a bit more paprika next time

myself as I rather like spicier and hotter dishes.)

Marinated Flank Steak

The marinated flank steak can either be grilled on an outside grill

or broiled in the oven to desired doneness. (This is a combination

of material adapted from two different recipes in Taste of Home

Backyard Grilling: Recipes and Tips to Grill Like a Pro, Reiman

Media Group, Inc., 2006.)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 - 2 lbs. flank steak

Marinade ingredients:

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup peanut or vegetable oil

1/4 cup red wine

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 - 3 cloves of garlic, minced

4 - 6 green onions, chopped

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 - 1 1/2 teaspoons cracked black pepper

Combine and mix marinade ingredients in bowl; pour into large

sealable plastic bag; add steak cut into 2 or 3 large pieces;

marinate for 8 - 12 hours in refrigerator, turning occasionally.

Discard marinade and grill steak. Cut into thin strips across

the grain and serve.

Recipe produces 6 - 8 servings.

Note:

This recipe works fine as leftovers to be reheated in toaster oven.

"Salad"

Here are bell pepper rings

as bracelets for your wrists,

Kalamata olives strung for a necklace,

cherry tomatoes threaded

on arcs of onion for your ears,

and a kumquat for your belly button.

As soon as I add the oil and wine vinegar,

the feast begins.