Supposedly Simple Supper (Serves 4.)

Last Friday I decided to make dinner so that I could see Aunt Annette and Uncle Larry and still get to bed on time.
Of course, the unpredictable variable (Dad) was the last to get here, by an hour and a half, and he was supposed to grill the pork for me. And of course, we couldn't eat without him.
A meal that should have taken 40 minutes took two and a half hours... I partially blame Dad, and I partially blame the kitchen. I couldn't prep and be with Uncle Larry and Aunt Annette at the same time.

Adapted from Cooking Light May 2006 page 162
Spice-Rubbed Grilled Pork Skewers

Pork

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

1 pork tenderloin (approx. 1 lb)

teaspoon chile paste

Sauce

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1. Combine first 7 ingredients.
2. Cut pork in half crosswise; cut each half into 4 lengthwise strips.
3. Combine pork strips and chile paste in a shallow dish, toss (or rub) to coat. Sprinkle spice mixture over pork and toss to coat. Let pork stand 10 minutes (or if you're me, an hour in the fridge)
4. Thread 1 pork strip on each of 8 wooden skewers.
5. Grill into cooked (Dad did this, so I don't know how long.)
6. Drizzle sauce over pork.

Grilled Tomatoes

16 cherry tomatoes

1. Skewer 4 tomatoes onto each of 4 skewers.
2. Grill (once again, that was Dad. I was making the couscous.)

Green Peanut Couscous

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

5.7 oz couscous

2-3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon peanut oil

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic

2 tablespoons chopped unsalted roasted peanuts

2 sliced green onions

1. bring broth to a boil in a 1 1/2 quart pot.
2. Stir in couscous, cover, and let stand 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine soy sauce, peanut oil, crushed red pepper, and granulated garlic.
4. Fluff couscous with fork and stir in soy mixture, peanuts, and green onions.

And then of course, there was dessert. Aunt Annette and I made dessert after dinner. It was very simple. It was a way to use up the strawberries in the fridge. It was all the strawberries that hadn't gone bad (about 20 or so), sliced and evenly distributed among four bowls and topped with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. Yum!