Souper Freak

While you were sleeping….I rented a car, shopped at Safeway, and made a pork roast.

Just kidding! I also made a loaf of raspberry bread and a pot of slow-cooked barley. And sat on a conference call.

I used to wonder if I was a morning person or a night person…..what a stupid question.

My mistake was reading recipes when I woke up two-and-a-half hours early at 4am. Suddenly, all I could think about was the lasagna on my computer screen. So like any other normal person (?) I rent a car from City Car Share and drove to Safeway, the only 24-hour grocery store nearby.

Somewhere along the way I realized that lasagna for breakfast is a little weird. So instead, I bought ingredients for an oat-and-honey quick bread (adding raspberries was my idea) and a pineapple-sweet-and-sour-pork-roast for later.

I got the bread in the oven, then realized I forgot to buy the bell peppers I needed for the roast. Still wearing my apron, I ran (really) to the grocery store nearby (by then it was after 7 and it had opened), nearly getting hit by a car in the process.

The pork was an adventure. I figured out I was supposed to buy a boneless roast, so had to saw my way around the bone to cut it into “slices” (they were more like chunks). Then I “dredged” (love that word) them in flour and pan fried them in butter till they were browned. Sauteed some red bell pepper and onion, then put it all in the crock pot with crushed pineapple, vinegar, sugar, and spices.

Coming home at the end of the day is a lot nicer when you know dinner is already waiting for you. Tyler and my cousin Chelsea joined me for the taste test. We decided it’s definitely good, but lacking some flavor dimension — some heat perhaps? But definitely a success — especially for doing it all before 8 am.

I chronicled the process, from the bread to cooking the pork to my roommate Sam’s plateful.