Improving A Day

     Successful cooking gives me a lift.  I had a largeish pork roast (over two pounds) yesterday, which meant less room in the roasting pan for vegetables, and I'd ended up with a nice assortment of vegetables: A good-sized turnip, potatoes, a banana pepper and a yellow bell pepper, carrots, celery, diced red onion and -- technically not a vegetable -- sliced Shiitake mushrooms.

     I sat the pork in some balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, coarse salt, curry powder and Cajun seasoning to ponder its fate while I decided what to leave out.  The onion had to stay -- diced onion has a limited lifespan.  Besides, it keeps trying to infiltrate and subvert everything else in the fridge.  Peppers and celery* don't last all that long, either, and the mushrooms wanted used--  Potatoes, however much I love them (and I do), are a moderator.  Spuds soak up excess salt and spice.  They help thicken the broth.  But you can leave 'em out, as long as you get everything else right.

     So I started the pork in my little roasting pan, over indirect heat on the covered grill.  When I have time, this is my go-to method for every season but Winter; it takes minimal attention and doesn't heat up the house.  I gave it a bit more curry powder and a pinch of sugar, drew a wide streak of coarse Dijon mustard down the top, poured a little of the marinade over it and put it on the heat.  Turnip next; they take a fair amount of cooking and are almost as interested in soaking up the spices as a potato.  Carrots, peppers, a big bay leaf, onion, celery, mushrooms and a couple of small cans of tomato sauce followed at a leisurely pace; the last ingredient went in with an hour and a half left in the two hour, thirty minute cooking time.

     The end result had a deep, smoky flavor with tender turnips and vegetables that were just done enough.  The tomato-based broth was wonderful!  Tamara cleared her entire plate, and she's no fan of pork.  There was a hint of heat from the banana pepper, but it was only a grace note.
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* The trick with celery is to give it an airtight wrapping of aluminum foil before putting it in the fridge.  This will buy a week or more, if you start with celery that hasn't gone too soft.