Blood Oranges and pork chops and rum cake

Last year I ate blood oranges for the first time and loved their sweetness.  Our supermarket had them on sale (a rare occurrence), and I bought four.  Found a recipe for pork chops and oranges and did a riff on it, because the recipe called for Mandarin oranges, and I'm substituting blood oranges with some blood orange juice.  I cooked them with the boldly seasoned rice and I browned the chops with more seasoning (this is a Penzey's recipe, so naturally spices are called for).  The recipe also did not call for browning the chops, but it seemed to me that this would improve the flavor.

Penzeys Pork Chops with Oranges  


I'm also making a few organic carrots (so delicious) and a salad.  We can eat it for two nights, always a plus. 

My Significant Other's birthday is Tuesday, and I promised I would make him his favorite meal, beef Stroganoff.  Who remembers beef Stroganoff?  Raise your hand.  Years ago it was on every "continental" menu, and now the only place I know where one can eat it is at a pricey Back Bay Russian restaurant.

I found a sale (can you believe?) on beef tenderloin, so we have a pound of filet, some dried mushrooms, onion, cognac, and real sour cream.  I'll serve it with buttered noodles, peas and carrots and salad.  Iceberg lettuce was requested.  Except for the Stroganoff, the menu sounds rather pedestrian, but ordinary can be good, and it won't compete with the main course.


We have a busy week and I promised (fingers crossed) to make the favored marble cake (Marmorkuchen) at a later date.  It's totally from scratch to the point of beating the yolks and whites separately.  A true labor of love.  What could I make instead?


Recently, going through all my mom's old recipes, I came across her rum cake recipe.  She always made this for Significant Other and I do recall that it was very tasty and he relished it.  I had never realized that the cake was from a mix, with oil and pudding and eggs dumped in with some dark rum.  The glaze was delicious, too. 


I am not a cake-mix person, but I remembered the cake and my mother so fondly, that I thought what the hell?  It must be fate, because the grocery store had cake mix on sale for $1.00 and the pudding was cheap, too.  This is the first time instant pudding has crossed our threshold. 


I'm going to freeze half for company coming at the end of the week.  Two people and one big cake is asking for weight gain, although I'm sure the neighbors would be thrilled with a couple slices. 

I just bopped out to the web, and sure enough the recipe was there.  Do try it.  Read the reviews.  Cooks always have good ideas. 

Bacardi Rum Cake 

Yours in frugality, good taste and sometimes even shortcuts