Loin of Pork with Sauerkraut and Apple Chutney

   In honor of National Pork Month I am making a roasted loin of pork with sauerkraut. Oh, yum. I haven't made one of these is a very long time. Seems that years ago I made it and served it to the family. My eldest son, who has always been a little too sharp for his own good gets up to the table and says to me, "I don't want any of that 'salad-crap'. My initial reaction was to backhand him, but I thought twice about it, and said to him, "I don't serve 'salad-crap', as a matter of fact I don't serve ANY crap." He catches on that I am not happy with his decree, so he points to the sauerkraut, and looks at me with those big hazel green eyes and smiles. "I don't like that stuff, whatever its called."

   Sauerkraut--salad crap--I guess it sounds the same to a three year old. In our house we have always subscribed to the "No-Thank-You-Portion Rule" meaning you have to take a spoonful of the food you don't really want, and you have to try it. My husband and me included, so over the years I have acquired the taste for asparagus and Brussels sprouts--at least to the point that I no longer squawk at my 'no-thank-you-portion', and my husband has tried artichokes and squid.

   I reminded my son of the no-thank-you rule and he, at three, tried to negotiate his way out of the requirement. It was comical. In the end, he stuffed the forkful into his mouth, gagging, then quickly followed it with applesauce to choke it down. His entire body shook. I felt bad and refrained from making this very often, since. Today is probably only the third time since that episode that I made this, and both my husband and I are salivating waiting for dinner time.

   I am chuckling to myself, though, because the same child, no longer a child, is the only one of the "children" that will be home for dinner tonight. Payback time, I guess. I wonder if he will take his no-thank-you portion with dignity tonight.

   The roast is boneless, weighing 6 pounds. Yes, it is rather large for the three of us, but I have leftover pork recipes that I can make later in the week, as well. Sweet and sour pork comes to mind. I have a killer easy recipe for that and I promise to share it. I washed the roast and dried it with paper towel. Then made several little slits in the meat and stuffed little slivers of garlic in the slits. Then rubbed the outside with granulated garlic, something I have never tried before; I will give you my report on that if it turns out to not be a good idea.

   I have about a ton and a half of applesauce in my pantry. Why? read the previous postings and you'll get the picture. I decided I needed to make something different. There is just so much applesauce you can serve to one family before they start throwing it at you. I found an apple chutney recipe. I read it and reread it. Hmmm, it sounded so good. I just had to try it. I just so happened to have everything needed on hand. So, try it, I did!

Apple Chutney

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 6 large tart apples-peeled, cored and sliced thin-toss them in lemon juice-water mix to keep them from browning-drain them before putting them in the pot
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup golden raisins
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4-1/2 cup pecan pieces
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 2 more teaspoons lemon juice
• 1/2-3/4 cup water, cider or apple juice ( I used the water--I didn't have apple juice?)

In a heavy bottomed saucepan melt the butter, add 3/4 of  the apples, the sugar, then everything else, EXCEPT--hold onto some of the water or juice--like 1/4 cup or so to add if the mixture starts to stick or burn. Just let this simmer on the stove on low for about 10 minutes. Add the rest of the apples and a little more liquid if needed. The liquid is going to cook off and the mixture will get a little gooey. I add the last 1/4 of apples later on because I like to have some of them with a little bite (al dente, I guess).

   I ended up with about 2 cups of chutney and let me tell you, it is mahhhhvelous! 

   At my eldest son's request I have included a picture. Just bear with me, I am new at the photography end of it and at posting them here, but if things work out, I will be adding photos as we go!

   Sniff, sniff...hmmm I can smell the sauerkraut roasting in the pork drippings...OMG! I can't wait until dinner!
   Love to hear how your roast pork came out, or your chutney!

Here's a photo of the finished pork roast!