Savory Berries

Last week berries were on sale (3 for 5) and I went a little crazy :) I cannot wait to pick your own once they are in season here!! Some quick searching revealed some savory ways to use the berries, and I couldn't wait to give them a shot.

Kevin's Quinoa w/Balsamic Roasted Asparagus & Strawberries was the first of the dishes I tried. I really wanted to add goat cheese, but I didn't have any in my apartment!! This is probably the only time it's every happenned :) I didn't have feta, either, so I used some of the gruyere instead and grated that into the quinoa while still warm. I did add some chopped pistachios after the picture, oops! I was a little short on juice, I should've made a little more, but this made for a fantastic lunch!

Quinoa w/Balsamic Roasted Asparagus & Strawberries

I got a chance to use my baby crockpot to make some Chipotle Blackberry Pulled Pork. I used 1/2lb piece of pork tenderloin and adjusted the amount of sauce (1/4 w/extra blackberries), subbing ketchup for the chili sauce and fresh grated ginger for the preserves. Yummy! I love a good (lean) pulled pork, and this was so tender! The sauce was great, a little kick and very flavorful-- I'll definitely be repeating this!

Chipotle Blackberry Pulled Pork

The warmer weather we had also lent itself to the desire to grill, even if it was indoors. I used this recipe for Strawberry BBQ sauce to grill up some chicken (although it would go with any meat or tofu). I topped it with a quick 'salsa' if you can call it that! I simply chopped up some strawberries and mango, added a little bit of Daregal Fresh Frozen Cilantro, and called it dinner :)

Grilled Chix w/Strawberry BBQ Sauce & Strawberry-Mango Salsa

The side dish hiding in the background will come in another post, I need to get to bed and there's already lots of good food here!