Pork

Make your own take-out. When you MYOTO, you control the salt, fat, and quality of ingredients. This dish is not only healthful, but you also don’t have to make any decisions like whether you want chicken or pork. This recipe has got everything in it but the kitchen sink.

Serve with white or flavored rice, cooked according to the package directions, or with sweet rolls.

Serve with steamed broccoli or cauliflower.

When I worked at Macy’s Marketplace in New York City years ago, we had a huge Italian import sale in honor of Columbus Day weekend. As part of the promotion, we handed out cookbooks entitled Columbus’s Menu, given to us by the Italian Trade Commission. The book listed adaptations of recipes as old as Columbus sailing the ocean blue. One of my favorites was a roast pork loin with balsamic- and basil-macerated strawberries. Here’s how you can make it in less than 30. Serve with salad and crusty bread.

Serve with steamed green beans or broccoli, your choice, if you want to include a veggie on the menu.

Serve with broccoli or cauliflower, steamed and tossed in garlic butter.

The wonderful actress Ming Na taught me this recipe. It was handed down to her from her parents, who owned a successful Chinese restaurant for twenty-five years. It’s not fair! Ming Na is gorgeous and talented and she can cook, too! But, we can console ourselves with these Chinese meatballs. The chopped cabbage is served in a pile, the meatballs in the middle: a head surrounded by a mane . . . a lion’s head. Ming uses mushroom-flavored thick soy sauce. I cannot find that product where I live, so I use finely chopped shiitakes and aged soy sauce.

Oregon on a plate: From Willamette Valley Pinot Noir to cranberry bogs and filbert trees, this menu celebrates one great state!