The Good or Pork Stew

Several years ago while at a county fair here in NH my son and I were looking at a large pig that was being auctioned off. My son, who is now almost 19, was a young child learning about life and death had asked me if we could try and win the pig. I told him that winning the pig meant food not pet--I showed him the diagram by the pig that explained the cuts of meat you would win if you were the lucky number holder. My son was shocked and saddened--he knelt next to the large animals pen and looked through the wires with tears in his eyes. He then stood up and declared himself a "porkatarian" His denial of pork lasted maybe a month--or at least till we had pork for dinner.

Pork--the other white meat. It is so rich in flavor and texture--honestly overlooked for the beef, fish and chicken meal options. Recently our local market had pork loin at an astonishing price of $0.79 a pound. My husband, thrilled with his find and insistent that the price was a mistake loaded the cart with several roasts. So--we have pork!

I was looking over the foods in my pantry and fridge to see what I could do with one of the roasts, as we have already had it marinated, BBQ'd , smoked etc. So, I took out all the vegetables that I purchased at a local farm, added them along with thew pork to a large stew pan and boiled it all day yesterday. I served it in large bowls with large spoons and it was delish! I asked my former porkatarian what we should call this dish and his response was "Good!" So here it is, the Good!
The Good
3lb pork loin still on the bone.
6 large tomatoes
1 pound carrots chunked-I used white carrots
1 large onion-chunked
2 small head cabbage, chunked
1 cup Mung Beans
Paprika
Cumin
In a large stew pot place all the ingredients aside from the cabbage and beans, cook covered on medium heat for about 3 hours. You can cook this even longer if you like. About an hour before dinner, add the cabbage and beans to the pot. Serve warm. I added some chili powder to a few bowls for those of us who like it hot.
This really was an easy, wonderful dish that uses all the inexpensive ingredients that you can find this time of year at Farmer's markets.

3 ounces of pork loin has about 178 calories, 8 grams fat and 24 grams protein. The vegetables are a bonus :)

Enjoy!