Pardon me if I moan and groan a bit today. Ayiyi. I am scratched, bruised, battered and sore, but it’s SO worth it. 🙂
Last week I was feeling quite overwhelmed with all the work that needs to be done on this beautiful goat farm I live on. So I sat down with Bear and came up with a Dream List comprised of all the things we’d LOVE to see done around here.
Since then, bit by bit, I’ve been doing one thing at a time.
Pick up all the dog bones in the yard. Check.
Tidy up gardens for winter plantings. Check.
Yesterday I tackled a HUGE one. Before I got to Australia they went through a twenty-year drought. Needless to say it had a less than desirable effect on the trees, and we lost quite a few that toppled over and have been laying there ever since. I decided to surprise Bear by clearing them all. By hand. By myself.
Note to self: let’s not do that ever again. 🙂
With the dogs, Luna and Fletcher, keeping me company, I hauled and dragged and rolled and tipped and shimmied and shoved until I had all of those blasted 30-foot trees in one massive pile ready to be chopped up and used for cozy bonfires.
I was cut and scraped and turning blue in all sorts of places but BOY did it feel good! I collapsed my wheezing, red-faced self onto an obliging tree stump and gazed down the lane, pleased as punch with how neat and tidy it looked.
Bear made his own contribution this weekend, stacking SIXTY bales of hay on the trailer then removing them and re-stacking them all in the barn in PITCH DARK. I was impressed. 🙂
With all this hard work we’ve both been ravenous. Such hearty appetites were amply satisfied with slice after slice of maple-glazed pork roast.
Simply salt and pepper a pork roast and pour over a mixture of real maple syrup, grainy mustard, minced garlic, chopped fresh rosemary and thyme, and you’re set. Add a bit of water in the pan to keep the sauce from burning, then roast until the crackling is crispy and the pork tender (1.5-2 hours). Heavenly.
What is your favorite hearty meal when you’ve been working outside?
Maple-Glazed Pork Roast
Ingredients:
1 pork roast (with rind if you like crackling)
1/2 cup real maple syrup
salt and pepper
2-3 Tbsp grain mustard
1-2 Tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp each fresh rosemary and fresh thyme, chopped
1/2 cup-1 cup water
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Salt and pepper pork roast and place in roasting pan.
- Combine remaining ingredients and pour over roast.
- Add water to keep sauce from burning.
- Roast at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 350-375 degrees F and roast a further 1.5 to 2 hours. Check occasionally to see if pan needs more water.
- Remove from oven and let rest 5-10 minutes.
- Slice and serve with sauce.
Wow, quite a busy day!
This looks delicious! For some reason, I don’t crave a hearty meal after I’ve been working outside. I feel mostly like sleeping. But I think I usually end up some grilled sandwiches before sleeping, so I suppose that would be it 😛
Grilled cheese sandwiches sounds perfect!! And yes, I was in bed so early that night. 🙂 Sleep is heavenly after such a day. 🙂
Oh this roast looks amazing!
Thank you! 🙂 It was awfully good. 🙂
You know I feel my best when I have given of myself physically to my home or garden. At the end of the day. I am sore and tired but it feels good-just like you described. You did a lot of work and it is really good to have a great meal to call it day. The pork roast looks delicious.
I would say that a glass of wine and pasta dish would make me smile at the end of physically tiring day.
Velva
It sure does feel good, doesn’t it, Velva? 🙂 Wine and pasta sounds absolutely wonderful too. 🙂
What a job! You must be pleased with yourself. The pork sounds delicious. I’m a pasta gal when doing that kind of physical labor. Your pork sounds better. Have a great evening.Blessings…Mary
It was hard work but worth every bruise and scrape, Mary. 🙂
Wow, K … that was an impressive haul of trees you came up with there! But your battered self might find some relief next time in that tried-and-true maxim of old: “Aim Smaller.” 🙂
ROFL! You always have the most inspiring words, T. 🙂
Wow you did a great job. It always feels good to some physical work in the garden. What are the red , pink and blue ropes for? Pretty colours. That pork looks sensational.
Thank you, Barbara! 🙂 The ropes are from the bales. I cut them off to break up the bales for the goats, then we use them for all sorts of things, making temporary ropes and ties and such. 🙂
Looks amazing! I love anything braised after a day of manual labor.
Thank you, Deanna! 🙂 I agree – anything that doesn’t require a long time over a hot stove is a wonderful meal. 🙂
Maple-glazed pork roast?? You had me at hello!! Looks like you have been realyl hard at work – love the big blue sunny winter skies though…
They are my favorite part of winter here, Jeanne. 🙂 Seemingly endless sunny, blue-skied days. 🙂