Using the goods

Just 6 months ago, my friend and I made chickpea miso together.  It was a fun experiment as we both had never made it on our own before.  After resting in my closet under the stairs in the fermenting crock for those 6 months, it was time to take it out and try it.

As I pulled it out, removed the lid, and lifted the layer of salt (smashed onto the top of the miso with a few layers of plastic wrap standwiched between them to prevent air for hitting the miso), I prayed that I wouldn't find any mold.  Although technically you can scrape a small amount of mold off the miso and it is still fine, it doesn't mean anyone wants that to happen.

I was overjoyed to see that the miso was mold free and smelled amazing.  I took it out of the crock and put it into a jar that can be kept in the fridge to stop the fermenting process.  

Super happy to have successfully made miso, I decided to feature it in my family's dinner.  My Kasamatsu Farms order arrived today, which also inspired me to create a super delectable meal.  It was easy to decide that I would make miso ginger pork, string beans, and salad for dinner.  My boys would also enjoy a bowl of rice to round out the meal.

Everything came together seamlessly.  My son helped by whisking the miso sesame salad dressing as I measured out the ingredients.  I boiled the beans for only 1 and a half minutes (unfortunately the purple beans still lost most of their color, which is typical when you heat the beautiful dark colored beans).  The meat marinated in a bit of miso, honey, and freshly grated ginger while I was busy with the dressing, salad prep, and beans.  Then I simply pan fried the thin pork loin.  

Not only do I enjoy the process of making things, like miso, I also enjoy eating them!  It was such a wonderful dinner to enjoy after waiting 6 months to be able to try my miso.  I know it will bless my family's table again and again over the next year.

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Miso Ginger Pork

2 tbsp miso

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp grated fresh ginger

4-6 pork chops or thinly sliced pork loin

• Mix miso, honey, and ginger together in a bowl.  Taste to make sure balance is to your liking.
• Marinate pork for 15 minutes minimum.
• Sauté in skillet until cooked through or grill to desired doneness.

Miso Sesame Dressing

1 1/2 tbsp miso

2 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp grated fresh ginger

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 1/2 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp sesame seeds, toasted

• Whisk the miso and rice vinegar together until smooth.
• Mix remaining ingredients together, whisking to combine.