Cooking: Noodles with Roast Pork and Almond Sauce

Erin nabbed this recipe from Cooking Light magazine. Wow! Was this fantastic. Kind of a pain in the ass to make, but totally worth the effort. Calls for some very specialized ingredients, which I'm sure could be substituted with something else if you care to be creative. We plan to make this again sometime for a dinner party. Enjoy!

Ingredients
1/2 teaspoon canola oil
1/2 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
8 ounces uncooked fettuccine
1/4 cup almond butter
2 1/2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce
1 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh mint

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 425°.

2. Drizzle oil in an ovenproof skillet. Sprinkle pork with 1/8 teaspoon salt and pepper; place pork in pan. Bake at 425° for 10 minutes. Turn pork over, and bake an additional 10 minutes or until a thermometer registers 155°. Place pork on a cutting board; let stand 10 minutes. Shred pork into small pieces.

3. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain pasta in a colander over a bowl, reserving 2 tablespoons pasta water; keep pasta warm.

4. Combine almond butter, 2 tablespoons pasta water, remaining salt, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, and chili garlic sauce. Divide pasta evenly among 4 bowls; top evenly with sauce, pork, onions, and mint.

Cooking: Bean & Bacon Soup

Erin and I made this for the first time last night. It's a nice, easy soup for a chilly evening.

Ingredients
8 strips bacon
1 large carrot, chopped (about 3/4 c.)
2 stalks celery, chopped (about 1 c.)
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 c.)
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cube beef bullion
2 - 15 1/2 oz. cans Great Northern or Cannelini beans, drained
1 - 15 1/2 oz. can Kidney beans, drained
2 T. chopped fresh parsley
1 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Instructions
In a large Dutch oven or saucepan, fry the bacon until crisp. Remove and drain on paper towels. Let cool, chop and set aside.
Over medium heat, add the carrot to the pan drippings in the Dutch oven and saute for 5 minutes. Add the celery, onion and garlic, stirring well and cooking for 3 minutes more. Add the beans, 2 c. water and bullion. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to low. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Uncover and remove some of the beans. Puree the beans and stir back into the soup to thicken it. Stir in the parsley, salt, pepper and bacon.
Serve hot.