We ate our first al fresco dinner of the summer last week. Armando found the legs to an old picnic table in someone’s street side junk heap and was inspired to make us a table of our own. He’s good like that—spotting what otherwise looks like rusted old garbage and seeing a retro picnic table.
If times ever got tough we could easily set up a shop on Fab.com and sell all of the furniture and odds and ends he’s made for us over the years and be rich beyond our wildest dreams. Remind me again why we aren’t doing that?
Early on in our relationship he used to bring all this stuff home that he would find discarded on the street, having big plans to fix it up and it all looked like trash to me.
So I would throw it away.
That might have caused a fight or two…..I don’t remember.
Despite what he might tell you, I’ve learned to have patience with his vision and ask before I “donate” the plastic baby car with the broken canopy. He will most likely turn it into this ultra design-centric rocker for the kids that would cost us $200 at some high-end toy store.
He is a firm believer in fixing what you have and not discarding something simply because it’s broken. It’s a good trait to find in a husband.
To christen the new picnic table I made this super easy roasted pork tenderloin. This is the kind of thing you keep the marinade ingredients on hand so you can make it at the drop of a hat. This sweet-salty marinade was made for pork, you can use it on any cut you want, but pork tenderloin cooks so fast and stays nice and rosy in the middle.
Make it the centerpiece for your Father’s Day meal, you could even grill it if you want to be really fancy. Serve it up with some roasted cauliflower, steamed rice, and a nice strong cocktail and you’ll have one happy Papa.

Easy Asian Pork Tenderloin
An easy and healthy dinner. Serve wtih steamed rice and roasted cauliflower.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds pork tenderloin
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon rice wine or sherry
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon light brown sugar
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
Instructions
- Season pork tenderloin lightly on all sides with salt and pepper and place in a large resealable plastic bag.
- Combine remaining ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk to dissolve honey and brown sugar. Pour over pork in the bag and move the pork around to coat with marinade. Seal tightly and place on a plate in the refrigerator for at least an hour but you can also do this the night before.
- Heat oven to 400°F and arrange a rack in the top of the oven. Cover a baking sheet with foil and place a wire rack on top of the foil. Pour enough water in the baking sheet to cover the bottom and place pork on the rack, reserve marinade.
- Roast in the top of the oven for 40 minutes, turning and brushing with the marinade every 10 minutes or so. Pork is done when the internal temperature reaches 160°F and is browned and glossy.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 304Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 124mgSodium: 720mgCarbohydrates: 9gFiber: 0gSugar: 6gProtein: 45g
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