So there’s what I know (cooking, baking, my middle name) and there’s what I don’t know (WordPress.org). Let’s get the scary, unknown stuff out of the way.
I have finally decided (practically kicking and screaming) to self-host my blog. I know, people do it every day, it’s no big deal, get off your high horse, etc., etc. I guess for me, I expect to do everything myself and I expect to be able to do it well on my very first try. Completely unrealistic, yes. And definitely something I need to work on. But it’s true. I am completely freaked out about losing all my blog’s pictures and prose, and freaked out that it won’t look the way I want it to. But mostly, I’m worried about losing you in some unheard of internet black hole. And what would I do without you?!
The more I think about it, the more I get myself worked up. I know it’s no big deal, but I’m having trouble getting my fears to believe me. As a last resort, I head to the kitchen.
Something good always comes out of these kitchen freak outs, and today is no exception. This current blog freak out has resulted in one of the best meals I’ve had in ages.
Greek food is nothing new, and it’s not all that tough to prepare. And yet, it never seems to taste as good at home as it does on The Danforth. But I’ve cracked the code (the dinner code, not html code). Somehow I’ve found recipes that seem innocent enough, but pack enough punch for me to lean back in my chair and yell, Opa!
It was finally cool enough this weekend to have the oven on, so I knew I had to try these potatoes. A recipe (no source available) passed down from my Aunt to my Mum, these potatoes came out of the oven both soft like boiled potatoes and browned and crispy on the outside like roasted ones. And the flavour! Almost too savoury and lemony to handle, and yet just right as the mellow, fluffy potato centres take over.
Next up was the pork souvlaki.
A simple recipe packed with as much flavour as the potatoes, the marinade was quick to put together with basics you already have in your kitchen. Instead of skewering the meat, I grilled the entire pork tenderloin on my trusty grill and cut it up into bite sized pieces.
This souvlaki recipe includes a recipe for tzatziki, but I have to admit I used store-bought sauce. President’s Choice makes an amazing dip that, in my opinion, tastes exactly as tzatziki should taste. And it’s under $4. Done! I also buy those puffy, doughy pitas and here I topped them with Romaine lettuce and red onion (normally I wouldn’t be caught dead without a tomato on this too, but somehow I went to the store and just plain forgot–still an unbelievable dinner, even sans tomato).
So in the end, I was glad I went a bit overboard on the blog worry. It gave me a great dinner that lasted a few days, and I always love the opportunity to re-live food heaven two or more nights in a row.
As for Dulcet Devotion, she may look funny for a few days, but I hope you’ll stick with me and see how she looks when she comes out the other side.
A special note to WordPress users who follow the blog through WordPress Reader: Once I migrate the blog, you will no longer receive updates, so if you’d be so kind, please sign up for updates via email. That should make this whole process a lot easier, because the last thing I want is to lose you through the migration.
Wish me luck, and give this dinner a try. I’d love to hear how you like it. See you soon!
Pork Tenderloin Souvlaki
By The Canadian Living Test Kitchen (PRINTABLE RECIPE)
Preparation time: 12 minutes Stand 10 minutes.
Cook time: 12 minutes.
This recipe makes 4 serving(s)
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 lb (680 g) pork tenderloins
- 2 tbsp (30 mL) lemon juice
- 1 tbsp (15 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp (2 mL) dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
- 1/4 tsp (1 mL) pepper
- 2 plum tomatoes, sliced
- 1/2 red onion, sliced
- 1 cup (250 mL) shredded romaine lettuce
- 4 Greek-style pocketless pitas
Tzatziki:
- 1 cup (250 mL) shredded cucumber
- 1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
- 3/4 cup (175 mL) Balkan-style plain yogurt
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp (30 mL) chopped fresh dill, (optional)
- 1 tbsp (15 mL) lemon juice
Comments (19)
Ok, first…. MOUTH-WATERING photos. And second, you can export all of your lovely photos, comments and posts into your new self-hosted website quite easily because you are already using wordpress and then you can pay wordpress.com to redirect all of your traffic from your old blog to your new one (for $12!). Ta-da….
The annoying (and most time-consuming) part is formatting your new site and making it look pretty. Thankfully, there’s tons of plugins to help you.
Ahhh thank you! Thanks so much for making it sound so easy (I know it is, I keep trying to tell myself). I hope you like the results. Stay tuned…
Ha! I’m not the only one who goes to the kitchen to reclaim my sanity during a freak out! Yay! And your dinner looks AMAZING! Wow, does that ever look good. Thank you for this 🙂
I, for one, am thrilled you’re going self-hosted!! Yay again!!! I moved mine myself and so can you, no worries. Once I did it, it was the template that gave me problems. Moral of the story: just because you pay for a template doesn’t mean it will work properly. I’m really excited about this move for you Melanie! I’ll be there when you get everything moved. Good luck! It will all be fine!! Honest!!
Thanks for the support, Sarah. Missing you in the blogosphere so glad we’re still in touch. Should I not use elegant themes? Or do you think your template issues were isolated?
Hope you’re having a fun week and still having warm summer weather.
Elegant themes is great, don’t get me wrong. I had problems with their Deep Vision and Simple Press themes…..and those problems still weren’t fixed as of a couple of weeks ago. I LOVE their Magnificent theme (the last one I used with the light blue stripe) and their Memoir theme – those worked perfectly for me (except for one minor little glitch in sharing buttons on Magnificent). I have never tried any of their pretty, newer themes though. A lot of people use those, so I’d try one of those if I decide to do it all again. Magnificent is my fave though 🙂
It’s been a busy, busy summer here, and thankfully it’s no longer in the 100’s. I think that was part of my motivation problem this summer, it was just too hot to think. Loving our more normal temps now though.
Have fun and good luck Melanie! I’m so excited for you!
Thanks for the info on Elegant themes. I agree about the heat. As much as I LOVE heat and humidity, these past few cooler nights have worked wonders. Sounder sleep and more liveable days. Take care and talk to you soon!
good luck with the migration. The pork souvlaki looks amazing!
Thanks Jo!
Best of luck with the move my friend, you will do perfectly fine 😀
Promise me you will comment and let me know your new site so I can follow!
Also loving looking dish!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
I promise:) See you on the flip side.
Food heaven is right….and those potatoes look Ah-Mazing! Looking forward to Greek night in kitchen very soon!
Those potatoes are inspiring! I’ve been thinking about trying out cooking Greek and this post has me wanting to get to it right now. Thanks for sharing (and gorgeous photos by the way!!)
Thanks Laura, I’m so glad to hear it! Honestly, this recipe is so easy, you could make this every night. I’ve been tempted, believe me:)
You totally made me just miss home! I like this healthy take on Greek food and rosemary potatoes = YUM. Don’t worry about the blog. I’m a “can’t figure it out so I’ll outsource it” type of gal. Maybe you could hire someone how to do it yourself so you don’t lose everything? I’m home Tuesday. Please, let’s meet in October!
Yes! Let’s definitely get together in October. It’s been too long! As for the blog, I muddled through and it was remarkably easy once I figured out the glitches. Things weren’t completely seamless but it’s been a massive learning experience. And I have to learn to give up control and let people help–I wasn’t ready for that this time ’round.
Your blog is looking so beautiful now my friend and I LOVE this greek feast y have made 😀
Cheers
CCU
Thanks for the feedback, Choc!
Just catching up on your blog this evening. I do love this meal. It looks like exactly the type of thing we’d have for dinner. I love Greek flavors!! What is Balkan-style yogurt?
I too have thought about the self-hosted move..I really think I’d need some serious hand-holding to get through it all. I may have to think on it for awhile before I dive in.
Thanks for a lovely recipe!
Allison, Balkan style yogurt is thicker than stirred but not quite as thick as Greek. I suppose Greek would work really well too though. In my experience, plain yogurt doesn’t usually come stirred so you should be fine.
Yeah, the blog switch over was easy peasy once everything went to plan, but I definitely had some hiccups along the way and did have to reload some pictures (annoying). But I think it might have been some bugs with the template I chose, not too sure. I like that you can make more modifications, but boy is it nice having wordpress.com do all the backend stuff for you too.
Good luck if you decide to go ahead with it and keep me posted on your progress. Looking forward to more delicious recipes either way.