A couple of weeks ago I went on an amazing trip with a group of blogging buddies to CasinoRama and Ontario’s Lake Country in the area of Orillia, Ontario, Canada. I had never been before. Well, I suppose we’ve driven through a couple times but that’s it. So, getting to go there and actually stay for a few days was such a treat. To say that I had a great time is an understatement. There was so much to see and so much to do! Find out about my experience and stick around to the end of this post where I’ll be sharing my yummy Maple Mustard Pork Tenderloin recipe.
One of the things that we did was to visit Shaw’s Maple Sugar Bush. It was prime maple sugar time – in fact, there was a regional celebration known as Tap into Maple going on when we visited. I was thrilled that we were going to see a part of it. I grew up in Montreal and one of our school field trips every year was to the sugar bush to see how maple syrup was made and to have maple snow candy (pour warm maple syrup over fresh cold snow and it makes this taffy like sticky ooey gooey bit of sugary, maple-y deliciousness).
Our day at Shaw’s included learning about the process for taking sap from maple trees and turning it into the yummy maple syrup we put on our pancakes. The Shaw family has been tapping their trees every year since 1904, generation after generation. With 4000 trees, they are able to collect approximately 160,000 liters of sap every season. On weekends, they offer horse drawn wagon rides and a chance to learn more about the sap collecting procedures, current and those used up until the 1960s.
I was surprised by how simple and yet intricate the procedure for tapping the trees, collecting the sap, boiling, and evaporating it to make maple syrup actually is. There’s a science to it and yet, the beauty of nature is ever present.
Of course, it just wouldn’t have been a trip to the sugar bush without getting to sample the delicious maple syrup. And delicious it was! Shaw’s Sugar Bush offers up some tasty foods in their pancake house, including pancakes (of course), French toast, bacon, sausages, and maple baked beans. I even sampled a cup of maple tea! The syrup was so good that I just had to buy some to bring home with me. And that brings me to this yummy Maple Mustard Pork Tenderloin Recipe. It was the first thing I made with the Shaw’s Maple Syrup when I got home and it’s simply scrumptious!
MAPLE MUSTARD PORK TENDERLOIN RECIPE
Ingredients:
1 lb. pork tenderloin
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 T. maple syrup
1 tsp. fresh rosemary
1 tsp. fresh thyme
3 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
Combine all ingredients and rub over the pork. Place in a 425 degree F oven and cook for about 25 minutes. You’ll know it’s done when your meat thermometer registers 160 degrees F.
If you want to make this a complete meal, toss some cut up vegetables such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, asparagus, or Brussels sprouts with the following mixture – 6 T. balsamic vinegar, 2 T. olive oil, 4 T. maple syrup, 5 cloves of garlic (minced), and a dash of lemon juice. Add these to the baking sheet with the pork tenderloin before putting it into the oven. Another lovely addition to this is some sauteed apples. Simply cut up 4 apples (I prefer Granny Smiths with this recipe) and toss them with butter in a saucepan for about 5 minutes. Turn the heat down to low and add 4 T. maple syrup. Simmer the apples for about 10 minutes more and serve over the pork. Yum!
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