More Envy

Again, my colleagues were envious of my lunch. Ha ha! It is so sweet to flaunt a really, really, ridiculously good-looking lunch. The flip side of that is when we don’t have leftovers and I am forced to join them in their canned soup sorrow. Those are sad times; what are office trolls to do when they don't even have a lunch to envy? Yesterday, it was Pork Stew with Fennel and Butternut Squash. If it isn't already obvious, we are hooked on the squash. It snowed on the weekend so I think that makes a stew taste even better, let alone this one with the perceived buttery flavour, thanks to the squash. Wow, this was tasty: slowly braised pork pieces, tender-yet-crispy fennel, a sublime reduction of stock with onions, garlic, pancetta and wine all sauced over some egg noodles… those poor trolls didn't stand a chance! I love the compliments whilst standing in line for the microwave. I think the only thing that would've made this better is if the pork had braised a little slower so as to make it more tender. It was good as-was but could've been even better if it had been falling-apart-at-the-touch-of-a-fork tender. Though I wouldn't sacrifice the toothiness of the veggies because there is nothing sadder than limp and tasteless veg where stew is concerned. With this, we had a bottle of Folinari Cabernet Sauvignon; we had to open a fresh bottle, you understand, because it was required in the stew. And we had to finish it because it was Sunday and it had snowed and it was just too delicious not to.