Garlic Herb Pork Sirloin

At Shop n Kart today they had boneless pork sirloin on sale and man, do I have a weakness for pork. I snagged a small one, only 1.5 pounds, to roast up for dinner.

I started by putting together a pretty simple rub. Stir together 2 tbs olive oil and equal parts (I did 1.5 tsp) of the following seasonings; salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme, sage, and 1 tsp red pepper flakes. I diced up 3 good sized garlic cloves - seriously, these guys were monsters - and it came to about 1 tbs diced garlic. I took a scoop and rubbed it really well into the meat then drizzled the rest over top. I baked it at 350; after an hour I decided it needed to be more browned so I turned the oven up to 400 and put it back in (it also needed more internal cook time). Next time I think I'll do it similar to my chicken and do the first 30 minutes at a higher temp then turn it down to let the insides cook. I absolutely love a nice golden brown color to my meat. The sirloin cooked about 15 minutes at 400. I pulled it, covered in foil, and let sit while I cooked the asparagus. Pro tip: Line the sirloin pan with some foil. It was a dick to clean.

I just realized how much it looks like a stomach

I prepped the asparagus during the last 5 minutes of the sirloin cooking so it would be ready for the oven. Tear off the ends, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. I also thinly sliced 3 garlic cloves and laid them on top, for I am a garlic fiend. I turned the oven up just a teensy more to 425 and roasted the asparagus for about 15 minutes.

Plant update:
Doing well! The wandering jew seems to have taken to its soil just fine. Hasn't really grown, but it hasn't died either! I call that a win. The other day this second piece came shooting out of the soil. I mean it - I went to bed and it wasn't there. Next morning I wake up and it's 2" tall!

The Phil collective (as the basil has been named) has shown its strongest contenders! The runner-ups are Phil and Phil from pot 1, and also Phil from pot 2.

Phil is on the left. On the right, we have Phil.

This one is Phil.

But the winner is without a doubt Philip!  He's already got little center leaves coming in. They'll all need to be repotted before I know it.

Here we have Philip!

The only downside of the indoor garden so far is that the compost in the soil has attracted fruit flies. I have put out an apple cider trap that will hopefully cull their numbers. Happily it will be time for them to graduate outdoors soon! Outside plants are happy plants :)