Recipe(tried): Autumn Sunday Dinner - Pork Tenderloin, Beer Muffins, and Pumpkin Raisin Bread

Cool and windy, today made me want to put dinner in the oven and spend the rest of the afternoon reading a good mystery. The pork tenderloin was tender and the vegetables were crisp-roasted and caramelized on bottom. Golden beans from the last farmer's market of the year were sweet and slightly underdone, with a little butter and pepper. Warm muffins were delicious with dinner, and the pumpkin bread made a good snack later, several hours after a big meal. Enjoy!

PORK TENDERLOIN AND ROASTED FALL VEGETABLES

2 [1 lb] pork tenderloins - silverskins removed
5 medium white potatoes, peeled, cut into sixths
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2 in. dice
3 medium onions, peeled and sliced pole-to-pole
1 tart baking apple, peeled and chunked
Canola oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large roasting pan, combine all vegetables with enough oil to lightly coat, mixing with hands. Add meat, and turn until also coated. Nestle meat into the top of the vegetable mixture.

Sprinkle mixture and meat with 1-2 tsp of salt, and grind pepper over top to taste.

Cover and roast 1 1/2 hours. Check vegetables for doneness. Remove cover and let roast for another 10-15 minutes to crisp potatoes.

Remove from oven; re-cover, let rest 10 minutes before slicing and serving tenderloin. Delicious with homemade applesauce.

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BEER MUFFINS

The addition of sugar makes these just the slightest bit sweet and the beer makes them taste like they have some complex mixture of rye and wheat. And - could they be simpler?

4 cups Bisquick baking mix
5 tbsp granulated sugar
1 [12 oz] can beer, chilled

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix dry ingredients well and gradually add beer. Stir just until combined. Spoon into 12 paper-lined muffin cups, or butter tins well.

Bake 30-40 minutes or until tops are lightly browned and muffins are large and puffy. Cool 5 minutes before serving.

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CYNDIA'S PUMPKIN RAISIN BREAD

Cyndia was a neighbor who hated to cook but made the lightest breads and cakes you can imagine. This is one of the recipes she tweaked to make easier, she said, but I think she was secretly a trained chef. This bread always comes out tender and just right. If you don't have the cans, use 3 eight inch loaf pans.

1 cup canola oil
3 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 tsp each: cinnamon, nutmeg, salt
1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin (not pie mix)
1 cup water
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 cup raisins [I like golden]

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat, by hand, 1st 3 ingredients until smooth. Stir in spices, pumpkin and water.

In a separate bowl, mix flour and baking soda with raisins. Mix dry into wet ingredients by 1/2 cupfuls, mixing until smooth each time.

Spoon evenly into 3 one lb coffee cans, washed and buttered well.

Bake one hour, but start checking after 50 minutes. Be careful not to over bake.

Cool 15 minutes in pans, then remove and cool completely. Tastes best if wrapped and aged one day before slicing.