Pan-Fried Glazed Pork Chops with a side of Red Kale and Summer Squash

Nicky and I are getting a weekly farm share. And it's full of green leafy things. Spinach, Kale, Cabbage, Greens, Romaine, Buttered lettuce etc. Giant herbivore staples that usually end up in a salad. And i'm sick of salads. This is a good recipe for the greens without the use of a salad. Plus, there's pork chops involved.

The glazed pork chops are from Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. With slight changes.

Glazed Pork Chops
Pork Chop (I used boneless, thicker chops. about 3/4 inch)
Fresh Sage (2 sprigs per chop)
Olive Oil
S/P
Apricot Jam (or maple syrup, honey, apple sauce, mango chutney)

Slice along the fatty edges of your pork chop in 1/4 inch increments. It helps make them more delicious. Cover the chops in olive oil and salt and pepper. Coat sprigs of sage in olive oil.

To cook them i used my cast iron skillet. I can get it much hotter than my non-stick skillet. If you have one, i'd suggest using it. I turned my stove up to about 7/8 and got the pan pretty hot. You're going to cook each chop for about 8-10 minutes. Flipping every minute. You'll get a lot of smoke. Just watch the color, you'll want to keep the pan as hot as possible so they're seared on the outside. But if it's getting black too quickly turn down heat.

Throw in the sage. It takes maybe 30 seconds for them to crisp up. By the time I got the tongs out of the drawer they were ready. Pull them out and set them aside.

For the next part, get ready to move quickly. Once you put the glaze on the heat you're going to get smoke. You want to get the color to a golden brown. As close as you can get to burning the glaze without actually burning it. Probably take about a minute and a half. Put one tablespoon of jam on each pork chop. Let it melt down a little (20 seconds) and get ready for more smoke. Flip it jam side down. Then keep flipping until it's covered and both sides are a golden brown.

Garnish with the crisped sage (worth it).


Sautéed Red Kale and Summer Squash
1 head of red kale
2 -3 summer squash
basil
ground ginger
1/4 of a lemon
fresh sage
vermouth
olive oil
garlic scape (we get these from our farm share , sub. a clove of garlic for this)
s/p

Put Kale in boiling pot of salted water. Cover. Let cook for 10 minutes.

In the meantime, cut your squash into slices. Sprinkle basil over the top, and very lightly sprinkle ginger over the top of the squash. Once your kale is done boiling, drain it.

Heat olive oil in pan. Add kale, squash, fresh sage, garlic to pan. Pepper (don't salt) to taste. Cook until the squash starts to soften about 2-3 minutes. Add a splash of vermouth. Stir until the vermouth is cooked off. Squeeze lemon over the top (careful with the seeds). Salt to taste.


Serve both of them together with a little apple sauce on the side and eat like an omniovre.

The BEST Macaroni and Cheese You Will EVER Taste

This is not a healthy recipe, it is not heavy on the veggies and low on the salt like most recipes I try out here, but this recipe will change your life; at least as far as mac and cheese is concerned! I tried it out last week while my Auntie Jan, Uncle Don and their granddaughters were staying with my Mom and Dad, and it was very enthusiastically received. (Note to self: I know what I'm making for potlucks and kids from now on.)

The Pioneer Woman's Mac and Cheese

My only adaptations to this recipe:
* Instead of regular seasoned salt, I used the same amount of garlic salt
* Instead of ground black pepper, I used the same amount of ground white pepper
* I added ½ tsp - 1 tsp of paprika
* I didn't butter the casserole dish before adding the macaroni, and with all that cheese it really didn't need it. No sticking.

Chicken Maryland Salad and Red Velvet Cupcakes

This post brought to you from Burke, VA, where I am visiting my sister and her fiance in their new house!

Before going to see fireworks last night, we had a cooking extravaganza all day. Erica had Maryland salad at my parents and loved it, so we set about recreating it. I have to say, some of the ingredients caught me off guard, but it all works amazingly well together! The red velvet cupcake recipe we found at Smitten Kitchen: Smitten Kitchen's Red Velvet Cake. The frosting to die for. One important note: When you adapt this recipe to make cupcakes, as Deb has at the bottom of the recipe, it makes about 30 cupcakes!!! I think you could safely cut it in half.

Chicken Maryland Salad
Adapted from (Eeek, not sure. Will post later!)
Serves 4

Ingredients - Salad
4 boneless chicken breasts
Vegetable oil for brushing
Herbs de Provence, S&P to taste for chicken
8 oz bacon
1/2 of a small bag of frozen corn (Original recipe calls for 4 ears of corn, grilled)
3 tbsp butter, melted
4 ripe bananas, peeled and halved
4 firm tomatoes, each cut in half (We used cocktail tomatoes, but I bet plum or roma would be good too)
2 hearts of romaine lettuce, washed and torn

Ingredients - Dressing
5 tbsp walnut oil (Original recipe calls for peanut oil, but the walnut was lovely)
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tsp maple syrup
2 tsp smooth Dijon mustard (We thought the Grey Poupon mixed very well)

Season chicken on both sides with herbs and S&P to taste, brush with oil and broil for 7 minutes. On a separate pan, place bananas and tomatoes and brush with melted butter. When the first 7 minute timer for the chicken has gone off, take the chicken out and flip it, and place back in the oven along with the tomato pan. Set the timer for another 7 mins of broiling.

In the meantime, wash, spin dry and tear your lettuce into your salad bowl. Crisp the bacon to taste and set aside. Microwave corn with a little butter until warmed through. In a small jar or container, mix your dressing ingredients and 1 tbsp of water and shake vigorously until combined. Toss the salad with the dressing right before serving.

When everything has finished cooking, distribute salad leaves evenly on 4 plates. Arrange chicken on each salad, along with bananas, tomatoes, bacon and corn. Enjoy!

Love from the Maryland/VA/DC corridor!