Pork chops with tomato and onion "stuff"

So I know I'm supposed to have sophisticated terms for cooking, and I know I should have "tags" for sides and main dishes I cook, but I just can't get used to calling anything "compote" or "salsa," knowing full well I mean "stuff that covers the meat" or some other configuration of that phrase. I also realize that my students now have access to this blog, meaning I must come up with other words for compote or salsa that do not involve "s" words....

Tonight was a great one, albeit one laden with computer flubs and strange flickers from the blue-screen-of death-beyond. In honor of the great first week of school I have had thus far, I made pork chops.

I know what you're thinking. Why pork chops as a celebration? Especially if you bought said pork chops at WinCo, where most meat is full of fat and very cheap. Well.....I have a fondness for pork chops. It's a comfort food, and I had a recipe burning under my cooking apron for many days.

In the above picture: pork chops and tomato-onion-basil "stuff," whole grain mustard glazed potatoes, and 'Romano' Italian broad green beans from the ever awesome Moscow Farmer's Market.

Pork Chops with Tomato-Onion "Stuff"

4 pork chops, preferably a little thicker than a deck of cards

2 tbl. olive oil

1 onion, sliced thinly

3 heirloom tomatoes, diced

4 tbl. fresh chopped basil

2 cloves garlic

1 tbl. balsamic vinegar

Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Season pork chops with salt and pepper (pork should be at room temperature). Heat 1 1/2 tbl. oil in a skillet and add onion; cook until tender and transfer to a plate. Add pork with remaining oil and cook until.....well, cooked. Remove and transfer to a plate.

2. Return onions to skillet. Add tomatoes, basil and garlic, cooking until tomatoes are tender. Add balsamic vinegar and stir through. Remove from heat. Add tomato-onion-basil mixture to pork chops.

Mustard Glazed Roasted Potatoes

4 red potatoes, diced

1 tbl. olive oil

2 tbl. whole grain mustard

Salt and Pepper

2 tbl. Italian parsley, chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Toss potatoes with olive oil and whole grain mustard, and place in casserole dish, adding salt and pepper to desired proportions.

2. Bake potatoes for 30 minutes, or until tender. Note: I cover my potatoes for thirty minutes and then return them to the oven uncovered for about 10 to 15 minutes.

3. Remove from oven and add Italian parsley. Toss to coat.

Technical Difficulties

Stupid computers. I've never been too computer savvy (I still call those little sticks that replaced the floppy disk "magic sticks" and I got a D--the only one I might add--in computers when I was in college) but our laptop has gone crazy with adware and spyware (is there a difference between the two??) so I'll be offline for a few more days until we can completely fix the problem. Once we do, I suppose it won't matter because I'm buying a new laptop in a few days!! Yay for new stuff!!

Moscow Farmers Market or, why Moscow is way cooler than Pullman

There are a million reasons why I prefer Moscow to Pullman, the first of which is the eclectic mix of people in Moscow. While most of Idaho looks pretty much the same all over citizen-wise, Moscow is full of artsy folk and hippies that make the farmer's market a great place to people watch. This week square dancing, next week a live jazzy band. Just one street over are year-round produce stands, sustainable living stores, precious gem shops and fair trade coffeehouses. Just two blocks over is Moscow Co-Op, otherwise known as the only place I've found on the Palouse that sells Fage and other culinary treats. Right next to the square dancing people? One of the best French restaurants I have ever experienced (barring the places I've eaten at that were actually in France of course).


Pullman couldn't possibly compete with the awesomeness of Moscow, and so I find that I'm drawn to Moscow on weekends and during my free time. I'm not much of a hippie (unless hippies wear crimson lipstick, heels and pantyhose) but I feel more at ease there. If I could, I'd live in Moscow, but my state funded teaching assistantship prevents me from residing there....



One of the stands I love. They had some awesome tomatoes and I couldn't stop eyeing the beets despite the fact that I'm not much of a beet fan.



Only $18 dollars later I stocked up for a week of fantastic feasting. Clockwise from the red tomatoes are corno di toro peppers, 'Romano' Italian broad green beans, yellow tomatoes and blue potatoes. More loot/porn below.



One of my favorite breads, the Miche at Artisan Panhandle Bread (no website that I could find) is awesome and makes an artful presentation. Good thing I stocked up on olive oil!



Beautiful and aromatic Thai lemon basil and green peppers

Link it

Check out this hilarious post on Grocery Guy's blog. I laughed out loud for about five minutes after reading this, perhaps because I am one of those annoying liberal arts people he speaks of, and perhaps because I thought the exact same thing the first time (and every time thereafter) I attended a social event in Pullman and saw the "diverse" community here.

Clean out the fridge quiche

I didn't get a chance to blog this before our vacation, but I ran into somewhat of a time crunch once I realized I had no idea where I had packed away our luggage. With almost every major airline charging for the first checked bag, I had to make sure I could find the perfect carry-on suitcase out of the sea of broken-zippered, ripped fabric contraptions I have somehow never thrown out.

I also was faced with the perennial conundrum: how to eat everything in my fridge so as not to have to throw it all away. In the past, I've come home to curdled cream, moldy bread and all kinds of disgusting, and quiche seemed like the perfect way to use up all those eggs.

Since it's a hodgepodge of ingredients thrown together all at once, I don't really have a recipe (unless of course, you find yourself in the situation where you have precisely the same quantities of food in your fridge as I did at that moment). I did, however, blanch the veggies before including them in the pies and I used a mixture of eggs (only four in two pies!!) and fat free half-n-half (usually reserved for my morning coffee) as the basis for the meal.

In the process of this pre-vacation fridge ritual, I was quite pleased with my waste-not-want-not skills over the last few months. It only took one meal to clean out the perishables, and the only items left were those that withstand the test of time (butter or Romano cheese anyone?) I come from hearty eating stock in the Midwest, and when I saw my mother's fridge it reminded me how much I used to waste. Two open bottles of olive tapenade, really old leftovers, a variety of cheeses that weren't consumed at a steady rate the whole time I was there, and an abundance of fruits and vegetables that had seen better days...I knew I got this hoarding behavior somewhere. When I stocked the entire kitchen to the brim, I was always confounded by a sense of anxiety once dinner rolled around. What to eat??!! Just as looming a question as how to eat the entire contents of one's fridge, I would inevitably pick a few ingredients and then proceed to eat an unsatisfying meal.

But ahoy! I have reformed my anxious ways and learned to plan my meals on Sunday mornings with a cup of coffee, curled up on the couch with my dogs and cat. I've come to cherish those quiet mornings and to really relish the effectiveness of planning. Only once in a great while do I find myself in need of a grocery run midweek, and it's really saving me some much needed grad student dough. Driving to Moscow (7 miles) once a week pays. As a point of reference, I bought lettuce in Moscow for 49 cents while it was 79 cents in Pullman. Imagine the price gap between more substantial purchases and you've got a lot of money that I can put toward paying off my damn car (sigh.).

Thrifty shopping aside, I tip my hat to the criminal genius who convinced me to sign my auto loan when I was in college. Damn car.

One long Chicago hiatus....

I've been on a kind of hiatus from blogging. It's just as well since I've been gathering "research" for further food blogging. I don't think I have ever been so happy to be home in my entire life. After deboarding the plane from Minneapolis to Midway, I started galloping around the airport like a toddler, and then promptly forced husband to eat anything and everything unhealthy and tasty we could possibly consume. So what did we eat? My old standbys, or foods that I can't possibly find on the boring west coast. Harold's Chicken Shack? Check. Capri Restaurant where even the mob give their blessing? Absolutely. Bucho's Mexican, where the Lalo's name still rules? Consumed. Portillo's, home of the world famous dipped Italian beef? Hell yes. And the list goes on.....

On the plane to Chicago, I prayed for a good thunderstorm, and I have to admit I was a bit blown away by the tornado/microburst that we were caught in during the Cubs game. I'll post about the craziness later. Suffice to say my thunderstorm craving has been met.

Now that I'm back in Pullman, I am suddenly consumed by an overwhelming sadness. I have never been so homesick in my life. Above are a few pictures that remind me....I don't have to live here in the middle of nowhere forever. I always have a home.

Cuddling and gardening...but no inventive cooking

So despite the fact that I want to cook, I have time to cook (well, kind of...ok, not really) and cooking in summer is generally more enjoyable because of the garden bounty, I don't have any interesting dishes to report. Instead of thinking up elaborate recipes or even baking standard pies....I've been cuddling. My dogs, Zander and Zelda, are serious about cuddling, and given my newlywed status so is the husband. Rather than fight the urge to cook I have given in to the comfy cuddle. It's been a wonderful week. As is evident from the above picture, Zander the giant golden retriever is about four times the size of moi, and his cuddles are not only serious but seriously debilitating. If you don't feel like hugging him, his 120-pound frame will sit on you. She may be smaller, but the same goes for Zelda--she will lick you into submission. Ah, the joys of being a pet parent.



Gardening has been easy. Even the baby hens and chicks that I just planted a month ago (above) have created fruitful offspring. While my tickseed decided it was time to pack it in, pretty much every sedum crop in my yard has bloomed. It's funny how while it's time to say goodbye to some plants, it's time to feel excited for those who have just come out for summer bloom. It's a sad thing to watch a plant bloom and wilt, and another to watch them emerge for their short albeit beautiful lifespan. The tomatoes are growing at a crazy rate and maturing every day. Basil is thriving now that I've moved it to an earwig-free zone in the greenhouse. I have a feeling homemade spaghetti sauce will be a beneficial breeze this year....


The yucca bloom (above) has refused to die. According to my sources, this plant was supposed to cease blooming about two weeks ago, but just the right amount of sunlight and organic fertilizer has saved its life from...well...death.

The other reason no inventive dishes have found their way through my kitchen walls? Kitty introductions. Johnny Cash the Cat in Black is a new addition to our family, and Ian and I have been working hard to ensure that the pitty-boo doesn't eat the kitty-boo. Unfortunately terriers are predisposed to lunging toward and biting prey, so twenty to thirty minute "visits" in the living room are all we can offer to poor Johnny. I don't think he minds however--I read in the extra bedroom (also known as his kingdom) for hours each day and he is a pretty solitary cat anyhow. Worrying about his successful inclusion in our family has taken a tremendous toll on me, but I think the picture above demonstrates the progress we've made with introducing and ensuring his safety.

It's too bad that right after this picture was taken Zelda lunged at and was beaten up by poor Johnny. It's also too bad that Johnny feels at ease around Zander enough to trust him....he doesn't seem to want to protect the kitty against pitty-boo vengeance. The resilience of our cat amazes me, while the stubborness of my dog saddens me. Good thing Johnny Cash is tough....

Korma in a Can??

Chicken Korma in a very exotic Ziploc container

I usually shy away from ready-made sauces and jarred anything, but I had a coupon for a free bottle of Seeds of Change Korma Sauce and I absolutely had to try it. I've never used canned or jarred sauces before unless really really really busy with teaching, and I have never been too busy to make spaghetti sauce on my own (bleck...Ragu...) so "purchasing" this product was a bit difficult for my "make your own" mentality. It turns out Seeds of Change is a company I can totally get behind, with their eco-friendly way of business and organic distribution of foods. Mass production of simmer sauces aside, they're an Oregon company (does that count as local if I'm in eastern WA??) with a heavy dose of community outreach programs and they seem to coincide with my food belief system: KNOW WHAT YOU EAT.

The directions were simple on the korma sauce: fry up a pound of meat (or veggies, which I might try next time!) and then pour sauce over and simmer. Serve over rice or whatever you happen to feel like serving it with (naan anyone??).

The actual dish came out much like my own version of Chicken Korma, and even though it came from a glass jar, I could actually taste fresh ingredients. Korma is the mildest of curried dishes, and yet I could taste each spice individually--cardomom and saffron were very prominent. The greatest part of it? The cashew flavor of Korma was definitely intact, which is a miraculous feat for a bottled sauce. I'll be doing this again.

Served the dish with some brown basmati rice and leftover naan (I need to post about my Indian feast, don't I??), so this dish minus the naan cost me roughly $.50 since I bought the basmati in bulk at the Moscow Co-op. Gotta love those coupons!!

Seeds of Change offers other Indian simmer sauces, like Jalfrezi and Tikka Masala, but I'm not sure I'm willing to concede culinary defeat to any company, eco-friendly or not. For now let's just say I'm surprised and a bit taken.

The Great American Grill-Out, Day Two

Since Ian has to work overtime the rest of this week, we both decided a nice grilling session was in order. There's something about charcoal, lighter fluid and meat that just jumpstarts his enthusiasm.

We made some great veggie kebabs and corn on the cob I learned to make through the Mexican cooks at a few restaurants I worked at. Who would have thought that mayo, cilantro, lime juice and chili powder could dress up a corn cob?

We also bought some Moroccan-style lamb sausages from the Co-op, and we've been dying to try them since yesterday. I came up with eight different ways I wanted to use the lamb sausage but then decided that to truly taste a sausage, it must be on its own. Call me a purist, but I remember the horrified look my father gave my best friend Phil when he poured ketchup on some of the best damn Italian sausage from the most Italian neighborhood in Chicago. The sausage verdict? I didn't taste much spice and the lamb was a little too greasy--just two minutes on the grill and the juices poured out of those links like Niagara Falls. I let Ian eat the rest of my sausage and opted for a mostly meatless meal as the potatoes and corn were filling enough.

Garden update

Lettuce ready for salad plates

Little baby tomatoes

Giant yucca bloom

Blissful coreopsis

Blooming voodoo stonecrop

I've got tomatoes!! Without salmonella!! The yucca picture is two days old, and has since become one massive flag of white blooms.