Good afternoon Folks ~ I hope you are all doing well and trying to keep cool in the ‘hot’ zones. Remember to keep yourself well hydrated too.
Right now at a few minutes after 4 p.m. EST, it is 90 and feels like it is 101. I just went out to take a picture of purple crepe myrtle blooms and could hardly stand it. We had a good 20 minute or so rain around 2, and it didn’t make it cooler, it made it steamier.
I worked outside this morning in the ‘secret garden’, trimming the hedge there, weeding and made a place for DH to move a huge pot too that had plants in it that needed a more shady area. Yesterday morning I mowed then worked on the front driveway area, trimming, weeding, raking. While I was out there, I was thankful for our little compound and thought to myself, ‘why would I want something larger than this?’ Our 1/4 acre is almost more than enough for me to handle. I’m not planting anymore ‘beds’, I just need to take care of what I already have. The main garden needs weeding and trimming, but that will have to wait until next week. I’ll be working the next three days and don’t do gardening then. I still need to do some work in the secret garden, more weeding and clean up too, but I had had it this morning so just quit. When we’re out working in the heat and humidity, we need to listen to our bodies when they start telling us it’s time to stop.
Below is the purple flowered crepe myrtle that is in the main garden. I got this many, many years ago and for a long time it did not bloom, now it blooms every summer.
Now here is a delicious recipe that I tried for the first time last night. Both DH and I kept saying how good it was while we were enjoying it.
We had bought peaches, I had a couple of pork loin chops so I googled recipes for the pair and came up with the one below. It makes my mouth water just thinking about it now.
Balsamic Peach Pork Loin Chops Recipe
From: Homecooking.about.com
By Peggy Trowbridge Filippone
Peaches, sweet onions, and balsamic vinegar combine to make a delicious savory sauce for boneless pork chops. You may omit the chipotle pepper if you wish. Prepare all your ingredients in advance, and you can have this on the table in 30 minutes or less.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Ingredients:
4 (about 8 ounces each) boneless pork top loin chops, 1-1/2 inches thick
Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon ground chipotle chile powder (I just sprinkled on chili powder since I didn’t have the chipotle)
3 Tablespoons butter (I used light Olive Oil)
1/4 cup minced sweet onion
1 fresh peach, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup chicken broth
1 Tablespoon minced fresh sage (didn’t have)
Peach slices and chopped parsley for garnish (didn’t do this either)
Preparation:
Place each pork loin chop between sheets of plastic wrap and pound down to a 1-inch thickness. Season with salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and ground chipotle.
Heat a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter and swirl to coat the pan. Sear pork loin chops until golden brown on each side, turning only once. Remove to a platter and keep warm.
Reduce heat, add 1 tablespoon of the butter, and saute the minced onions for 2 minutes. Add the remaining tablespoon of butter and peaches, cooking another 2 minutes. Carefully pour balsamic vinegar into the pan. Deglaze by stirring and scraping up the browned bits, cooking about 1 minute. Add chicken broth and minced sage, stirring to combine. Simmer until reduced by half and thickened.
Return pork loin chops to the pan, along with any juices that have accumulated on the platter. Coat both sides with sauce and simmer for 2 minutes to re-warm.
Serve pork loin chops with the balsamic peach sauce, garnished with fresh peach slices and a sprinkling of chopped parsley.
Yield: 4 servings
I decided to add the pork to the pan with peaches, onion, broth, and balsamic, put on a lid, and let it all cook on low for about an hour. The pork was tender and there was plenty of sauce.
Now it’s time to get up out of my chair and start dinner for tonight which will be left-overs of beef stew.
Have a great day tomorrow and a great weekend.
Be thankful, be well, be at peace.
