just peachy

It’s Wednesday and new Prime Member specials have been posted on the Whole Foods app. The meat specials that are available until next Tuesday are sirloin steak for $6.99/lb., beef kabobs $6.99/lb. and bone-in pork loin and rib chops for $4.49/lb. I decided that the pork chops sounded good for supper tonight.
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On to my favorite food apps to find a recipe. I found an interesting one on  epicurious.com for hot honey pork chops with escarole and white beans, but I wanted less ingredients. On the Williams-Sonoma website I found a seasonal recipe for grilled pork chops with caramelized peaches and basil, yum! I’ve made pork chops with apples, but not peaches, it’s worth a shot. The recipe has only 8 ingredients, including the pork chops. You’ll need salt, pepper, 2 peaches, 2 tablespoons of maple syrup (the real stuff), the best balsamic vinegar you can afford, olive oil and fresh basil leaves. Luckily for me, other than the pork chops, I had all the ingredients on hand. 

Just a side note, I must say, my herbs are doing fantastic this summer. I had my husband put my thyme, oregano, dill and bay leaf in pots on our deck. They’re getting so big.

Back to the meal, I grilled the pork chops for two minutes on each side over direct heat. I was then instructed to move them to a cooler part of the grill to finish cooking. Due to the thickness and the bone, mine needed about 7-8 minutes to finish. Prior to cooking the meat, I quartered the peaches and tossed them with the maple syrup, balsamic vinegar and a small amount of olive oil.  While the pork was finishing on the grill, I placed the quartered peaches on to sear and get to some grill marks. Once the chops were done, I placed them on a platter, poured some peaches on top, a drizzle of the vinegar sauce and garnished with basil. I must say, it was wonderful. The peaches were juicy and sweet and the vinegar sauce gave it a nice tang.


As it was so hot today, the only side dish I made to accompany the pork was arugula salad with peaches, goat cheese and basil that I found on my NY Times cooking app.  My produce for tonight’s meal came from Delicious Orchards in Colts Neck, New Jersey. You can’t beat their variety and assortment, especially now with all the New Jersey produce coming into season. The salad had a vinaigrette made with olive oil, champagne vinegar and salt and pepper. I gently rinsed and spun my arugula and let it air dry on a towel. When dinner was just about ready, I placed the salad in a bowl, quartered the peaches, added a chiffonade of basil, toasted and chopped walnuts and crumbled goat cheese. A drizzle of the vinaigrette and a gentle toss and the salad was done. The salad was delicious. The sweet peaches played nice against the goat cheese and the peppery arugula. Although both dishes contained peaches, the flavors did not compete against each other, but rather complemented.

My husband complimented me on yet another terrific meal. Quick, easy and seasonal, it’s time to take advantage of what’s local from our New Jersey farms.