This little piggy went to market...

I love pork! I'll admit it freely and with abandon. I am an omnivore and a happy one at that.

 In order to have such a contented existence though, you MUST have at least one good source for your meats, fish and poultry. Lucky me, I have several friends who fish (mentioned in earlier blog postings), a family who raises grass fed, natural beef and an outstanding butcher dept at Sunny Farms in Sequim. They are a constant source of information and I ask lots of questions on which cuts to use, given what I'd like to accomplish for my meal plan.

Tonight it was thick, bone in pork chops. The plan was to create a rich sauce to blanket my moist pork chops. Brining the meat prior to cooking for 2-24 hours is ideal for moisture retention while cooking. The brined chops were placed a heavy bottomed saute pan with 4 tablespoons of olive oil, on medium high heat. Thinly sliced sweet onions, fresh chopped garlic and several generous grinds of fresh pepper and sea salt were added to the hot pan.

The chops seared on each side for about 5 minutes. The internal temp should be taken and reach 155 degrees to minimize any anxiety of fully cooking your pork. I use my dial meat thermometer and select the thickest part of the chop to make sure to get the most accurate temperature reading.

After the chops are reach the proper temp, I remove them from the pan to "rest" and finish the sauce. A glug or two of dry white wine was added to the hot pan to deglaze it, releasing all the carmelization from the bottom of the pan into the sauce. Two tablespoons each of Dijon mustard and unsalted farm butter were whisked into the sauce for both depth of flavor and additional silkiness. One tablespoon or so of fresh thyme from my garden were taken off the stems and sprinkled over the reducing sauce. Taste for any salt and/or pepper corrections needed depending on your taste preferences.

My sauce was just what I had wanted! The caramelized onions offset the sweet pork. The thyme added a light, bright contrast to the sharp Dijon and the wine and butter rounded the sauce off perfectly for this foodie's palate. 

Let me know what you think my friends, my fellow omnivores of this pork rendition. I love my pork but I love my butcher dept almost as much!

Here's to good eats!

Little orbs of sunshine

Little orbs of sunshine. That's what gorgeously fresh farm eggs are to me! How can one not marvel at the simplicity of an egg; it's color, shape, surface texture, the sunny yolk and the surrounding translucent white.

I haven't met the hens who laid these beauties yet but hope to soon. Their contributions are the highlight of most weekend breakfasts at our house, the days that you have time to cook without the time constraints and for the pure joy of the experience. Starting with simply pure and high quality ingredients is the key to my ideal meal and breakfast is no exception. If the eggs are the star, then make sure that they are the best eggs you can procure. Lucky me, lots of people raise chickens in Sequim and have little roadside stands. I have my favorites stands locally but the key is for the owners getting their chickens out in the grass to get those crazy, brilliant orange yolks.

The options are many for eggs but we mainly do poached at our house, we like to dunk in the runny yolks. Check out this really cool silicone mold, no mess but it took a LONG time to cook the egg compared to the "free swim" approach. I'm not the most patient in the am-just ask my family:)

We like to do Huevos Rancheros at our house with Chorizo from Sunny Farms, beans I've cooked from Sunny Farms and Jose's Fresh Salsa. For those of you who like to chunkier, pico de gallo style, uber-fresh salsa Jose's is phenomenal! It's available at many grocers in the Seattle area too and it's made right here in Sequim by Jose Garcia, wife Angee and their kids!!

Yesterday, we kept it simple. Poached eggs, Fletcher's pepper bacon, toasted Pane d'Amore french bread with Sunny Farm's farm butter and some raspberry jam. 

Good eggs just make me happy, like a little ray of sunshine to our morning meal.

Here's to walking on the sunny side of life my friends! LOL!

Chillaxing on the patio

"Chillaxing" isn't really a word but a feeling, a state of mind for my 8 year old son.
He describes this vibe as both "relaxing" and "chillin' out". I agree completely! (Word! or "for reals" is a proper response, FYI)

We LOVE our chillaxing time together as it is a precious commodity in our busy lives.  What better way celebrate this new mantra than to watch/listen the NBA playoffs game, Dad and son play catch in the backyard while Mom (me) grills some fresh Halibut?!

This GORGEOUS and super fresh Halibut (caught by our friend/neighbor Laura) just the day before, needs very little done to it...some farm butter rubbed on it's surface, some fresh sliced ginger, garlic and leeks on top and a squeeze or two of fresh lemon, fresh ground sea salt and pepper. *Note, be nice to your neighbors...they might be fisherman!**

Onto a pre-heated grill, mine is propane for ease. The flame is on medium high to sear and the lid goes down for 5-8 minutes before checking for doneness.

I flipped mine over using some fantastic long stainless spatulas (shown in the picture of the finished halibut) from Sur La Table. The long surface and using two simultaneously takes some wrangling but keeps the fish in one piece if all goes as planned! I let the fish finish grilling on top of the leeks, garlic and ginger as they come off when turned over. This bed of aromatics continue to lightly infuse their flavors into the grilling fish. This side took about another 4-5 minutes. I look for the middle to become slightly opaque, the juices on top of the filet to run clear and the fish starts to flake apart slightly.

I served this with some pan seared baby bok choy. I used my heavy bottomed skillet, very hot, with about 3 tablespoons of canola oil and 1 tablespoon of toasted sesame oil for flavor.  To the hot pan, I placed 6 baby bok choy rinsed and cut in half, cut side down and placed a lid over the pan. The cooking process sears and steams, so only takes about 3-5 minutes, depending on the size of your bok choy and how seared you like them. We prefer medium sear and still very firm.

 I finished our dinner offering with some light, organic Jasmine Rice steamed with more leek, butter, ginger, lemon and a significant splash of Pinot Grigio (approximately 1/2 cup). We enjoy this rice for it's light, tender and fluffy texture. It also comes in brown form for a slightly nuttier, chewier option.

Please excuse my rudeness, I started diving into the Halibut and realized no picture was taken of my dinner plate! OOPS! Not the best picture of the fish, but it was calling out to me and I was weak...it was fantastic!!

Here's to many more opportunities to chillax together my friends! Ciao for now...