Tag Archives: cauliflower

Fire Up the Grill for these Marinated Pork Chops

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A couple of weeks ago we packed half a pig into our freezer. The happy pig was raised on a farm not far from where we live. It joined the quarter of a locally-raised organic, grass-fed cow that we purchased earlier in the summer. I’ve never had so much meat in my freezer — me, the half-hearted carnivore.

The weather we’ve enjoyed during the past week has been screaming out, “Fire up the grill!” I did. I marinated some pork chops that I had pulled from the freezer. I used a bit of the fresh ginger-root  (a natural tenderizer) that I had in a drawer in my refrigerator and a jalapeno pepper that I’d picked up at the farmers market. Along with the last of some soy sauce, a little bit of ketchup, olive oil and some garlic, of course, I whipped up a very effective marinade for the pork chops.

After a short time on the grill, directly over some hot coals, the tasty pork chops were moist and flavorful. They were a perfect match with Creamy Cauliflower and an Indian Harvest blend of sweet potato orzo with whole grain red quinoa, wheat  berries and long grain white rice.

Two pork chops down. Many to go.

Fire up the grill and enjoy marinated pork chops on these last warm, sunshiny grilling days of autumn, or is it Indian summer?

Marinated Pork Chops

  • 4 bone-in pork loin chops, 3/4-inch thick
  • 1/2 of a medium-size yellow onion, chopped very fine
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons ketchup
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon peeled and minced fresh gingerroot
  • 1 medium-size jalapeno pepper, most of the seeds removed, minced
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Lay pork chops in a large zip-top plastic bag. Spread half of finely chopped onion over the chops. Flip the bag over and spread remaining onions over this side of the pork chops.

In a bowl, mix soy sauce, olive oil, ketchup, garlic, minced gingerroot, minced jalapeno and black pepper. Pour half of the marinade over the pork chops in bag. Flip the bag over and pour in remaining marinade. Massage the marinade into the chops, making sure each chop is covered with the mixture. Place the bag with meat into a dish with sides. Store in refrigerator at least 4 hours or overnight.

Grill the marinated pork chops over direct heat for about 5 minutes per side or until cooked through. Makes 4 pork chops.

Oh, spooky. A baked head. Of cauliflower, that is.

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It looks a little ghoulish, doesn’t it? But, really, it’s not something you will find in a haunted house. It is totally edible. It’s a frosted and baked head of cauliflower.

It was one of those days when I would be eating dinner alone. I had been to the farmers market earlier that day. The cauliflower was not only big and beautiful, it was on display in three colors. I had my choice of the traditional white, as well as purple and orange. Call me a traditionalist, but I just had to take the white. It’s what cauliflower is supposed to look like.

As I paid for the cauliflower and other  produce I had chosen from the Ter-Lee Gardens cart, Loralee (the Lee of Ter-Lee Gardens) told me about her favorite way to prepare cauliflower. She steams it in the microwave, frosts it with mayonnaise, covers the whole thing with shredded Cheddar cheese and then bakes it in the oven.

I decided to make Loralee’s cauliflower for my dinner that night. I thought I’d just cut out a wedge of the hot cauliflower and eat it along with a salad of fresh greens, but as it turned out, I ate the whole head of baked cauliflower. And you can see how large it was. Imagine what went on in my stomach after that meal. I wondered how many calories I had consumed. Apparaently, 1 cup of cooked cauliflower contains about 29 calories. I know that head I ate would yield several cups. And then, there was the mayonnaise. Ugh. And the cheese. Oh, man. But, on the other hand, I reminded myself of all the vitamin C and K, and the fiber, and the folate, potassium, vitamin B6 and manganese that head of cauliflower held. Oh, well. I thoroughly enjoyed every bite.

The cauliflower had been cooked to tender crispness in the microwave and once frosted, baked in the oven for about half an hour. I loved how crunchy the cheese got. The cauliflower stayed crisp-tender in the oven. I followed Loralee’s directions to a T. Next time I may try mixing a little sour cream into the mayo along with some Parmesan cheese.

Baked Frosted Cauliflower may look a bit spooky, but just think what it would look like if I had used purple or orange cauliflower. Eeeek!

Angel Hair Pasta with Two Sauces is another delicious dish using cauliflower. I share it in my column this week.

Loralee’s Frosted and Baked Cauliflower

  • 1 head of cauliflower
  • Mayonnaise
  • Shredded cheddar cheese

Snap off the green leaves surrounding the curd (the cauliflower is really a head of undeveloped flowers, called curds). Rinse the cauliflower. Place the whole head in a deep, microwave-safe baking dish. Cover. Place in microwave and cook on high power until tender. Cooking time will depend on the size of the head of cauliflower. The large head I prepared took 5 minutes in the microwave to reach crisp tenderness.

Remove from microwave. Carefully remove the head of cauliflower from the deep baking dish. Transfer to a shallow oven-safe baking dish. I used a pie plate. Frost the cauliflower with mayonnaise. Press shredded cheddar onto the mayonnaise. Bake, uncovered, in preheated 350-degree oven for about 30 minutes.