Tuesday of this week I had an opportunity to get out in my small garden and do a little work.
It was a good day to dig in the earth and to check all of the little colourful sprouts of flowers and vegetables showing their way through the fragrant soil.
Some of the frost poked up a few tulip bulbs and they had to be coaxed down slightly into the ground because I want as many of these beauties to grow as possible so the colourful flowers will soon be landscaping part of garden.
I see the little garlic heads poking above the ground and I start thinking of recipes with this pungent taste. It seems to me this is the first time since I have lived in Williams Lake I was able to do some gardening in the winter.
I was glad to see some of the herbs are now ready to be harvested.
Some chives, oregano, thyme and sage were available and so I gathered some of each to use with pork chops.
I wasn’t sure how I was going to use these fine fresh herbs, but I knew they could make a tasty addition to the pork chops. I thought a little garlic would also go well with the herbs.
Also, this was going to be cooked on the barbecue, nice weather now for outdoor cooking.
Ken’s Herb and Garlic Pork Chops
• 2 nice sized pork chops, with a little fat trimming
• 1 tbsp finely chopped garlic
• 1 tbsp chopped sage
• 1 tbsp chopped oregano
• 1 tbsp thyme
• 1 tbsp chives
• Ground black pepper and sea salt to taste
• A little olive oil
Grind the herbs, the garlic and add a touch of oil.
Dry the chops and coat with the herbs, pepper and salt. Heat one side of the barbecue on hot and the other side on medium.
Put the chops on the hot side for a couple of minutes, and turn.
Then move the meat to the cooler side of the barbecue for about ten minutes. Remove chops and cover with tin foil and let rest for about five minutes.
Green and red peppers with some other veggies cooked on the barbecue make a nice addition to these herb-crusted pork chops. It’s so nice to be in the garden this early and get fresh herbs for cooking and salads. Enjoy the first day of spring.
Bye for now and Goood Cooking!
Ken Wilson is a freelance columnist with the Tribune/Weekend Advisor.