Pork Chops with Honey Mustard Sugar Snap Peas and Radishes

I made a gargantuan effort on Saturday morning to get up before 9am. Full disclosure- when my alarm went off I decided it really wasn't worth the effort to get up after all. But the rest of the house was getting ready and so off we went to the first farmer's market of the year. I had forgotten how much I love it there. And I'm not sure I've ever made it out this early in the year because I can't recall ever buying spring produce like this. Radishes, asparagus, strawberries, baby bok choy, sugar snap peas, the first tomatoes and the best damn fresh Mozzarella I've ever had. I'm a lucky girl. 

I've realized recently that although I eat really healthy on a day to day basis, my blog mostly shows off my efforts with butter and cream. A lot of sweets- not much in the way of healthy or savory. I think it has to do with the fact that a cake is a lot easier to photograph then say a salad which can start wilting immediately or that I might devour before I can grab my camera. Also- the European in me is never in a hurry to get dinner on the table before 8 o'clock which is not peak photography time.. so all of this is to say that I'm going to put my baking on hold for a while and try to bulk up my savory recipes on this here website and get a better representation of what's actually cooking in my kitchen.

This meal is a good example of that: making due with what I have in my fridge. At the farmer's market I bought what looked good, without planning ahead to what I would be making but it's not hard to come up with pork chops and a side of veggies. I adapted the recipes from Martha Stewart and just now realized that I was supposed to add some white wine to the onions- supposedly to make a glaze. I did not but I love caramelized onions any why way so these were very good on their own. As for the sugar snap pea and radish side, I have to admit that I haven't had much of these vegetables and after having a bad experience with some raw veggies for lunch, I felt the need to cook these slightly and add a sure-fire sauce. I usually makes this honey mustard sauce with sauteed asparagus but it worked quite well here. Give it a go- healthy but tasty!

Pork Chops with Caramelized Onions

Adapted from Martha Stewart

Serves 2 with extra onion compote

• 2 small onions, sliced
• 4 tbls butter
• 3 tsp olive oil
• 2 pork chops (preferably bone in)
• Salt & pepper

Heat 3 tbls butter and 2 tsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium, almost low, heat. Add sliced onions and cook, stirring occasionally until caramelized, about 25 minutes. Turn heat to medium low if the onions start to burn or brown too quickly. 

Meanwhile, salt and pepper the pork chops. If they still have the bone, turn your oven on to 375 degrees. Once the onions are caramalized, remove from pan and keep warm. Heat the remaining 1 tbls butter and 1 tsp olive oil over medium high heat. Add the seasoned pork chops and sear until golden, about 3 minutes per side. If they aren't quite done yet, place them in the oven to finish cooking until desired doneness. Let stand before serving.

Honey Mustard Sugar Snap Peas and Radishes

Adapted from Martha Stewart

Serve 2

• 8 oz sugar snap peas
• 3 large radishes
• 4 scallions
• 2 tbls butter
• 1 rounded tbls sour cream
• 1 rounded tsp coarse ground mustard
• 1 tsp honey

Prep the sugar snap peas by pulling the strings off and trimming the ends. Cut the radishes into equal segments. Chop scallions crosswise. Heat butter in a large saute pan. Add snap peas and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the scallions and radishes and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Add the sour cream, mustard and honey, flipping the veggies to combine the sauce. Let it simmer until the veggies are tender (just another minutes or so).