From the Garden

If you know me at all, you know that I love to cook. And using things from the garden is just an extra special treat. The first thing ready from the garden this season is the swiss chard and last year I tried this recipe which was a hit.

Baked Pork Chops with Swiss Chard
1 lb Swiss chard, cut crosswise in 1” pcs 3 T olive oil
1/2 t salt pepper
4 pork chops, ~ 1” thick 1 1/2 T grtd Parmesan
2 oz grated fontina or mozzarella, about 1/2 c
Heat 450°. Oil 8-by-12 dish. In bowl, toss chard w 1 T oil, 1/4 t salt, 1/4 t pepper. Arrange in dish. Rub chops w 1 T oil, 1/4 t salt, 1/8 t pepper. Put on top of chard. Drizzle 1 T oil over chard, around chops. Sprinkle cheeses over chard, around chops. Bake til chops just done, ~ 18 min. Let stand 5 min before serving. Serves 4

It was wonderful again, so I thought I would share. Use as much of the chard as you want to - it cooks up a lot. I turned my chops about three quarters of the way through the cooking because my chops - from Costco - were really thick. They were moist and tasty and the chard was delicious.

The zucchini is coming on, the strawberries, too, but hope I can get to them before the mysterious "critter". The corn is about waist high, the bush beans and tomatoes are flowering. Let the bounty begin!

The exciting happening of the week occurred on Friday when former blogger friend Lori and her partner Shari dropped by.

I say "former blogger friend" because now that we've actually met - face to face - I feel I can call her "friend" now. What a joy it was to chat with them for a while. They are on a road trip through Oregon - came from Sacramento to Bend the first day, then up to Bonneville Hot Springs to spend Friday night in luxury! Wow - am I jealous! Then, they're heading over to Astoria and down the coast. I sure hope that they are able to spend a night at my favorite beach spot - the Sylvia Beach Hotel in Newport.


I just had to put this photo in

We've been plagued with flies this year in the garage and some of them make it into the house when a door is left open :>) Dean's solution was to suck them up in the vacuum. Pretty funny to see - use your imagination!

Shannon and Dean have been working on the "guest house" formerly known as a shed. I think that Shannon will be able to move into it tomorrow!