Oktoberfest Meal -- Pork Chops with Apples, Raisins & Cinnamon

First of all, a huge thank you to those of you who made it out to the Best of Missouri Market at the Botanical Garden last weekend. I woke up this morning around 7:30 and thought "at this point last week, I was already awake for 3 hours and had been serving food for 30 minutes -- whew!" It was quite a task, but Mindy and I had a BLAST meeting and serving you all. We had to have met and served over 3,000 people... I did the math and we went through that many toothpicks! Fun, fun, fun.

Another HUGE thanks to the Girlies who helped us prepare for this event. This certainly includes Tracy and Kathy for helping out at the booth so that we could take breaks. Thank you SO MUCH!

So, what is on the menu at the Schantz household this week? For one, I bought pork chops, organic Granny Smith apples, organic raisins, organic cinnamon, organic raw sugar and organic sesame seeds. These ingredients, along with a one of the Garlic Earth seasonings (Asian Garlic Seasoning is my favorite with this one -- strange, but the sweetness goes well with this) creates a hearty, healthy dish. Here's the recipe:

Pork Chops with Apples
Serves 4-6
4 - 6 Pork Chops
Garlic Earth Seasoning (Asian or Italian -- 1 tsp./pound of pork)
a few tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
2 Granny Smith apples, sliced
1/2 cup (or a few handfuls) of raisins
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. sugar
sesame seeds (optional, but nice touch plus adds calcium!)

Shake seasoning onto pork chops, top and bottom, and let marinate at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add the pork, let brown for about 5 minutes on each side -- it's good to get those "bits" on the pan. Remove pork, place onto plate and keep warm in microwave or under foil. With those bits in the skillet, add the apples, raisins, cinnamon, sugar and sesame seeds. Saute well, but gently, for about 5 minutes. Move mixture to side of skillet, add the pork back to the pan, cover with the apple mixture, cover skillet with lid or foil. Let simmer on low until pork is done (about 10-15 minutes over medium low heat). Serve.

Picture from dinkswithkids blog

My New Favorite Local Band

This goes under my favorite local things: Pik'n Lik'n. I first saw them on accident in Washington, MO at Marquart's Landing. I met a friend for a garlic seasoning deal and there were Ed, Barb and Andy. The first song I heard them play was Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd. Imagine Pink Floyd with a mandolin. It was beautiful. Next thing you know, they're playing bluegrass -- a song Ed wrote, I believe. Barb has an Amy Ray quality in her voice; the next time I see Barb she promised some Indigo Girls for me. Hope you can catch them soon! In the meantime, this link will take you to their webpage with streaming songs... turn it up: Pik'n Lik'n

Italian Seasoning: 20% less salt

I was able to reduce the salt content today on the Garlic Earth Italian Garlic Seasoning by drying the fresh vegetables a little bit more prior to grinding the ingredients. According to my calculations, the Italian seasoning now contains only about 50% salt -- that's sea salt, which is naturally lower in sodium. This batch has the most beautiful, earthy color and has the best aroma ever.
The ingredients didn't change, their ratios didn't change, there are just more vegetables, herbs and spices than ever before. Most of the ingredients are organic, including all of the herbs and spices, toasted pine nuts, onions and sun dried tomatoes.

Songs that went into this batch: Howie Day "She Says", Blue Merle "Lucky to Know You", Keith Urban "Sweet Thing".*

*Love that ipod.