Pork Chops with Plum Sauce

On October 17, 2018 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Reviews2 Comments

One of the things that we enjoy when we travel is tasting all of the different ways that places use seasonal fruit with wild game. Although pork isn’t game food like the elk, duck, or goose, it does stand up to bold flavors like the food that we find during our travels. This isn’t an Asian plum sauce, but an actual reduction made with this seasonal fruit. We chose to make this with thick-cut pork chops, but it could just as easily be done with a pork tenderloin as well. It is certainly the type of meal that can be served for a holiday or special occasion, but it also works for a weekday meal as well. As usual, this recipe serves two, but it can easily be increased for more.

INGREDIENTS

2 Large Pork Chops – about 1 1/2 inches thick
1 cup Beef Stock
2 tsp Fresh Ginger – peeled and grated
1 Orange
1/4 cup Rice Vinegar
1/3 cup Honey
4 sprigs Fresh Mint
3 Plums – cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 tbsp Unsalted Butter
3 tbsp Vegetable Oil
2 tsp Garlic Powder
2 tsp Dried Rosemary – chopped
2 tsp Dried Thyme
Salt and Pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Using a vegetable peeler or pairing knife, remove the zest of the orange into wide strips. Squeeze the juice of the orange into a medium sauce pan and add the zest. Heat the sauce pan over medium-high heat. Add the vinegar, honey, and beef stock and whisk the ingredients together. Add the mint and simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes. Add the plums and continue to cook until the plums are soft, adding the butter after about 10 minutes. Continue to cook for about another 20 to 25 minutes until the sauce thickens. Remove the mint, season with salt, and keep warm while the pork is cooked. Season both sides of the pork chops, which should be at room temperature, with the garlic powder, rosemary, thyme, salt, and pepper. Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the pork chops in the skillet until browned and cooked to the desired doneness, about 6 to 8 minutes per side. Place the pork chops onto plates and spoon sauce over the top. Serve with your favorite side dishes.

Pumpkin Cookies – A Taste of Autumn

On September 26, 2018 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Recipes6 Comments

One of our favorite treats for this time of year is pumpkin cookies. They are incredibly delicious as well as easy to make. Unlike a lot of cookies that are dense or hard, these are almost cake-like in texture. We haven’t found anything similar during our travels, so we consider this to be very unique to our family. Because we are not big sweet eaters, we generally share these with all of our friends who are extremely appreciative. We typically double this batch in order to use the full can of pumpkin pie mix, but that makes about six dozen cookies instead the usual three dozen that the recipe makes. They are a traditional drop cookie, so the size of the cookie is completely up to you, but we find that about a heaping tablespoon works best.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups Pumpkin Pie Mix (canned or you can make your own)
1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
1 cup Granulated Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 cups Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1 cup Butterscotch Chips

INSTRUCTIONS

Mix all of the ingredients together ensuring that the flour is completely incorporated. Using a teaspoon or a small ice cream scoop, spoon out the cookie dough onto a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake the cookies on a center rack for 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let them cool for a couple of minutes before transferring them to a rack to completely cool. Depending upon the size of the cookies you make, the recipe makes about three dozen cookies.

Hearty Stew

On September 19, 2018 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn RecipesLeave a comment

No matter where you travel, you will likely find a local variation on a hearty stew with a mix of meat and vegetables. Stews are basically the same as soups where the solid ingredients outweigh the broth. One of the nice things about stews is that they are very economical as stewing meats are inexpensive and the meat and vegetables can be substituted for whatever is in season at the time. This meal uses ground beef as its base, but it would be equally delicious with beef, pork, or lamb chunks or you can leave out the meat completely to make it vegetarian. This particular stew is meant to be a little bit lighter, but if you wanted to make it even heartier, you could use beef stock and a thickener to create an almost gravy-like consistency. It is one of our Autumn, “go-to”, meals and we always enjoy it.

INGREDIENTS

1 lb Lean Ground Beef (or any other stew meat)
1 tbsp Vegetable Oil
2 cups of Baby Carrots – quartered
3 Medium Potatoes – cubed
2 cups Green Beans – cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup Frozen Corn Kernels
1/2 Small Onion – diced
1 Stalk Celery – diced
3 Small Bay Leaves
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Dried Rosemary
1/2 tsp Dried Thyme
1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
5 cups Water (may need to be adjusted)
Salt and Pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat a large pot over medium-high heat with vegetable oil. Add the ground beef and start to brown. Add the celery and onion when the beef is halfway browned. Add water and bring to a simmer. Add remaining vegetables and seasonings, simmer until the vegetables are fork tender (approximately 45 minutes). Serve with your favorite fresh bread and butter.