Here I share with you my first homemade pork chop endeavor, which turned out quite nicely.  This recipe is borrowed from Bon Appetite, but I tweaked the salad a bit. I used juicy locally-raised (hormone and antibiotic free) Butterfly cut pork chops from Twin Oak Meats in Piper City, Illinois.  Then I put together a fresh salad of local arugula, peaches, and yellow squash .   Lastly, I couldn’t resist adding the amazing fresh pasta from Pasta Puttana in Chicago.

Here is what you need for the chops….

This recipe comes courtesy of my friend Wendy, a talented writer and food enthusiast, with a razor-sharp wit.  This seasonal salad is refreshing and full of vitamins, antioxidants, and healthy monounsaturated fat.  There is nothing like the taste of ripe, in-season tomatoes with creamy avocados.  Golden beets impart a delicate sweetness to this salad that I’m sure you will love.

Ingredients:

3/4 pound golden beets, scrubbed, tops removed (about 4 medium beets)

4 medium tomatoes, different colors or heirloom, cut into 1/4 inch wedges

1 medium ripe Hass avocado, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 small red onion, cut in half and sliced into thin half moons

4 tsp extra virgin olive oil

4 tsp red wine vinegar (or balsamic)

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

1 tbsp fresh chopped basil

1 tbsp fresh chopped chives

• Place a medium saucepan filled with water over high heat; bring to a boil. Add beets, bring back to a boil and reduce heat to medium; simmer until beets pierce easily with the point of a sharp knife, about 25 minutes.
• Remove beets from pan and place under cold running water until cool enough to handle. Peel beets with a vegetable peeler and cut into 1/2-inch wedges; place beets in a large bowl.
• Add tomato, avocado, onion, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper to bowl; toss to combine. Sprinkle with basil and chives; serve. Yields about 1 1/4 cups per serving.

In Wendy’s words….beet freaks, rejoice!