I’ve been so busy- grandchildren have come and gone- Spring is still here although disguised

in Summer garb and Winter snow part of the time.

Trying to catch a snowflake on his tongue and children of all ages rolling down hills!

I’ve also been making sourdough bread with its complex corridors of holes-

And I made Sausage and avocado soup with apples and peanut butter.

It may sound like a weird combination- but it is good.  And it has a story behind it.

I was working with a group of ladies several years ago on a weekend workshop.  I was supposed to speak AND

cater the luncheon on Sunday.  I planned the menu to be soup, salad, roll, and chocolate for dessert.

The soup I had planned was Apple,Fennel, and Almond – the salad was chicken garnished with slices of avocados and greens-

and I had gotten croissants and wonderful chocolate truffles .  Everything was prepared and packaged up to go. 

Except the base for the soup never went.  I had left it to put in the cooler last and instead it just got left.

So Sunday morning I started to get the preparation in hand and couldn’t find the soup base.  I had the broth and the cream

I had ground almonds.  I had everything but the base.  And without the base, I had no soup.

The hotel we stayed in offered breakfast with our rooms – and one of the offerings was sausage gravy and biscuits.

I don’t like sausage gravy- but thought it would work as a soup base.  I had a little cider and apples from a stop at a nearby

orchard ( We were out in Amish country, in Wilmot, Ohio) and one of the ladies had a jar of peanut butter.  Plus- I had my

avocados for garnishing.  I only had a slow cooker to work with, but I put it on high and starting with the cider and apples, slowly

put together a soup for 38 ladies.  I spoke about my topic- making beauty preparations from your kitchen– and then went back to my soup

– planning  to trash it if it didn’t turn out.

But it did turn out.  It was – in fact- a success!  I had many requests for the recipe- but I had no recipe to share- just a panicked memory

of what else can I add???!!

A little while before the grandkids and their parents came, I made guacamole for Jordan and myself.  It was really good, although I

added a zested jalapeno pepper and it was really spicy as well.  But I had a lot left over- and it was starting to go brown.

That is when I decided to recreate my luncheon soup and see if it was as good as I remembered.

I started off sauteeing a 1/2 pound of sausage.  To that I added 1/2 diced onion and one chopped and peeled medium apple.

Add a large cup of guacamole-(so avocado,lime juice,finely grated jalapeno and salt and pepper)

Add 2 small cans of chicken broth, and 1 tablespoon of smooth peanut butter and

stir and heat until hot but not boiling.  Add salt and pepper to taste- maybe a little bit

of hot sauce – a dollop of cream- and enjoy!

We ate it with tortilla chips and it was just as good as I had remembered. 

(Jordan was VERY skeptical at first- but I think he really loved it by his third helping.)

These were the highlight of my weekend.

I loved all the people I interacted with-loved the books I read-

enjoyed all the activities- BUT- these remain a shining moment in my

memory!

It is Autumn here in Ohio.  The recipes are a little heavier and more

nourishing for the body and soul.  The light and lovely dishes of summer

are yesterday and there are more soups and stews on the stove.

But these pork  chops would be good anytime of the year!

They are savory and sweet- satisfying, but not too heavy- they smell divine-

and they are not very expensive. 

Here’s the recipe-

4 nice loin chops

2-3 TBS ground coriander

2 cloves garlic, sliced

2 TBS olive oil

1/2 cup orange marmalade, preferably home made

S + P, to taste

Method’:

Heat oil in large cast iron skillet, add garlic and sautee until translucent.  Remove

from pan. 

Rinse chops and dry with paper towels.  Dredge or sprinkle with ground coriander.

I ground my own coriander ( I always have lots of coriander- because my cilantro goes

to seed so quickly- I keep planting more which gives me LOTS of coriander!

I like it fresh ground and like to use my mortar and pestle!

So after grinding it up, I used a fine sieve and sprinkled the coriander on top

of the chops.

Add salt and pepper, and they are ready to put into the cast iron skillet.

Fry them up- browning both sides-

Then take them out and add the marmalade.  Deglaze the pan, stirring the

marmalade into the pan juices and put the chops back in and turn several

times while simmering the chops in the glaze.

Cook on stove top until chops are done and looking shiny with the glaze.

Then dish them up and scrape all the glaze on top of them and serve with a

side of rice pilaf and green vegetable and salad.

Add crusty rolls-

And you have a wonderful dinner!