One summer when I was working as a camp counsellor at Camp Briardale, a camp for kids with diabetes, I had the most adorable, petite, squeeky-voiced little 7 year old in my cabin. She was a very sweet kid who was obviously nervous about being away from home for a week for the first time but I admired her ability to try anything new.

At diabetes camp, the kids are required to write down what they're eating before they go up to get their meals. The reason being that type 1 diabetics (mostly) count carbohydrates and give themselves a corresponding ratio of insulin. Whatever it was we were eating one particular night, my little camper assumed she wouldn't like. But on her meal planner she'd written "Try it!". And she did - and she didn't like it. But when I asked her about it she replied, "my mom told me to try everything once because I might find out I like it". Where most kids balk at the idea of trying new foods, she fully embraced it - even if it meant putting something in her mouth she ended up not liking.

I try to take this philosophy in my food life too. All my life there's been a few foods I have never liked - mushrooms, milk, raw peppers, shellfish - and tomatoes. Over the years I've occasionally eaten one of these foods to test myself. Tomatoes have probably been most successfully introduced into my diet. I've learned that I still don't really like raw tomatoes, especially by themselves. But I've also learned I LOVE chunky salsa, the occasional bruscetta, and a great many dishes with tomatoes mixed in.

And so I'm attempting to get a little more adventurous with those foods I've typically left off the menu. Monday was one of those adventurous days. I recently picked up some centre cut pork chops from Frigs and decided to whip 'em up for Monday dinner. While we cook a lot of pork in this kitchen, pork chops aren't something I'm terribly familiar with. Growing up, I was never a big fan of the tough meat and it seemed pretty...welll...boring (sorry mom!). Recently I've been reading about the wonders of brining and decided that I might as well give it a go.

Using a recipe from Alton Brown's cookbook, I whipped up a brine. While I was mixing it the vinegar burned my eyes so much I was weeping and I accidentally used coarse salt instead of kosher and the entire apartment smelled like the vinegar - so to say the least, I was a bit nervous about entrusting my pork to this brine but I figured, "what the hell", and let the chops sit for 2 hours before cooking. After that, I basically raided the fridge for whatever looked tasty, fresh, and colourful.

Goat Cheese Honey-Glazed Pork Chops

• 2 bone-in pork chops (I used centre cut)


• 2 tbsp olive oil


• 1 tsp oregano


• 2 red potatoes, chopped into bite-sized pieces


• 1 small sweet potato, peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces


• the juice of half a lemon


• Salt and pepper for taste


• 2 tbsp goat cheese (I added parsley and basil to mine)


• 4 -6 slices honey-glazed tomatoes (recipe below)
  

*The brine recipe I used was included in a recipe for stuffed pork - I halfed the brine and omitted the rest of the recipe.

Preheat your oven to 400. After brining your pork, rinse and then pat dry your chops with a paper towel. In a bowl, combine all ingredients until potatoes and pork are well covered. On a baking sheet or dish, put all the potatoes and place the pork chops in top. Cook for 40 minutes and check - the pork should be at 170. Mine was cooked perfectly after 40 minutes.

Honey-Glazed Tomatoes

• 1/4 cup butter


• 1 tbsp honey


• 1 tbsp brown sugar


• a pinch of salt


• 1/2 to 1 whole tomato, sliced thinly

Melt your butter in a medium saucepan at about medium heat. Add the honey, sugar, and salt and stir. Turn the heat down slightly and add the tomato slices. Put the lid on and let them cook for 2-4 minutes, flip, and cook another 2-4 minutes. You should still have lots of liquid left in the pan.

Final Assembly

When you're ready to serve, place the pork chop on the plate and spread 1/2 tbsp of goat cheese over top. Place the honey-glazed tomatoes on top of the pork, and drizzle the leftover glaze over the chops and/or potatoes.

Not my best photo, but I was starving. Ryan says this may be the best meal I've ever made. :) Served with garlic green beans and toasted pine nuts and fried apples.