The last couple of weeks were wonderful. Vacation was had, friends and family were seen and many tasty things were eaten. Ah vacation, so relaxing, so delicious, so dangerous to the waistline.
Of course, what that means is that I need to get back into a healthy mindset – both in diet and exercise. Going down the road of ‘just a little more won’t hurt!’ or ‘exercise can wait ’til tomorrow’ with the way my body works is basically asking for disaster.
In light of that, I’ve challenged myself to avoid all processed foods for at least one month, exercise 4x a week and shop for my groceries as close to exclusively at the farmer’s market as I can. I’ve also challenged myself to only eat out for one meal a week and that one meal can’t be any sort of fast food.
This basically means that for at least a month, if not longer, I’ll be very focused on seasonal eating and locavorism (which I didn’t know was a word until I went searching for it – whee!).
Thus far, it has been a very enjoyable experience, though it has also only been a little more than a week. I have been meaning to do more seasonal-based eating anyhow, so perhaps part of this is just a sub-conscious excuse to go all out with it. Regardless, it’s been great so far.
Due to the never ending heatwave that is this summer, all things I cook (if possible) are also done outside on the grill so that I don’t heat up the house any more than necessary. Tonight’s dinner was no exception to that.
Taking a page from John’s manual o’ grilled goodness, I decided that all things must be grilled, including a side dish that could be tossed on fire, so I grabbed one of the zucchini and a couple small bok choy from my farmer’s market grocery stash and then wandered out to the garden and picked some chives and basil to season things. (Then came inside and downed a giant glass of iced mint tea, 102 degrees – whoo!)
Once I got around to prepping the meal, I went straight for a decidedly Asian flavor combination. I blame the bok choy.
The pork chops were placed into a plastic bag with a marinade of soy sauce, sesame oil, rice cooking wine and various spices and then left to set for half an hour. While they were to soaking up flavor, I risked the outside heat again to impulsively retrieve a few small white eggplant to add to the vegetable stack.
The grill was heated, the veggies were cut and brushed with a mixture of olive oil, sesame oil and spices and then it was time to grill!
The soy-sesame marinade caramelized as it cooked, turning the pork lovely medium brown color with just a tiny bit of char on the outside. (The husband actually asked before eating if it was steak or if it was pork, to which I just laughed.)
The pork had a lightly sweet taste of soy with clear overtones of sesame and the grilled vegetables were a great accompaniment. Especially the lightly grilled bok choy, which I think has become a new favorite side of mine.
I should also mention that I had forgotten just how much I love sesame oil as an ingredient. I really need to use it more.
All in all, a great choice for dinner and another day of my personal challenge met.
Grilled Soy-Sesame Pork Chops
Ingredients:
2 Lbs lean pork chops- 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 3 tablespoons rice cooking wine
- 1 tbsp fresh chives, minced
- 2 tsp fresh Thai basil, minced
- 1 tbsp + 1 tsp agave nectar (or sugar)
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp powdered ginger
- 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
Preparation:
Step 1: Combine all the ingredients except the pork in a small bowl and blend well until everything is mixed thoroughly.
Step 2: Place the pork into a large plastic zipper bag and pour the marinade all over, coating all of the pork thoroughly. 
Try to get as much air out of the bag before sealing it and then place it on a large plate.
Wander away for 15 minutes, then come back and flip it onto the other side of the bag and let it sit for another 15 minutes while you pre-heat the grill to medium high (for gas) or charcoal for a hot, direct heat fire.
Also prep your vegetables at this point if you’re going to grill those too. See below for the seasoned oil mixture and recommended veggies for this recipe.
Step 3: Remove the pork from the bag and place it on a plate, reserving the marinade in the bag or in a small bowl.
Step 4: Using a paper towel or kitchen cloth soaked in vegetable oil, lightly oil the grates of the grill place the pork onto the grill. If you’re grilling veggies, you can add the zucchini and eggplant at this time over indirect heat on the other side of the grill.
Step 5: Cook the pork on one side for ~5 minutes, use a basting brush as it cooks to apply a little more marinade to the tops of each piece. Then flip and cook it on the other side for an additional 3-5 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches a minimum of 145° F (remember, they dropped it recently from 160° F). Baste this side with a little more marinade as well.
When you flip the pork over, you will want to also turn over the existing vegetables and add the bok choy to the grill, cut side down, so that it can lightly cook.
Step 6: Remove the finished pork chops from the grill and place them on a clean plate. Tent the plate with foil and allow them to rest to rest for at least 5 minutes.
Remove the vegetables from the grill as well once they are finished cooking. The tops of the bok choy should be wilted but not browning when they are ready.
Step 7: Plate it all up and eat!
Seasoned Oil for Grilled Veggies:
2 tbsp olive oil- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
Recommended Veggies:
- 4 Small or Baby Bok Choy
- 1 medium Zucchini
- 4-6 Small Eggplant, Japanese, Gretel or other
Preparation:
Step 1: Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.
Step 2: Slice your vegetables lengthwise. For Bok Choy: slice them in half; for Zucchini: quarters will work if it’s regular sized (if it’s giant, slice it thinner); For Eggplant: it will depend on the size of the vegetable – small varieties like Gretel or Japanese types can simply be sliced in half.
Remember that eggplant likes to brown when exposed to air, so you will want to prep it last!
Step 3: Using a basting brush, brush each vegetable piece with oil mixture thoroughly. Alternatively, be a slacker like me, toss them all in a bowl, drizzle on oil, toss and then use basting brush to make sure you didn’t miss any spots.
Step 4: Grill! See directions above.
Yield: 6 servings (5.3 oz [1/3 lb] pork & 1/6 of the grilled vegetables per person)
Nutrition / Serving (Using lean Sirloin Chops):
300 calories, 12 carbs, 12g fat, 34g protein, 4g fiber, 6g sugar
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