Races and Recipes

Yesterdays Track Meet was at Colgate University, in Hamilton, NY. (aka the middle of nowhere...)

It was a beautiful campus. It felt a lot like I stepped into a small town in New England. But it definitely felt like it was the middle of nowhere. I didn't even have cell phone service...

I feel like I've been on a Central New York tour of Field Houses this winter! This Field House was very nice.

It was very bright and yellowish though! Today was the CNY League Championship meet. And Alex ran two races. Which was a first for him. The first race was the 1600 meter. He placed 7th in his division. The coach is impressed with Alex's hard work and enthusiasm and really wants him to succeed. He's giving him a lot of opportunities, which is really nice for a freshman.

Here he is running the 4x800 meter relay. They placed 3rd overall. (The guy who usually runs the last leg ran (and won) 3 individual events instead... otherwise I'm sure they would have won!) Liverpool as a team won the overall meet. There were patches for everyone on the team and ribbons for everyone who placed. Which made Alex very happy!

Tonight I'm going to make a recipe from Rachael Ray's Comfort Foods Cookbook. It's called "Pork Chops and Applesauce". Not your ordinary pork chops and applesauce though. Here is a variation of the recipe:

Ingredients

• 4 Golden Delicious apples, chopped
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 2 cups all natural apple juice or cider, plus a splash for pan sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
• 4 (1-inch) thick center cut boneless pork loin chops, 6 to 8 ounces each
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons butter

Directions

Combine first 6 ingredients in a medium pot placed over medium high heat and cook until a chunky sauce forms, 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once apples are soft and sauce forms, remove it from the heat.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add oil to the pan. Season chops on 1 side with salt and pepper. Using a pair of tongs, add chops to hot skillet seasoned side down. Season the opposite side of the chops with salt and pepper. Brown and caramelize the chops 2 minutes on each side, then reduce heat to medium and cook another 5 to 6 minutes, turning occasionally, until juices run clear. Remove chops from heat and let them rest a couple of minutes for juice to redistribute. Deglaze the pan with a splash of apple juice and 2 tablespoons of butter. Pour pan
sauce over chops. Top chops with generous portions of warm golden apple sauce.

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I'm also going to make some fresh homemade bread to go with it. Sounds perfect for a cold, snowy day like today!