Sunday

I woke up at 5:30 on Sunday. I grabbed a cup of coffee and finished the Blog post.

When it got light out, I checked and it looked like we had less than an inch of snow overnight (and it had stopped snowing by then).  They are still forecasting “occasional” snow showers until 4:00 p.m. but it looks like this is another forecasted “big snow” that fizzled.

I had saved the last two strips of bacon, so I heated them up in the microwave as I fried two eggs over-easy. I made two pieces of toast as well.

The bacon was a little crispier than I would have liked, but everything tasted good. I topped the last piece of toast with orange marmalade and ate that for dessert.

Then I got started on the Sunday chores. I wound the clock, watered the snake plant, refilled the pill box and started the last load of laundry.

I lost power in the whole house just before noon. Dammit!

I called the DTE number and found out that 97 different households in my area are without power. The recoding said crews had been dispatched and the estimated time for the power to be restored was between 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. today.

I shut off the power strip in the bedroom (entertainment equipment) and the one in the office (computer equipment). The laundry was sitting in the washer. So, I decided to shave and shower. The shaver is battery-powered and, at that moment anyway, I still had 50 gallons of hot water that was slowly cooling.

I laid on the couch, reading. It was the only room in the house that was both comfortable and light enough.

It started snowing lightly at 1:00 p.m. The temperature in the house had dropped five degrees. I covered up with a blanket and kept reading.

I got another recorded call from DTE, telling me the estimated time for power restoration was now between 3:30 and 5:30 p.m. Sigh...

But, the current came on at 2:15 p.m. I waited for 15 minutes to make sure (I didn’t want any brownouts – they play hell on electronics) and then started turning things back on. I reset the clocks and stuck the laundry in the dryer.

By this time, I figured my Sunday errands weren’t going to happen. So, I checked the TV menu and found they had just started playing the Scorpion King. So I watched that. About half way through, I started prepping Sunday dinner during the commercials.

I peeled and cut a rutabagas into 1/2-inch cubes and stuck it in a pot with salted cold water. Then I peeled and cubed six medium russet potatoes. They went into another pot of cold, salted water.

I peeled and fine-diced two cloves of garlic. That went into a ramekin. Finally, I peeled and medium-diced a shallot. That went into another ramekin.

After the movie was finished, I turned on the heat for both the potatoes and the rutabagas. When they were about half-way through cooking, I started my pork chop.

I had taken it out earlier to come to room temperature. So, now I dried it off with a paper towel. Then I seasoned it with just fine sea salt.

I closed both bedroom doors, opened the kitchen window a crack and turned the vent fan on. I heated up two tablespoons of canola oil on medium-high in my 10 inch skillet. When the oil began to smoke, I dropped in the chop and laid the anti-splatter screen on top.

I let it go for two minutes (to get a good crust) and then flipped it. Two more minutes later, I turned the heat down to medium and let it go three more minutes. I pulled it off, put it on a plate and covered it with tin foil to rest. It was beautiful!

I drained of all but maybe a teaspoon of the oil and added the shallot. When they were almost translucent, I added the garlic and some fresh ground pepper. Then I deglazed it with 1/2 cup of red wine. Here’s where I wished I had fresh herbs! I put in a pinch of thyme and a pinch of rosemary leaves.

I scrapped up the fond with a wooden spoon while it simmered and reduced by about half (maybe five minutes). I removed it from the heat and added a tablespoon of butter.

I made the mashed potatoes and drained the rutabagas. Then I plated everything and drizzled the pan sauce on top the chop. 

Then I feasted! It was all very good, but to tell you the truth, I think the pork chop might have been better without the pan sauce!!! Maybe I’m just a purist (or an old fart, LOL!)

Sidebar: But I did learn something. Never again will I buy a package of wimpy pork chops, freeze half and then try to eat three. If I want a pork chop, I'll buy one good one!

I put the leftovers, including half of the pork chop, away. I cleaned up the mess and ran the dishwasher.

Then I watched some taped TV, but turned it off around 9:00 p.m. and read until bedtime.