Strawberry Pork Chops

Some people are very strict about not mixing fruits with meats and I don't understand why. I love it! Some of my favourite combinations are turkey and cranberry, chicken and apricots, ham and pineapple, duck and plums, beef burger and avocado, pork and apples, lamb and pomegranates, and the list goes on and on and on...

But of course, the sweetness of the fruits have to compliment the savouriness of the meat, vice versa. I remember when I was a child, a friend of my mom made this chicken soup with papaya and it tasted vile. urgh...! My mom forced me and my sisters to eat the soup just to be polite. It's like the episode from 'friends' when Rachel accidentally adds beef sautéed in peas and onions to her sponge, jam and custard trifle for thanksgiving. Although I much prefer eating the beef trifle than the soup.

But anyway, back to a more delicious thing, I was recently introduced to a new cook book "Table for One, Perfectly portioned meals for the single cook" by the author herself Camille Funk. The book is full of delicious recipes and it wasn't easy to pick which recipe to try first; French dip sandwich? honey ginger halibut? butterscotch pudding? But one recipe caught my eyes from the first look and I've got to try strawberry pork chops.

It may seem like an odd pairing, but I can now tell you, it's delicious. Pork chops and strawberries are meant to be together. The chop is grilled and then topped with a sweet, sour and sticky sauce made with strawberry preserves, brown sugar, white wine vinegar and fresh strawberries.


Camille, thank you for introducing your book to me and I look forward to cooking more recipes from it.