The Penalty Box

I took this photo on a tour of China I did in 2011. This building was sort of a tribute to Greek architecture, hence the column design and some of the carvings on the side. Because of the nice backdrop, there were plenty of people in wedding garb, but apparently they were all models posing for magazine shots. I was wandering around the building and liked how the shadows fell off of pillars.

Ah, the pig. So many delicious things get carved out of you, chief among them bacon, the King Awesome of Meats. However, this time, I'm making ye olde pork chops the basis of this dish. My favourite pork chop dish is probably a baked pork chop on rice dish that you'll find at many Chinese cafes. That's not what this post is about, but I'll make that one again some time and post it here.

No, this time I decided to get all Food Networky and try out an apple maple glazed pork chop dish I saw on a random food show. Of course, the chef went all "secret spices this" and "gotta kill you if I tell you that" on the show, so I was left to my own devices to try and replicate it. Hint: it involved Google. The final result was not what I expected, particularly the sauce, but I'll make some adjustments and hope for the better next time. In any case, on with the food making!

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 5 pork chops, 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick
• kosher or sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 large onions, thinly sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 or 5 sprigs fresh thyme, or 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 1/2 cups apple cider
• 3 cups chicken stock
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• 2 non-tart apples, such as Red Delicious, cored and cut into 16 wedges (or 8 if you want thicker wedges)
• Juice of 1 lemon

Directions

Pat pork chops dry with a paper towel and season on both sides with salt and pepper. In a large saute pan with a lid, over medium high heat, add oil and brown chops on both sides; about 3 minutes per side. I only had 3 chops, and this sauce recipe really could've made 5 or 6.

Remove chops to a plate.

Lower heat to medium and add onions.

Stir onions often, cooking until softened and browned around the edges, about 5 minutes. Sorta like this:

Stir in garlic, thyme, and bay leaves, cook for about a minute until you start smelling the garlic. Add apple cider, chicken stock, lemon juice and maple syrup, scraping up any browned bits of goodness on pan bottom and bring to a boil. I forgot apple cider here and was too lazy to go to the store to buy more, so I just added a bit more chicken stock and some extra sugar. In retrospect, I should've added more maple syrup, as the sugar is more important to the sauce reduction than the liquid.

Lower your heat so the sauce just simmers, then stir in the apple wedges. Place your chops on top of everything.

Cover and cook for 15 minutes. That should cook them through and give you a nice medium. Adjust your time less/more depending how you like your pork chops.

Remove thyme sprigs and bay leaves and turn the heat back up to high. Boil the sauce until it thickens. Because I didn't have enough sugar, it didn't thicken for me, so I added some water mixed with cornstarch to tighten it up. Season your sauce with salt and pepper to taste.

Pour the sauce over your chops and serve. I had mine with some vegetables and rice.

This was a fun exercise in mixing the sweet and savoury. Happy eatings everyone!

I enjoy wandering around lakes and beach sides for the wildlife that surrounds the area. Even the most common mallard can make for a rather colourful shot. This little guy was stopping for a drink at Deer Lake Park when I snapped this photo. It was overcast that day, which made for great lighting conditions (no harsh shadows). That also meant the water was quite reflective, as you can see the duck's green head in the ripples. His legs also had the colour of Cheetos, in stark contrast to his feathered body. Mmmm...Cheetos...

f/5, 1/500 second shutter, ISO 400

This was taken in August 2011 during the annual Celebration of Light fireworks show. I decided to experiment with some long exposures on this night to see what kind of light magic I could get with the fireworks. I managed to forget my remote that night, so most of the night was spent with my hand on the shutter button and the camera in bulb mode. Standard practice is to use a remote of some sort while mounting the camera on a tripod to reduce camera movement. I remembered my tripod, but forgot the remote. Most of the pictures turned out pretty well because my exposures generally went over 3 seconds. I'd suggest bringing a remote if you want to do this type of shooting if only for the reason that you can sit down while shooting.

I also dialed down the ISO you don't need to crank that ISO while letting in that much light. Still, because that much light goes in, you can notice a bit of grain. Such is the case with long exposures. However, if your picture is interesting enough, I maintain that grain shouldn't matter as much.

A few other tips:

• Use live view if on a DSLR (and if it supports it). Much easier to line up your shots. Don't forget to watch the show outside of the viewfinder/LCD though. Don't be that goober that watches the whole thing on an LCD instead of the sky.
• If you don't have bulb mode on your camera, set your shutter speed for at least 3 seconds. Longer for the long streaks of light.
• Bring a flashlight or one of those headlamps. You'll be fumbling in the dark otherwise.
• Don't forget to bring a fully charged battery. You'll be shooting a lot.
• Bring an extra memory card, in case you forgot to empty the one in your camera. Yes you should have more than one.

f/10, 5 second shutter, ISO 100

Ever met someone who likes to dress up his/her pet? You know, those people that can be a bit of an oddball, like your local crazy cat lady. Every once in a while though, you get someone who does something hilarious. I was wandering around Granville Island for Canada Day in 2010 and came across a guy who had a large crowd around him. Why? He put his dog into a freaking Mountie costume. Either the dog was incredibly patient or just accepted whatever his owner would dress him up in so that he could get attention. In contrast, I'm pretty sure every cat I've seen in a costume has glared at everyone.

f/4, 1/400 second shutter, ISO 400