Tormented Kitchen

I think at some point in the past, I may have admitted to being a chocoholic. After dropping the kids off at daycare, one of the lovely ladies basically shoved this chocolate bar at me, all the while exclaiming how good it is.   I like my chocolate smooth, finely textured and usually a milk chocolate over dark chocolate. Sometimes I like additions, fruit, hazelnuts, or caramel. I'm not fond of almonds in my chocolate. Ever. I'm a bit skeptical of new brands. They are sometimes horrible. I've had some that are really gritty from the cocoa nibs, some that are just unpalatable because they are blended in such a way, well I think you understand. This bar was appealing to me for two reasons. First, it contains blueberries. I love blueberries.  Blueberries dipped in chocolate are very tasty. Second, I had someone tell me it was good, so I wasn't completely out there braving the unknown. My verdict is YUM.  I know, I know, lavender sounds weird, but somehow it works.  Ther

I just realized as I was composing this recipe that it must appear that we eat lots of pork, perhaps it appears to be an unusual amount of pork. I admit I love pork, but we only eat it once every other week or so. It's just so much easier to come up with fun recipes like this to showcase pork. I have used this super-simple Dijon marinade on chicken breast and thin-cut beef steaks with success, so don't be afraid to use another meat. If you have any fresh herbs on hand, a small amount would be nice too. I'd suggest about 2 Tablespoons of minced thyme or parsley, maybe use some lavender if you want it sort of Frenchy like Herbes de Provence. Personally, we like to let the flavor of the meat stand out. It's also just one of those go-to quick and easy recipes when I'm worn out. I'll microwave a veggie in the steamer, usually frozen corn or fresh cauliflower or broccoli. I like to have box-mixes of rice pilaf or cous-cous on hand. Toss one of those in a pot when