Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Jack Sprat


Tonight we sat down to a delicious supper of orange-glazed pork chops, served with scalloped potatoes and cabbage as a vegetable.
During the course of the meal, I noticed Elizabeth cutting away a little bit of the fatty part of the chop. On seeing that I said to her that, that was one of the tastiest parts of the meat, but she wasn’t going to buy that one from me. That’s when the following nursery rhyme came into my head, which I quoted to my honey. I was surprised to hear that she had never heard it before, so I promptly googled it and showed it to her. The history of how that particular rhyme came to be was what I found interesting.

Jack Sprat

Jack Sprat could eat no fat
His wife could eat no lean
And so betwixt the two of them
They licked the platter clean.

Origin can be found in British History:

The Jack alluded to is in fact reputed to be Charles I and Henrietta Maria, his Queen. Apparently, when King Charles declared war on Spain, parliament refused to finance him (leaving him lean!) So his wife imposed an illegal war tax (to get some fat!) after the angered King dissolved Parliament. The first publication date for the lyrics of this nursery rhyme can be traced to 1639.

This is the recipe for a taste sensation.

Orange-Glazed Pork Chops

Prep: 15 min.
Bake 30 min.

1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon water
¼ cup orange marmalade
1 tablespoon lime juice
1-½ teaspoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
2 bone-in pork chops
(¾ inch thick)
1 small lime, thinly sliced

In a small saucepan, combine the cornstarch, ginger, soy sauce and water until small. Stir in the marmalade, lime juice, oil and garlic until blended. Bring to a boil; cook and stir mixture for 1-2 minutes or until thickened.
Place the pork chops in a greased 8 inch baking dish. Spoon glaze over pork; turn to coat. Top with the lime slices. Bake, uncovered, @ 400 for 30-40 minutes or until pork juices run clear. Yield: 2 servings. ~ Enjoy ~

Bon appetit!

C'ya

16 comments:

Leon said...

AH, tis mouth watering. :-) And I'm old enough to remember that nursery rhyme. Thanks Eric.

Eric Valentine said...

oop's! Sorry to have dated you Leon LOL That sure was a nice meal though, a little fat an all. :)

zirelda said...

OMG, there are so many good recipies to try right now. I'm putting this one on my list too. Thank you. And I did not know the origin of that nursery rhyme. Rach was telling me what Ring Around the Rosies mean this morning.....

Augs Casa said...

Mate, you are a man of many talents I see. look like a good recipe, I may have to try my hand at it. Love the Jack Spat rhyme, reckon I'll have to pull that one out for the missus myself.

cheers

DarkWing said...

lol, I know that nursery rhyme :)
I didn't know the origin though.

and I sneak a peak at your page during class, starving, trying to wait patiently for my turn, and this is what you have up! I am dieing now! :D

Janice Thomson said...

I did not know about the nursery rhyme either but makes sense. I must use Google more often!

Eric Valentine said...

Hi Zirelda, good recipes are always fun and a treat. I hope you enjoy this recipe when you try it. :)

The nursary rhymes also can be very entertaining too, especially their origin which can be quite serious. :)

Eric Valentine said...

LOL @ Newnorth! Sorry to have made you so mouth-wateringly hungry my friend. :)

Eric Valentine said...

Hi Janice, it's true google certainly is an inexhaustable source of information ~ don't leave home without it! LOL

Eric Valentine said...

Hi Augs I wondered where you were, hadn't seen you for a few days.

I have always loved food and cooking, up to a few years back, this COPD kinda slows me down now, it's a good job Elizabeth loves cooking too. :)

I think you will like that recipe when you try it & don't forget you can also use it for ribs & chicken. :)

Singing Stream said...

Wonderful sounding meal Eric! I added it to my recipe file. I'll get some chops tomorrow and treat my honey. I'll letcha know what he says..sometimes he gets so excited about his meals he takes pictures of it...honest..then he gets up and photographs his empty plate. LOL :^p

Shades said...

mmm... looks yummy..! aren't you inviting me, Eric..?
:)

Eric Valentine said...

I look forward to seeing his pictures and his reaction Singing Stream, Elizabeth made it pretty nice for me. :)

Eric Valentine said...

Hi Shades, it was yummy indeed, we'll have to Let you know next time we have it. :)

swenglishexpat said...

So, have you turned into a master chef or just a gourmet? ;-). Looks delicious.

Eric Valentine said...

Hi Swen thanks for calling in. A chef or gourmet? I doubt either although I have always enjoyed cooking & with some success.

That particuler dish the wife cooked up for us and it was indeed scrumptious my friend try it you will like it. :)