Baked Pork Chops with Savoury Rice

Yesterday was a disaster.  It followed on from a time consuming and ultimately, fruitless evening.  I had the morning off, I was covering a late shift at work again, but I still had some work related chores to do.  One of these included a mad dash into Leeds to visit one of our lovely high street banks.  I made it to town in good time and once in the bank (building society, whatever), was met by a very well presented young man.

Brilliant, I thought, this will save me joining the queue* and wasting more of my precious free time.  I was to be thwarted by the branch not holding the items I required and shocked to discover that as a business customer I can't actually use branch services.  It turns out that the company restructure kept business and personal banking separate.  My mood from the previous evening was returning.

I had just enough time left to get back home and knock up a tortilla to have as dinner Al-Desco.  That was when I saw my bus. Through luck with the traffic lights and a turn of speed that I didn't know I possessed, I managed to get to the bus stop before it did.  The bus, however didn't stop.  The clouds of my soul drew in and darkness fell.  I faced a ten to twenty minute wait for the next bus or a twenty minute walk (jog) home.  I set off.

By the time I got home I was a stroppy mess.  For those of you who don't know Beeston Hill let me just say this, depending on your line of attack "hill" does not do it any justice.  There was just enough time to make a tuna sarni and raid the fruit bowl before going to work.

This is why there was no post yesterday.  I want Tonight's Menu to be daily, but there will be times when this isn't feasible or appropriate.  I hope you understand.

Today I'm back in the saddle, in charge of my own food destiny, and pre-warned as to what I'm doing at any given time.  I'm still beholden to the gods that govern the contents of my larder... and my imagination. Fortunately they are benevolent gods.

Tucked at the back of the freezer was a pack of Swillington Farm pork chops.  I decided to bake these with onions, garlic and thyme.  Served alongside a healthy mound of rice and vegetables, this more thank makes up for a day out of the kitchen and goes some way to rebalancing my mood.

*inevitably behind the man from the penny arcade cashing up for the month.