The herbs are from the garden. The tomatoes from the store. I can’t wait for our plants to start producing. There is nothing like a homegrown tomato. I rarely bought tomatoes, but Nonna really really likes them, so who am I to argue? I’m buying vine-ripened organic. They’re not picked green and gassed…

Fresh tomatoes really are delicious. A bit of fresh herbs, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper – it’s all it takes.

In a matter of minutes, a great side dish is created.

I’ve actually had today’s dinner planned for a few days. I’ve been waiting for the mustard to be ready to make a mustard sauce for pork chops. It really was the first thing I thought to make with it. Take a basically healthy product and add cream to it. That’s my style.

I pan-seared the chops and then finished them in a hot oven for about 15 minutes. The sauce was simply a bit of heavy cream I reduced down a bit, and a couple tablespoons of the Irish Whiskey Mustard I just made. Simplicity. Lundberg whole-grain rice on the side.

The sauce came out great and it was perfect for sopping up with slices of french bread.

Nonna ate everything – including two helpings of tomato salad. Victor cleaned his plate, as well.

And there’s plenty of mustard for a few more experiments!