The rains have finally subsided. Flood Watches and River Flood Watches are still in effect, but nothing is falling from the sky, right now.

We survived another one – just some minor leakage in the basement. Not as bad as it has been or can be. A few years ago we actually lost part of our foundation and the waters poured into the basement. We had close to 6″ of muddy water down there – with no pumps, no drains, no nothin’. It was a lot of buckets up the stairs getting rid of it – not to mention fixing the foundation. Ever since then, I get a bit worried when we have days of torrential rains.

But… we dodged another one and all is swell.

I had to go to Phoenixville this morning and drove through Valley Forge Park at a crawl coming home – the road was a mess with near-blinding rain and storm drains that just couldn’t handle the flow. The Jerk-in-Chief wants billions to build a wall. We could use a few of those bucks to build proper storm drains – especially since rains like this have become the new normal.

But I digress…

I hadn’t thought about dinner before I left, so when I got home I just grabbed a couple of pork chops out of the freezer. What I wasn’t thinking was how big these pork chops are. They didn’t seem very big in their frozen vacuum-packed packages. Note to self: One package is enough for both of us for dinner.

Blanche, of course, would disagree. We each ate half and the rest is set aside for her. Our dog is only slightly spoiled.

I liberally coated the chops with Penzey’s Mural of Flavor spice blend, seared them in a hot skillet, and then finished them in the oven. The sweet potato was baked, peeled and then drizzled with just a bit of maple syrup. The baby zucchini were sautéed with a bit of garlic. Salt and pepper was added to everything at some point.

Really simple flavors, but filling and satisfying.

Tomorrow, I’m attempting something I’ve never made before.

Stay tuned.