Sophie and Crusty Pork Chops

"What a tacky shop, I've never seen such tacky little hats, and by far you're the tackiest thing here!"

Poor Sophie.  She spent her days making and trimming beautiful hats in her mothers hat shop, only to be insulted by the Wicked Witch of the Waste in the movie, "Howl's Moving Castle".  And then the Witch put a spell on her that turned her from a young woman into an old one.  

I had some experiences like that during the years I spent in my hat shop where I spent my days making and trimming beautiful hats.  Some women can truly be witches when they don't understand hat wearing in today's world and are intimidated by them.  I always wondered why they even came into the shop.  Don't get me wrong, they were greatly outnumbered by the lovely supportive customers who bought and wore my hats.  And used nice complimentary words.

"Howl's Moving Castle" is a charming movie.  Visually stimulating, good story of good versus evil.  And that Witch certainly was a crusty old broad.

"Crusty".  One of the hardest things to substitute in a gluten free diet are bread and bread crumbs.  I just don't eat much bread because the gluten free bread is all so white, I do love whole-grained bread.  And I like to use bread crumbs for a nice crust on fish or pork chops.  Recently on a cooking show I saw a chef use instant mashed potato flakes to crust fish.  Although I would never make instant mashed potatoes, I thought this sounded like a good idea for a gluten free crust.

So my husband found some organic instant mashed potatoes for me to try, but didn't read the ingredient list because who would put onion powder in mashed potatoes?  Apparently this company and I tell you it is not good.  Look for the flakes without seasonings, a little sea salt is all right.  It does make a nice crust.

Crusty Pork Chops

Serves 2 people

2 boneless pork chops
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup unseasoned instant mash potato flakes
3 tbs. olive oil
1 tbs. butter

Pound the pork chops thin.  Sprinkle them lightly with salt.  Dip the pork chops in the buttermilk then dredge them in the potato flakes to coat.  Let them sit for 5-10 minutes so the crust will stick.

Melt the butter with the olive oil in a cast iron or heavy bottom pan.  Fry the pork chops in the oil for 4-5 minutes on each side until the crust is golden.

Serve with a side of sautéd rainbow Swiss chard and you have a complete tasty main course.

And remember, if you can't say anything nice, don't speak, unless you want to be a crusty old witch.

To see the latest collection of Zazu & Violets' hats, please our on-line Etsy shop.