Tuesday, September 21, 2021

Scratch the Mental Itch

  

Orange Mustard Pork Chops, lightly marinated, crusted, oven “fried” pork chops served with a sweet hot citrus sauce. | recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #dinner


Google opens up a plethora of rabbit holes. Or black holes, depending on whether you like analogies that are celestial or subterranean. I'm going with rabbit holes because, although I get lost in the (informational) warren of tunnels, I end up back out again (so far). No such assurances in a black hole.
 
As you probably know from reading this blog, I've fallen down quite a few of them, like my post from the beginning of the year, Nursery Rhymes Crimes.
 
Thing is, it all starts out innocently enough. Being inquisitive is healthy, after all. But if you're anything like me, you don't exactly stay on task. You can take a whole lot of twists and turns while you're down there, and some of those side tunnels are a real doozy. You know, like I'm writing this post and I google whether doozy is an actual word when I see that not only is it, but oh, look, there are some bright shiny attention grabbing synonyms. Like humdinger, that makes sense, and then there's ripsnorter. Ripsnorter? That's a new word, I should see what Merriam Webster has to say about what that means. Sockdolager. Weird one, wonder what it means. Oh, it means ripsnorter. Or doozy. Of course.

Having become so dependent (or addicted) to answers at my fingertips, I do often also wonder how I ever survived my curiosity before there was a google to satisfy it. Maybe I should ask google. 
 
One thing I know for sure, I spent a whole lot less time off on mental tangents back then. 
 
 
Scratch the Mental Itch | graphic designed by and property of www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics #humor

 
I think, quite often, about quitting blogging. One of the things that actually keeps me in the writing, graphics designing, and recipe development game is fear of where my thoughts might go without the time spent focusing on blogging. If left to its own devices, where would my mind go? Would I, instead of wandering in and out of rabbit holes, get permanently stuck in a black hole? I mean, chances are I'd have more time to think up obscure esoteric questions, and to get lost researching them all. But then, without a blog, once I solved the riddle, who would I tell?

Case in point (well, second case in point, I suppose that whole doozy thing could be called the first): just the other day I had a sudden (albeit inexplicable) need to know how many itches someone has in a day. Not someone with poison ivy or mosquito bites or wearing a wool sweater, just a normal everyday person. So, of course, I googled it. 
 
Not such an easy query (leave it to me). First up was a correction, an assumption that I'd misspelled and meant "how many inches does someone have in a day." Not what I meant, but . . . turns out we gain 1/2 inch while in bed and lose 1/2 inch when we're up. I'm 5 feet tall on a good day, next time I want to pull the covers over my head and stay in bed, I can not only avoid the issue-du-jour, but I'll be taller. Good to know.
 
Accepting that I meant itch not inch, next question, did I want to know how many episodes there were of Itchy and Scratchy? You mean that animated TV series featured on the Simpsons? No, I wasn't wondering that, but I am now. 88.
 
It's possible I broke Google, or it had a human moment, a brain fart so to speak, because the next article it recommended was a ripsnorter (ha, I used it!). Did I mean to ask "how much do you poop in your lifetime?" Based on my recent post Return on Your Deposit, I bet there are some South Korean students who might want to know. And some South Korean scientists who probably do. But me? Nope, not what I meant. Don't know and do not (now or ever) want to know. Especially when I'm about to go try out a new recipe.

Orange Mustard Pork Chops, lightly marinated, crusted, oven “fried” pork chops served with a sweet hot citrus sauce. | recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #dinner
Orange Mustard Pork Chops
 
 
Now if this whole post has you scratching your head, that one's on me. First one out of the way, you now 96 more scratches to go today. That's more itches than Itchy and Scratchy.
 
As for me, I think I need a Medical Alert. As in "I've fallen (down another rabbit hole), and I can't get up." Medical Alert can help with that, right? 
 
Never mind, no need to answer. My friend Google will know.  

 
Baking In A Tornado signature | www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics




Orange Mustard Pork Chops       

                                                                            ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
6 pork chops, about 1 inch thick
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 TBSP sweet hot mustard
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
1 TBSP butter

1/3 cup orange jam
1/4 cup orange juice
1 TBSP sweet hot mustard
1/2 tsp minced ginger

Directions:
*Place the pork chops in the bottom of a shallow dish. Whisk together the mayonnaise and 1 TBSP sweet hot mustard. Spread half of the mixture over the pork chops, turn them over and spread the other half of the mixture onto the chops. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour to overnight.
*Grease a 9 X 13 baking dish. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
*Remove the pork chops from the refrigerator. Place the bread crumbs onto a plate. Coat each of the chops completely with the bread crumbs and place into the baking dish.
*Melt the butter and drizzle over the pork chops. Bake for about 30 minutes, turn the pork chops over and bake for about 20 minutes more until they are browned and are cooked to at least 145 degrees.
*Whisk together the orange marmalade, orange juice, remaining 1 TBSP sweet hot mustard and minced ginger. Microwave for one minute, whisk again, and serve either poured over or with the pork chops.

16 comments:

  1. I could write a post in half the time it takes me if I didn't go off on Google tangents :-)

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  2. Now that is a real Ripsnorter Blog and Recipe

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  3. It must have been fate that I came here today, because I had a pack of pork chops and desperately didn't want to make the same old, same old! Going to try it tonight!

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  4. If Google didn't distract me things would be done faster, the same can be said for the telly, damn things I can't

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    Replies
    1. Yeah, I'm with you. I keep the television off until late afternoon to keep from getting lost there too much of the day.

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  5. Those rabbit holes! I think of how much I got done back in the good old days, even when I was taking care of my baby son! Now....forget it. If I quit my blogging, just think, I could crochet..or read a good book...or...anyway, here we are, and now I have answers to some of life's pressing questions, like: did you ever decide you really needed to know how many poops in a lifetime? Alana ramblinwitham.blogspot.com

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    Replies
    1. There are some things, I now see thanks to Google, that I never need to know.

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  6. We certainly can find out a lot of stuff we don't need to know on Google.

    Meanwhile, that's how many itches i have just on my back in a day. It's a syndrome (notalgia paresthetica) and it is really annoying.

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  7. Hahahahaha! And here I was thinking Google was created for me! Oh, wait... I have to go and see when Google was created...

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  8. Cheetos and stress ball are great office supplies. That and head phones for great music.

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