By First week of classes at UAB. Real university classes, three of them, in a city I am still learning. The campus is bigger than I expected and I got turned around twice on Monday looking for the right building. But the classes themselves feel right: Child Development Theory, Research Practicum, and an English elective I chose because I needed one and because writing feels like the right elective for someone who writes.
My roommates are quiet and clean and keep their section of the kitchen organized. The nursing student, whose name is Priya, asked me what I was cooking Tuesday evening and I said chicken stir-fry and she said that smells incredible and I made enough for two. She looked at me the way people look at you when you have done something kind without it being a thing. I know that look from giving it.
I am cooking differently in the shared kitchen, more efficiently, less sprawling. I cannot take over the full counter the way I do in my own kitchen. I have adapted: mise en place before I start, everything prepped and ready, no mess while cooking, counter clean when done. It has made me better. Constraints often do.
Sunday Gloria made smothered pork chops and I helped with the gravy and we ate at three in the afternoon with the winter light low through the windows. James asked about every class. I described each professor. He listened to all of it and then said: you are going to do fine here. Not are you going to do fine but you are going to do fine. He has always given me the declarative version. I am grateful for it every time.
That Sunday with Gloria and the smothered pork chops stayed with me all week—the low winter light, the gravy, James saying you are going to do fine like it was already a fact. When I wanted to bring that feeling back into my own shared kitchen, I reached for pork chops again, this time with an orange glaze that is quick enough for a weeknight but still has that unhurried, Sunday-afternoon quality. It is the kind of recipe that makes a small counter feel like enough space.
Pork Chops with Orange Glaze
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 4 bone-in pork chops (about 3/4 inch thick)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup fresh orange juice (about 2 oranges)
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon cold water
- 1/2 teaspoon orange zest
- Fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Season the chops. Pat pork chops dry with paper towels. Season both sides evenly with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
- Sear. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork chops and cook 4—5 minutes per side until golden brown and cooked through (internal temperature of 145°F). Transfer to a plate and tent loosely with foil.
- Make the glaze. Reduce heat to medium. In the same skillet, add orange juice, honey, soy sauce, Dijon mustard, and orange zest. Stir to combine, scraping up any browned bits from the pan.
- Thicken. Bring glaze to a gentle simmer and cook 2—3 minutes. Stir in the cornstarch slurry and continue cooking 1—2 minutes, stirring constantly, until the glaze coats the back of a spoon.
- Finish and serve. Return pork chops to the skillet and spoon glaze over each one. Let rest in the sauce for 1—2 minutes. Garnish with fresh parsley if desired and serve immediately.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 310 | Protein: 28g | Fat: 14g | Carbs: 16g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 480mg