Chokecherry Pork Chops

Today I put the chokecherry syrup to delicious use and made up a larpin' good marinade for pork chops with it.

All measurements are rough because I didn't really measure anything.
For 6 pork chops I mixed up about half a cup of Chokcherry syrup, 1 heaping Tbsp Dijon Mustard, a few Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar, a generous dash (or 5) of Garlic Powder, some Rosemary Leaves, cracked Black Pepper and Salt. I let the meat sit in this mixture, turning occasionally, for several hours. The longer you can let it sit the better.

We then grilled the chops to perfection along with some most wonderful Colorado Olathe Sweet Corn (non GMO!) and tossed up a baby greens salad with fresh goat milk feta cheese crumbles.

Chokecherries

One of the greatest joys of summer is fresh fruit! Especially when it is freshly picked! We harvested 4 lbs of chokecherries off the bushes on the hillside, and we still have plenty more to gather!

This "forgotten fruit" does not taste very good right off the tree, but it makes delicious vinegar, syrup and jelly very similar in flavor to that of black cherry. These preparations are especially handy for making many other succulent recipes, including desserts, beverages, marinades for meats, etc ...

It is very simple to make chokecherry syrup! Start with clean chokecherries, add enough water to cover plus an inch on top of that. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Lightly mash the berries without breaking the seeds & let them sit, covered, in the water, until thoroughly cooled (a few hours). Strain berries through a mesh cloth, squeezing out all the juice. Add sugar to juice (1:1 or at least 1:2 sugar to berry juice) and simmer, stirring occasionally, until syrup coats back of a spoon. If you want jelly, add pectin. Let cool. Bottle in glass, refrigerate for longest shelf life.

To make chokecherry vinegar simply place 3 parts chokecherries in 1 part vinegar and 1 part water, let sit for several days, shaking daily, strain when ready and bottle in glass.

The New ALOF Homestead

As many of you know A Little Ol'Factory has been closed for several moons due to our relocation across country.

We are happy to say that we are finally moved and settling into our permanent home! Nestled 7200 ft above sea level, in a quiet mountain town of around 1100 folks (as well as quite a few deer, elk, fox, mountain lions, birds ...) on several acres in a Colorado forest, is the century old historic log cabin homestead which is the new residence of ALOF.

We are planning to reopen the shop and begin shipping orders in September. In the coming moons, after we get more settled in, we will start hosting a variety of classes and workshops both on site and at the local community center.