Rainy day dinner

It's been raining here in Southern California -- a lot. We've had more than 4 inches so far this April. And it's only April 5.

Southern California has a strange relationship with rain -- where else can you see "Stormwatch 2006" when it sprinkles outside for about an hour?
But when it really decides to rain around here it can get pretty dramatic. I live just a few miles from La Conchita, which experienced a tragic mudslide over a year ago. And just north of me, just about a block, some houses were inundated with mud.
Southern California isn't geologically suited to lots of rain, which is why we're prone to mudslides and flooding.

I love living here because you can go outside almost 365 days a year. And it's easy to get spoiled because the weather is almost always good, if not perfect. Temperatures never drop much past the 40s at night and are never higher than the mid 70s. It's rarely too windy, although I'm not a big fan of the dry reverse winds from the desert -- the Santa Anas. But they're relatively infrequent.

But I've had it with this weather (and yes, I'll have cheese with this whine). I'm trapped indoors with three little doggies who refuse to go potty outside in the rain. This means I spend my days wandering around with paper towels, sponges and sprays. Dog 1 sprays his pee, Dog 2 sprays his pee on top and I come along and spray some stuff on top of that and wipe it up. OK, this is a major reason to want the rain to end.

There is one good aspect to rainy days, however: they lend themselves to all kinds of warm, sturdy cooking. This dinner was the perfect antidote to my rainy day blahs.

Pork chops with Marsala Mushroom Sauce

2 tablespoons canola oil
2 large (1-inch) bone-in pork chops
Dried thyme
1 (one ounce) package Santini Mixed Wild Mushrooms (available at Trader Joe's)
1 cup hot water
1 cup Marsala wine
4 shallot cloves, chopped finely
3 tablespoons butter

Heat oil in skillet. Sprinkle pork chops with thyme on both sides and saute in the skillet for about 6 to 7 minutes a side for medium-well chops. Soak dried mushrooms in one cup hot water for about 15 minutes. When pork chops are done, remove from skillet and let the meat rest. Add wine to skillet to deglaze the pan. Reduce by half, add shallots and add drained, reconstituted mushrooms. Add butter and stir until warm. Serve over pork shops with Trader Joe's Spelt with Red and Green Bell Peppers (this stuff is really good for you and everyone likes it, even my husband), and Trader Joe's Brittany Blend frozen vegetables lightly tossed with olive oil or butter. Both spelt and veggies should be prepared according to package instructions.