Apricot-Shallot Criminara on Pork-Chayote Rice 1

A plate of sirloin pork, jowl bacon, jasmine rice, garlic-stuffed green olives, shallots, and chayote squash, all topped with an apricot-shallot sauce. Full recipe linked below.

Criminara CountdownThis is my fourth year running I've made something I call my Criminara sauce.  I can only make it during a few weeks in the months of May and June, as it requires access to black velvet apricots, which are shipped in to our local Hy-Vee from California.  They were a special draw when the store first opened, and I look forward eagerly to their arrival ever since.
I call it 'Criminara' because of its strong resemblence in appearance to marinara sauce, and its strong, crimson coloration.  My wife, Rachel, has become deathly allergic to tomatoes since having her appendix removed some six years ago now, and this is one of many methods I've devised to make fruit-based pasta sauces for her.  I often use other stone fruits (nectarines, plums, cherries, apricots, and peaces) with mangoes for other sauces, but I only get to make two or three batches of Criminara a year.
When I make Criminara, I tend to make enough for two to three meals, stretching it as best I can; I'll ofte