Welcome to the island mon

First of all, I have some awesome cooking experiences to share from the 4th of July but haven't had a chance to post about them yet. But stay tuned because our holiday was too delicious to ignore. For now I'll share what's cookin' on the stove right now.

One of my interests is cooking from other countries and even regions in our own U.S.A. On tonight's menu is my own take on Caribbean cooking. This is clearly a region I need to explore more but sometimes it's nice to wing it. I wanted to grill but we were drenched in rain storms this p.m. so into the kitchen I go. On tonight's menu is mustard and citrus marinated pork loin, black bean salad, and rice.

The rice is a no brainer. It's a boxed mix. William loves rice and it happened to be on sale so boxed it is. Though I do have a fabulous Mexican rice I'll share another time. ;)

My black bean salad is also easy:
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
a handful (0r so) of frozen corn
1 medium tomato, diced
1 T. finely diced red onion or 1 green onion finely chopped
lime juice or red wine vinegar to taste
Southwest Seasoning to taste

I am SO lucky to live close to Penzeys. If you don't, I highly recommend checking out their website. Anywho...

Combine all of the ingredients while you start your food prep to give the flavors time to meld and to give the corn time to thaw.

For my family a 1-1 1/2 pound pork loin is plenty. Pork loin is the most under appreciated meat. Properly cooked it's a juicy and lean protein. For mine I used:

1 pork loin
mustard
lime juice
horseradish
jerk seasoning
salt and pepper to taste

Sorry, I don't measure but it looked something like this:

Combine a good squeeze of mustard, a couple of table spoons of lime juice, and about a tablespoon of horseradish in a resealable plastic bag. Smoosh to combine. Add the pork loin and let it marinate for at least 30 minutes.

When you remove the loin from the bag, either put it on a plate (if you grill it) or in a baking dish (if you roast it in the oven). I can't lecture on grills. Or at least I won't in this post. ;) I'm a tried and true charcoal girl but I know there are many gas users out there. I do try to make my grill moderate and cook the pork for about 30 minutes flipping one time. In the oven, I preheat to 400 degrees and, again cook for about 30 minutes. But check after 25. I like my pork medium. Yes it's safe that way! If you have a meat thermometer it should read 160 degrees.

Yum yum yum. Dinner should be ready in about 20 minutes and I can't wait.