Totally Tropical Pork Mojo

With summers heat and humidity creeping in the desire to eat or even cook inside seems to fade.

Start with a pork tenderloin, you may have to trim the excess fat and pull off the "silverskin" before this is ready to marinate in the MOJO baby.

The Mojo sauce or marinate is a very common in Cuban cuisine. It's simple as pie to make and is lip smacking good.

Tropical Mojo

• 1/2 cup olive oil

• 8 garlic cloves thinly sliced

• Juice of 2 limes & half an orange (traditionally a sour orange is used in place of the orange and lime)

• A bunch of fresh oregano & cilantro chopped

• Salt and pepper to taste

• Splash of vinegar
• 1/2 cup of water

Heat the oil over medium high heat; throw in the sliced cloves till lightly browned. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a quick boil.

After the Mojo has cooled allow tenderloin to marinate in this for at least 24 hours.

This totally tropical pork mojo was served with the following!

• Grilled onions
• Grilled asparagus
• Grilled plantains mmm
• Black beans with cilantro, cheese and grilled onion

Nicely washed down with a DOUBLE IPA homebrew from two good friends. Very malty, sweet and high in booze. Tasted like a cross between a Sam Adams and a Dogfish 90 min..

Damn fine.

Fresh horchata

I've recently become obsessed with horchata after trying this milky drink at a local taqueria that offered it in my area. Ever since my first sip I have been looking out for it everytime I grab some Mexican food which seems quite frequently. I did a little research on this and found there is actually no milk in this sweet aromatic and refreshing drink. It is a type of rice milk so this is also a very vegan friendly treat.

After a few google searches I found the following Horchata recipe by Rick Bayless a Mexican chef I have always enjoyed on PBS. This recipe was featured in his book “Authentic Mexican Cookbook.”


Ingredients:

6 tablespoon white rice
1/14 cups blanched almonds
1 inch cinnamon stick
3 2-inch strips of lime zest(colored rind only) 3/4 inch wide
about 1 cup sugar

Directions:

Thoroughly pulverize the rice in a blender or spice grinder. Transfer to a medium -size bowl and add the almonds, cinnamon stick and lime zest. Stir in 2 1/2 cups of hot tap water, cover and let stand at least 6 hours or preferably, overnight.Scoop the mixture into a blender jar and blend for 3 to 4 minutes, until no longer feels very gritty. Add 2 cups of water, and then blend for a few seconds more. Set a large sieve over a mixing bowl and line with 3 layers of dampened cheese cloth. Pour in the almond-mixture a little at time, gently stirring to help the liquid pass through. When all has been strained, gather up the corners of the cheesecloth and twist them together to trap the dregs inside. Squeeze the package firmly to expel all the remaining liquid.Add 2 cups of water and stir in enough sugar to sweeten the drink to your taste. If the consistency is too thick add additional water. Cover and refrigerate until you're ready to serve. Stir before pouring.

Yields 1 1/2 quarts, 6 to 7 servings.


I ended up with enjoyable results, it was not quite as flavorful as the horchata I have been drinking locally but it wasn’t bad either. Next time I make this I will double the cinnamon quantity and possibly grate some nutmeg in as well. You may need to adjust the amount of water if you prefer a lighter or thicker drink. This lasted for about a week in the fridge so this recipe does make a decent amount.