4 six ounce pork chops
3/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon cumin seed
2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped
6 cloves garlic, sliced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 tablespoon lime juice
salt and pepper

1. Combine oil, cumin, jalapeno, garlic, cilantro, vinegar, lime juice, salt and pepper. Marinade pork chops overnight in this mixture.
2. Preheat oven broiler and adjust oven rack to the top.
3. Place pork chops, along with marinade, in an oven proof dish and place in the oven.
4. Broil on both sides until flesh turns white and fat is visibly crisp, about 5 minutes per side.

Makes 4 servings

19 ounce canned black beans
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt

1. Combine beans, onion and garlic in a sauce pan over medium-high heat, cooking until onions have softened.
2. Reduce heat to medium-low, stir in cilantro, cayenne and salt to taste. Simmer for several minutes before serving.

Makes 4 servings

Ah, pork and beans, a common staple pretty much anywhere in this hemisphere. I have to say that this pairing is quickly becoming one of my favorites. Tonight I went with a Cuban flared variety. From what I know of Cuba they're not particularly renowned for their cuisine, yet every recipe I've found off the internet so far claiming to be Cuban has been quite flavorful. Tonight's dinner was no exception.

I've never purposely made a "mojo" before while knowing it by that name, but this recipe is comprised of flavors I'm pretty familiar with: lime, cumin, garlic and the dreaded cilantro. The Lime Mojo Pork Chops were infused mostly with lime flavor and a nice Caribbean summer taste. The heat was surprisingly mellow, but I have been eating a lot of spicy foods at work lately, so I'm sort of building up a resistance. I topped mine with a little bit of Fresh Tomato Salsa.

For the bean dish I made Cuban Black Beans. I could've actually (dare I say it) added more cilantro to the beans than what I had. The flavor was not particularly pronounced at all after being cooked, but I figured I wasn't going to mess with it. I like black beans pretty much any which way, so this dish was nice. The leftovers are fine cold if you're in to bean salads, perhaps bettered by an addition of a simple vinaigrette. I think this dish would also be good with the addition of some tomato sauce because it can easily dry out.