Now that I’m a mom I look forward to Mother’s day.  This year the boys and my husband went all out to make sure I was taken care of on the special day.  It began with a leisurely stroll on our local greenway.  I enjoyed the pitch perfect weather and my boys (with the exception of Alex) enjoyed the fact that the cicadas have pretty much taken claim over the entire city.  It’s a once every thirteen year phenomenon and we’re smack in the middle of it.  Nick, being all boy, found joy in grabbing them by the wings and letting them go to fly away once again.  Drew just chased them up and down the walking bridge laughing the entire time.  Only Alex had no desire to jump into the bug fray.  In fact, I think he was a little “bugged out” by the time we finished the adventure.  That’s my boy.

We followed up the walk with a stop at the local yogurt shop and an afternoon nap for me.  That’s right a nap.  I don’t think I’ve had one of those since I was three years old and it.felt.great. When I got back up and joined the land of the living, this is what I came down to witness:

My husband, who hasn’t set foot in the kitchen more than twice in our married lives to cook a full on meal, was doing just that.  I tell ya, I could get used to this.  It’s too bad Mother’s day is only once a year.

It’s back to normal life today and back to the dinner grind.  If you’d like to get your husband cooking, this meal is a great segway into the kitchen.  It involves the grill (the manly aspect of the meal) and a simple yet flavorful salsa that seriously makes the dish (the almighty segway).

To whip up the marinade, you’ll grab up a gallon sized ziplock and add in some balsamic, olive oil, cumin, coriander, lime juice, garlic, and salt.  Add in your pork, close er up, and let it rest in the fridge for a couple hours.

When you’re ready to cook up a delicious grill inspired dinner, heat it up and get that gorgeous loin cooking.  And I do mean gorgeous.

Once it’s cooked through and the temperature registers 145 degrees in the thickest part of the loin, remove and cover it with foil for about 5 minutes.

Now’s the time to put together that gorgeous salsa.  I’m seeing some mango, strawberries, mint, cilantro, avocado along a few other surprises in that bowl.  Trust me, they all belong there.

Mix it together, slice up that tantalizing loin, and drop a heaping spoonful (or three) of that gorgeous salsa over the top.  A feast fit for a kitchen loving husband.  I hope you all had a wonderful Mother’s day!

Marinated Pork Tenderloin with Strawberry Mango Salsa

Total Time: 2 hour 30 min

Ingredients:

For the Marinade:

1-2 Pound Pork Tenderloin
2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Cloves Garlic, Minced
1 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Coriander
1 Lime, Juiced
1/2 tsp Salt

For the Salsa:

2 Cups Strawberries, Chopped
5-10 Mint Leaves, Chopped
2 Tbsp Cilantro, Chopped
1 Small Avocado, Chopped
1 tsp Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 Cup Yellow Pepper, Chopped (about 1/3 of the pepper)
1/2 Mango, Chopped
1/2 Lime, Juiced
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Honey

Directions:

Mix together all the marinade ingredients with the exception of the pork loin in a gallon sized ziploc bag.

Add the pork to the bag, seal and let marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

When you're ready to cook up the pork, fire up the grill on medium-high heat (around 425 degrees).

Place the pork loin on the grill and cook for about 10-15 minutes, flipping once. The pork will be done when the temperature in the thickest part of the loin reaches 145 degrees.

Remove the loin from the grill and cover with aluminum foil. Let sit for 5 minutes.

While the loin is sitting, grab up the ingredients for your salsa, drop them into a bowl and toss them up.

Slice up the finished pork and serve the strawberry mango salsa over the top.