It’s summer time, and with that comes no school (unless you’re taking summer classes, sorry), no worries (unless you have some…), relaxation (unless you work all the time to cover a large student debt that will take most of your adult life to pay off), and beer and food (at least you have something, right?).

In the midst of sitting outside one day, I thought of this recipe, something that really made me think about summer. A simply made hummus, some flavored packed pork, toasted naan (something I can’t resist), and some nice corn salsa all make for a perfect meal.

So while this may have a lot of ingredients it’s so simple that even I can make it. It’s light, it’s refreshing, and goes great with a nice lager on a hot day.

Seared Mediterranean Pork

  • Prep Time:20 minutes
  • Cook Time:10 minutes
  • Total Time:30 minutes
  • Servings:2
  • Easy

    Ingredients

  • 1 pound cubed pork shoulder
  • 1/2 sliced red onion
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 pinch chopped rosemary
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 1/2 tablespoon salt
  • 1/2 tablespoon pepper
  • 1 tablespoon cumin
  • 1/2-1 tablespoon paprika
  • 1/2-1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • Step 1

    Cut up your pork in 1/2-1 inch sized cubes (or buy pre-cubed pork).

    Photo by Justin Ko
  • Step 2

    Chop the rosemary.

    Photo by Justin Ko
  • Step 3

    Slice the onion.

  • Step 4

    Finely chop the garlic.

  • Step 5

    Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and let that marinate for at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight.

  • Step 6

    In a hot (medium high to high heat), oiled skillet place the pork (do not pour the bowl into the pan or else the pork won’t sear correctly). Turn after about a minute on each side.

  • Step 7

    After about 3-5 minutes, lower the heat to medium to let the meat cook all the way through. This will take about another 2-4 minutes.

Garlic Hummus

  • Prep Time:2 minutes
  • Cook Time:3 minutes
  • Total Time:5 minutes
  • Servings:3
  • Easy

    Ingredients

  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 can garbanzo beans
  • 1/2 juice of a lemon
  • 3 tablespoon tahini
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 2 tablespoon olive oil
  • Step 1

    Drain the beans.

    Photo by Justin Ko
  • Step 2

    Place everything in a food processor.

  • Step 3

    Pulse until desired consistency (if it’s not getting smooth enough, just add water little by little).

    Photo by Justin Ko

Sweet Corn Salsa

  • Prep Time:10 minutes
  • Cook Time:2 minutes
  • Total Time:12 minutes
  • Servings:3
  • Easy

    Ingredients

  • 1 ear corn
  • 1/2 juice of lime
  • 1 zest from lime
  • 1/4 finely diced red onion
  • 1/2 diced tomato
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • Step 1

    Shear the corn off the cob (or buy and drain corn from can).

    Photo by Justin Ko
  • Step 2

    Dice the onion into fine pieces.

    Photo by Justin Ko
  • Step 3

    Dice the tomato.

  • Step 4

    Zest the whole lime.

  • Step 5

    Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

    Photo by Justin Ko