Pork and Barley

Last week I got the grilling bug! I had a very simple dinner or supper which ever you call it...on a side note I'd love to know the history behind lunch/dinner being served at noon and dinner/supper being served in the evening, but I digress...my evening meal was comprised of a grilled pork loin and barley pilaf.


I'm a fan of pork loins that are premarinated in their packs. You can get all kinds of favors and they save so much time. I grilled the pork on a medium grill, about 300 degrees, for 45 minutes...it was a one pound pork loin. I used a meat thermometer and got my meat to 140 degrees, then let it set for 10 minutes to allow the juices to redistribute throughout.

The barley was super simple...box instructions were to bring water to a boil and add the barley and salt and oil for 12 minutes. In a sauté pan I combined mushrooms, red pepper and yellow squash. I then made a light vinaigrette using lemon juice, fresh herbs (parsley and basil in this case from my herb garden), salt and olive oil and combined the veggies and vinaigrette with the barley. I like barley as a replacement to rice...different texture and a little more taste.

All in all the whole meal took an hour to prepare!

Irish Beef

I'm sure the title has confused you, honestly it was hard to type for me as well...I'm a huge proponent of American beef not only because well my family raises it but also because I just flat out think it tastes better than beef I have had in other places. BUT that leads me to this short discussion about Irish beef. About a month ago I had the opportunity to go to Ireland for the first time on a quick business trip. By quick I mean 48 hours on the ground quick but it was great because in 48 hours we got to see and learn a lot about the country from our customers and also by asking people at the hotel, restaurant and local pubs (because well it is Ireland and you have to visit at least one pub while you are there...which is actually a funny story but I'll reserve that for another time).

Since we were in a rush the day we landed we tried a culinary Irish treat called McDonald's. I don't eat McDonald's often, honestly only if it is my last resort when I am over here but I have to admit I was curious if it was similar to the US version and sure enough it was, I'm impressed with their branding and consistency across the pond. But the one thing that caught my eye immediately was the tray liner promoting that the beef in the McDonald's burgers were 100% Irish beef grown by Irish producers and they introduced you to them via the tray liners.

And this billboard as we drove through Cork, Ireland.

I thought it was pretty cool of them to support their local producers and make sure that the consumer knows where that meat is coming from and it reminded me of a post I did last summer about HyVee promoting local producers who supplied fruits and vegetables to the produce area.

I did have another experience with Irish beef while in Ireland from a great restaurant in the heart of Dublin owned by an American with Irish decent. The steak was top-notch, but I'll still take a good ol' American piece of beef any day.