A Perfect Summer Night

It's already the 4th of July. How did that happen so quickly? We are in the thick of summer right now and I'm loving the long, lazy days with the kids (as lazy as a long day with kids can be, that is). I'm loving the late-night 8 pm runs when the sun is not even close to setting and families are still outside enjoying the end of the evening. I'm especially loving the abundance of my favorite veggies at the farmers market.

Earlier this week we went over to our friend's house for dinner (Kym, of Dumpling Soup). It was such a beautiful summer night. One of those moments where you just pause, breathe deeply and soak up the idyllic scene around you. Hanging out with close friends. Kids playing together happily in a freshly mowed, perfect backyard. The smell of food on the grill. Cold drinks in hand. We even got a little live acoustic performance from Kym's husband. A truly perfect summer night. God is good.

This meal is the epitome of summer in my eyes. Bright red tomatoes, meat on the grill, and fresh, pungent basil picked straight form the garden. Or in my case, stolen from my neighbor (thanks, Leslie). My basil didn't fare too well this summer but I have plenty of nice neighbors who let me come and steal some of their stash. :)

Tuscan Pork and Beans

Pork Chops

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

1 can of Cannelini Beans

1 medium onion

couple cloves of garlic

cherry tomatoes (not pictured) but about 10 or so

lotsa lotsa basil

Earlier in the day I prepped a few of the ingredients so we would be ready to rock when we got to Kym's. Chopped the onions and garlic...

And the 'matoes

Put them in a baggy so they were ready to go

Added olive oil, salt and pepper to the pork. Don't get hung up on an amount, just enough to coat.

When we got there, Kym acted as the very talented hand model while I photographed. Do you even know mow much easier it is to photograph these meals with an extra set of hands?!

Cambria was the overworked basil picker... because as I stated above, you need lotsa lots of it.

Open the beans and drain 'em

Add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a sauce pan over medium heat

Add the tomatoes, onions and garlic and cook saute until the onions are translucent, stirring every so often. About 5 minutes.
In the meantime start chopping that basil If you roll it up and then chop it you get pretty little ribbons
Add the beans to the tomatoes, onions and garlic
Stir well
Add the basil
And salt and pepper to taste

That's done. How easy was that?!

Get the pork on the grill. I leave grilling to males so I'm not sure how long on each side. As long as it has grill marks, I'm happy.
now, VERY IMPORTANT. After you flip the meat, add fresh basil on top while the other side grills. You can shut the grill. This is why you need lots and lots of basil. I hope you have nice, basil-rich neighbors like I do!
Serve the grilled pork family-style over the beans. I thought this would be even better with a squeeze of fresh lemon over the top as well.
Perfect summer meal for the perfect summer night!