Gratifying ginger mojito pork dish: Day 20

Trying to convince my brother-in-law that making a barbecue pork dish was a good idea was a bit of a challenge. Although he is a frequent barbecuer, he shies away from pork because he finds it too dry. I tried to convince him that even though I had never made the Ginger mojito pork recipe, I was willing to bet my first born that it wouldn't be dry. After all, Chatelaine's recipes are triple-tested so why would they steer us wrong? And promising to bet away my first born isn't as terrible as it sounds: I'm sure they would let us visit our son from time to time. After all, they are family. My brother-in-law looked at me and said "Okay" with the 'o' syllable stretched out in a way that can only mean, "Yeah, right. I dare you to prove it." It's a very specific type of 'okay' that husbands use to wave the white flag. Not because they're admitting defeat, but because they just don't want to argue anymore.

Again I enlisted the help of their eager 5-year-old who had proven instrumental in the successful preparation of the chocolate cupcakes recipe. We were preparing a double recipe for five adults and three young ones so eight limes needed to have the juice squeezed out of them. This was the perfect task for a 5-year-old. Her zest (pardon the pun) for lime juice extraction was equaled only by her excitement in watching the juice line creep up to the 1 cup level on the measuring cup. "Look, Auntie Mel, we're almost at the line!" "Great job," I'd say, "but we're not there yet. Less talking, more squeezing."

Once she'd successfully extracted 1 cup of juice she was eager to help out even more. She gently whisked the marinade while I sliced the pork.

I delegated the barbecuing to my husband and brother-in-law who both dutifully followed my directions as I hollered them out the patio door to the barbecue. It's fun cooking at the in-laws' house and having so many helpers at my command.

The pork looked so tasty that it was hard to wait the five minutes to let it stand before slicing. It was absolutely delicious, but was best squirted with lime juice and eaten with mint leaves—the only way to get the real 'mojito' flavour. The kids ate the same meal as the adults and were rewarded with dessert: you guessed it, the chocolate cupcakes!