chicken fennel kebobs with tzatziki

to say that it is grilling season in texas would be somewhat incorrect–it is always grilling season in texas. we like our meat, we sometimes like to fetch it ourselves (aka hunting), and we like to cook it outdoors because it’s usually too hot to turn on the stove and, let’s face it, it’s the right thing to do. regardless of where you stand on charcoal or wood vs. propane, direct or indirect heat, or barbequeing vs. grilling, most everyone agrees that cooking outside kinda rocks.

this is a fairly light preparation and works well when you are feeling overwhelmed by the summer heat but have a hankerin’ for more than just another salad. the cool creaminess of the tzatziki compliments nicely the char and warmth of the kebobs. and, if you’ve never grilled fennel, oh boy. it becomes sweet and caramelized, all while still retaining it’s crisp nature. add in some sweet red onion with singed edges, moist and lemony chicken, wrap it up in a seared pita and top the whole thing off with a cool sauce and let the magic happen.

chicken and fennel kebobs with tzatziki (4 servings)

adapted from bitchin’ camero

kebobs:

2 lb boneles, skinless chicken breats, cut into large cubes

2 fennel bulbs, remove frond and stem ends, clean and cut bulb into 2″ pieces (reserve a few fronds for the sauce)

1 large red onion, cut into 2″ pieces

1 tbsp dried oregano

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp lemon juice

salt & pepper

tzatziki:

7 oz plain yogurt *

1 cucumber, seedless variety, or seed a regular one

1 tbsp chopped fennel fronds

1 large clove garlic

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp salt

*greek yogurt will make a particularly thick sauce or you can just drain regular full or lowfat plain yogurt for a similar effect.

prepare tzaziki first so the flavors have some time to develop–sometimes i’ll make this a few hours ahead. grate cucumber with a box grater onto a paper towel or cheesecloth. make a small package of the papertowel and twist the ends up, squeezing out any liquid from the cucumber. you may or may not be alarmed at how much liquid you can get out doing this–DO NOT skip this step. chop garlic and make into a paste on the cutting board with the salt, by smashing it with the side of the knife. place garlic/salt mixture in a bowl with the yogurt, cucumber, fennel fronds, and lemon juice. adjust seasoning to your preferences. in other words, taste it. if you like more garlic go for it, but remember the flavor will be more pronounced as it sits.

alternate placing chicken, fennel and onion pieces onto 8 separate skewers. sprinkle with oregano, salt & pepper, then drizzle with the olive oil and lemon juice. place on a (preheated-very important) medium-high grill and cook for a total of about 20 minutes, rotating skewers every 5 minutes or so. you want a nice char on all sides and the chicken to be cooked through. allow to rest for a few minutes before serving with tzatziki and grilled pita.

this goes really well with a glass of nice, dry french rose. but everything, including another glass of rose goes really well with a nice, dry french rose this time of year, doesn’t it?

the good life: black beans & rice

i have had a long affair with black beans and rice. it all started when i moved to texas in my early 20′s. i was lucky enough to get a job at the coolest, hippy-ist (not hip-ist) cafe in town, one of those places where your boss would bail you out of jail, you can pretty much assume that all the cooks are hungover, and a waitress might just run off with the band to whom she  just served coffee. it was here that i was first introduced to what would become one the food staples of my life–black beans and rice. it was born, like many things, out of necessity. it was cheap, easliy accessible, and nutritious. these are the three most important qualities of a meal when you’re on a budget whether due to youth, job status, or financial strain.

this brings me to the real reason for this post. i was lucky enough to be asked to be part of a group of food bloggers in a challenge to bring awareness to the problem of hunger here in our fair city and it’s outlying areas. This is a project inspired by the capital area food bank, one of it’s proud volunteers, kristi willis of austin farm to table, and austin american-statesman food writer, addie broyles. the food bank feeds 48 thousand people per week in 21 counties. in addition to canned & packaged foods and meat products , they are proud to be the 2nd largest distributor of fresh produce of any food bank in the nation. this means fruits and veggies, people–real food! not only do they offer food via 360 partner agencies ’round these parts, they’re also involved in the food stamp program (SNAP), a senior outreach program, kid’s cafe, mobile pantries, and they offer nutritional education, menu planning, and recipe & cooking classes. whew!

most of the food bloggers involved in this awareness program are doing their own personal challenges; some are posting every meal from a typical week’s worth of food from the food bank, some are posting daily updates, and some like me are writing a simple, singular post in the hopes that it will inspire you to reach out, volunteer, donate, or otherwise do what will float your your philanthropic boat. saturday, may 8th is also the annual stamp out hunger food drive, whereby you can simply leave non-perishible goods in a bag by your mailbox–it doesn’t get any easier than that. if you’d like to read more about the food blogger challenge, please visit the rest of the bloggers involved  from this central site: food blogger hunger awareness project.

black beans & rice (serves 4)

this is not so much a recipe as a method. you can substitute any type of beans or rice that you like. i prefer black beans and brown rice for sentimental reasons and this combo packs a nutritious wallop.

1/2 lb dried black turtle beans

1/2 onion, chopped

a few bay leaves

a handful of salt

1 cup brown rice

soak beans overnight or use the quick soak method. be sure to change to soaking water to fresh. cover soaked beans with a few inches of fresh cold water. add the chopped onion, bay leaves, and salt and bring to a boil. simmer, semi covered with a lid for a little over an hour until tender but not mushy.

make the brown rice according to package directions bearing in mind brown rice takes about twice as long to cook as white rice, so give yourself plenty of time. i like to add a bit of olive oil and water and a pinch of salt to the rice and water for a boost of flavor.

if you have a bit of veggies, onion, or pickled jalapenos, chop ‘em up and add on top. or you could just simply eat it as is with a few dashes of cholula or your favorite hot sauce.

avgolemono with chicken and dill

a week or two back here in central texas, we had this crazy weather pattern happenin’. one day i was walking around in flip-flops, minding my own business, when i heard that it would be 20 degrees the next day. well, i scrambled home and harvested every scrap of green from my ‘winter’ garden: spinach, arugula, parsley, fennel, mint, and dill. the oregano i covered with a sheet and three days later, when the freakish weather ended, it said ‘meh’ and went right back to growing like a weed. even the scraps of mint i was unable to pull out in time are now back to their regular ol’ selves again.

whenever i comes across dill’s intoxicating aroma, i have an unending desire to make this soup. it has been a tried and true favorite of mine for many years,  just the thing when winter gloom sets in; warm and filling, but bright and sunny all wrapped up together. early that frigid morning, i managed to make it to the farmer’s market to visit a chilly friend who works at vital farms and sells eggs there on the weekend. i also found a farmer who sold me these beautiful green onions next to her booth. i already had a little piece of chicken (did you hear what he called you? a little piece of chicken! bonus points for naming that movie) at home in the fridge and some homemade chicken stock in the freezer from another adventure just waiting to fulfill it’s destiny in something as warm and soothing as this.

avgolemono means egg + lemon. makes sense, right? you’ve heard it before, but i’m sure there as many versions of this as there are cooks in greece, it’s country of origin. traditionally it is made with chicken stock only, not chopped chicken, and i think adding dill is also an americanization of this soup. but i’m ok with that. i have let go of many of my purist ways over the last several years, as long as the spirit of the dish remains the same, i can let it go. especially if it tastes good!  i do also feel some sentimentality as it was with this recipe that i learned the skill (and importance) of tempering an egg.

my ‘rescue’ dill:

avgolemono (serves 4-6)

2 tbsp olive oil

4-5  green onions, thinly sliced and divided

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4-1/3 cup fresh dill, chopped

6 cups fresh chicken stock

1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, small dice

2 eggs, separated

juice of 2 small lemons

1 cups white rice or orzo

kosher salt

lots of freshly ground black pepper

heat olive oil in medium stock pot. add all but 2 tbsp green onion and garlic and saute for i minute. add chicken stock, bring to a boil and toss in diced chicken. bring back up to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes, until chicken is tender. add 1 cup rice or orzo and cook until tender. this will add starch to the mixture-you want that. meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk egg whites by hand (or with a stand mixter) until soft peaks form. add egg yolks and lemon juice and whisk together. slowly add 1 cup hot soup stock to egg mixture, whisking continuously. this is a very important step (you are tempering!). you do not want to add the eggs to the pot before you do this or you will end up with some form of egg drop soup. add egg mixture back to soup pot, stirring as you add it so eggs do not scramble. remove from heat and add  dill and salt to taste. top with remaining green onion and lots of freshly ground pepper.