Mint. My Favourite Summer Herb.

Yes, I know, it grows like a weed. It will take over your entire garden if you are not careful, but I love the stuff. I have been taking advantage of all the chocolate mint I have growing in the yard. It has found its way into most of my recipes of late. The turkey mango salad and the wheatberry apple salad from my previous post, both called for mint. Today, I made another meal full of mint. Plus, there are the mojitos.

Dinner tonight had a bit of a Middle Eastern flair. Chicken kebabs, Persian rice, grilled zucchini and easy tzatziki. The recipes come from the Summer 2013 Food and Drink magazine, but I will give you the quick and easy versions.

CHICKEN KEBABS

1 package chicken thighs (6 to 8 thighs per pack)

1 lime

1 lemon

2 garlic cloves

1/3 cup chopped mint

1/3 cup chopped coriander

Couple grinder twists of salt

Chop the chicken thighs into bite sized pieces, and put into a glass dish for marinading. Zest the lime, and sprinkle over the chicken. Squeeze the lime and the lemon juice onto the chicken. Mince or grate the garlic cloves, and add them, the chopped herbs, and the salt to the chicken. Marinade for 30 minutes at room temperature or leave in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.

Thread the chicken onto presoaked bamboo skewers. The kebabs can be grilled on a hot barbecue for 12 to 15 minutes, turning frequently.

Serve with tzatziki. I did not have time to make the full out version of homemade tzatziki, so I improvised. I mixed a couple tablespoons of greek yoghurt with garlic powder, lemon pepper seasoning, a squirt of lime juice and some chopped up cucumber. You could add some fresh mint and dill if you have it on hand. It tasted like the premade dip.

PERSIAN RICE (The recipe calls for basmati rice, but we did not have any at home, so I substituted brown rice instead. It worked out well.)

1 cup Uncle Ben's brown rice

Pinch of saffron

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/3 cup chopped coriander and/or mint

1/3 cup chopped dried apricots

1/3 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup dried sultana raisins

1/4 cup slivered almonds

1 clementine

1/2 a lime

2 tablespoons olive oil

Pinch of salt

The original recipe calls for currants and pistachio nuts, but I had raisins and almonds in the house.

Cook the rice in two cups of water, with the pinch of saffron, until the rice is done and there is no more water in the pot. It should take about 20 minutes. Put the cooked rice into a serving dish and mix in the cinnamon, herbs, fruit and nuts.

In a separate bowl, zest the clementine, and squeeze in the juice. Add the juice of 1/2 a lime, the olive oil and the salt. Mix the dressing, and stir it into the rice.

You can serve the chicken kebabs on top the persian rice for a fancy presentation. The dishes are portable, and can be enjoyed at room temperature. Therefore, they are great for a picnic or to bring over to someone's house.

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