Quick chicken...and two fast veggie sides

This is a perfect Spring meal: it comes together in a snap when you've been sidetracked by the nice weather and forget to start dinner. I get the beets steaming first, then season the chicken. While my husband grills, I make the bok choy. Voila!

Sweet & spicy grilled chicken
2 ts paprika
1 ts thyme
1 ts oregano
1 ts minced dried onion
1/4 ts orange zest
1/4 ts salt
1/4 ts pepper
1/4 ts crushed red pepper
1 tb olive oil
1 ts lemon juice
1 ts honey
4 chicken breasts
Combine dry spices (first 8 ingredients) in a small dish and set aside. Whisk together liquids (next 3 ingredients). Coat both sides of chicken breasts with sauce and sprinkle with dry spice mix. Grill until done.

Golden goat beets
2-3 golden beets, peeled
3 oz goat cheese, crumbled
2 ts olive oil
Salt & pepper
Cut beets into bite sized pieces and steam 15 minutes in basket over boiling water. Toss with remaining ingredients. Sprinkle with chopped fresh cilantro, if you have it.

Garlic bok choy
1 tb olive oil
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 heads bok choy
2 tb white wine
Cut stem ends off of bok choy and remove any mangled outer leaves. Cut thick rib sections into 1-inch pieces; cut leafy parts into wide ribbons. Heat the oil in a skillet and cook the garlic until fragrant but not burnt. Add the bok choy ribs and cook a few more minutes. Turn down the heat, add the bok choy leaves and toss to coat with garlic and oil. Add wine to steam and immediately remove from heat.

Multicultural meat

This is a Middle Eastern dish made with an Asian marinade. It works!

Tea-crusted Beef Kabobs
2 lbs beef, cubed
3 tb tamari
2 ts orange zest
2 tb oil
2 ts dried chili flakes
2 tb lemon juice
2 ts (or bags) green tea leaves
5 garlic cloves, minced
assorted veggies, cut into bite-sized pieces

Combine beef cubes and next 7 ingredients in a zip-top bag and marinate overnight. Thread beef cubes onto skewers, alternating with veggies - I used mushroom, bell pepper and onion. Grill to desired temp.

Salmon in Spring

Local it is not, but we found a place to bulk order wild caught salmon. That just leaves me with the task of figuring out some different ways to cook it. It turns out that one of the best things to do with a strong tasting - and delicious - fish, is to prepare it simply and match sides to it. Here is one example.

Leftover salmon served cold on top of slaw for lunch the next day.

Citrus Salmon with Sesame-Ginger Broccoli Slaw
1/4 c orange (or lemon) juice
1/4 c water
2 tb tamari
1 lb salmon (fillets or whole)
2 ts sesame seeds, divided
1 bag broccoli slaw
1/2 red pepper, cut into matchsticks
1/4 red onion, diced
2 tb chopped cilantro
2 tb sesame oil
1/4 c lime juice
2 ts ginger
1 ts orange (or lemon) zest
1 ts crushed dried red pepper

Whisk the first three ingredients together and marinate fish, skin side down, for one hour. Remove from marinade and place skin side up on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and sesame seeds. Bake for 20 minutes at 450 degrees.
Dump slaw into a large serving bowl. Add pepper, onion and cilantro. Whisk together sesame oil through dried red pepper and pour over veggies. Toss to coat and sprinkle with remaining sesame seeds. Chill until ready to serve.
This dish is also great the next day for lunch: top slaw with leftover salmon and enjoy cold!