Yakitori

Many cultures have a version of this, but the Japanese are the masters of  "subtle". Especially when it comes to food. Real good yakitori gets it's flavor from perfectly grilled chicken over charcoal, and the "sauce" is an accompaniment. This is a nice little project for weekend cooking. The prep takes a little longer, but it's worth the time.
Soak some bamboo or wooden skewers for a while. (by the way, ALL cookbooks and recipes say soak for 30 minutes. This is wrong. soak for 30 min, and you will have burnt skewers. The skewers actually need to soak for a few hours.)

Cut chicken thighs (another side note, real yakitori is made with ALL parts of the chicken.....and I mean ALL parts) into bite sized pieces. Take some scallion and cut into 1-2 inch pieces. Skewer the chicken on the sticks and seperate every two pieces with a scallion.

For the sauce, you will need some Mirin (sweet rice wine), soy sauce, and a clove of garlic. In a sauce pan combine about a cup of mirin and 1/2 cup of soy sauce (I use the wheat free tamari. one more side note, check your asian grocery stores to buy soy/tamari sauce. The same products cost half the price compared to our supermarkets. I assume this is because for us it's a novelty item and a staple food in the asian groceries)
and the crushed clove of garlic. Cook on medium heat until it reduces to about half it's original volume.

Get your grill ready and put the the chicken skewers on. After the first turn, start basting them regularly.

Remember the Salsa Verde I made? Grab yourself 1/2 cup of greek yogurt and add about a teaspoon of the salsa verde and mix it in.
Together with the yakitori, I had a half an avocado, the yogurt and a sweet pepper salad. They sell them at costco and are from San Diego. They are in season locally and I buy mine at the farmers market. They are delicious and colorful. Just thinly slice a few and add in some fresh cilantro and scallion. That's it, simple and easy.

A nice colorful meal. It used to make smile when Art Devany wrote about the "mound of brown".
Had a nice glass of wine with it. Zins, by 7 deadly Zins. It found it for $12.99. It tasted like a $25 bottle. Very very good.

Stay tuned for REAL pictures, battery issue solved ;-)