Perhaps it’s the longer days, maybe warmer temperatures, but something has kicked my cooking imagination into a higher spatula.
Especially on the barbecue.
The herbs that are growing in my garden, along with the many different types of plants that are now peeking out of the warm earth, help get me into the spring spirit and the start of a new barbecue season.
Last week, on a nice warm evening, I decided it was time to get the old barbecue heated and do some cooking.
I had some New Zealand lamb chops in the fridge and thought that would make a nice, tasty dinner.
I had a container of mango peach juice and poured about a cup into a large plastic bag.
I salted and peppered the chops, added a pinch of allspice, coarsely chopped three large cloves of garlic, a little bit of brown sugar and put everything in the bag, then into the fridge.
I did score the lamb to allow the marinade to get sucked into the tasty meat.
I put the meat on the barbecue when the temperature was 400 degrees.
I did each side at that heat for about five minutes, then turned the barbecue down to 300 and cooked it for another 40 minutes.
It was perfectly done with just a hint of pink in the larger pieces.
That was such a taste bud success, my body wanted more the next night.
There were a couple of thick pork chops in the fridge so I pulled them out, then thawed them and put on a tomato paste, a pinch of allspice, dried oregano, two large cloves of garlic, ground black pepper and ground sea salt.
I put these in a cave I made out of tin foil along with a little garlic olive oil, poked some holes in the tin foil to get in some of the wood chip flavour I put directly on the heat.
If I keep eating like this, I might even gain some needed weight.
It’s the spring thing that is stirring my Ken Wilson crazy concoctions and my taste buds don’t mind it a bit.
I like this time of the year when it’s warm. It makes me feel like a rejuvenated juvenile .
Don’t forget to turn your clocks ahead this weekend.
Bye for now and Gooood Cooking.
Ken Wilson is a freelance columnist with the Tribune/Weekend Advisor.