Hot..

Photo: news.com.au

It is so hot.  We have had a week of over 33c, we are just sweltering and it is now becoming tedious.  It is 38c today.  We are breaking records. Outside jobs are not getting done.  The garden is wilting.  We had a houseful of people here for the weekend and we could barely leave the house.

sorry about the dot on the photos, have tried to get it off..

I was delighted to read this post by Sarah Wilson last week about exercise.  Hooray!   There is no need to overdo it.  I happen to like exercise and my body tells me when I have to do something but I have been plagued with a persistent tennis elbow injury which is a cumulation of things, but I mostly put it down to over-doing it at boxing a year or so ago.  And gardening (secateurs).  And probably tennis.  Truth be told it doesn't seem to matter what my exercise program is my weight stays roughly the same.  So while I am trying to recover I am happy to walk with the dogs for miles and do a bit of yoga.  They are loving this pile of cypress trees...

 I have been experimenting with yoghurt marinades for chicken lately and have come up with some quite good combinations.  Yoghurt helps to tenderise the meat and seems to take on flavours very well. It definitely fits into the quick 'n easy category, although you can marinate it up to 6 hours, if you get home late, half an hour will do the trick.  

The first one I tried used pomegranate molasses, which gave the chicken a lovely burnished crust.  I have tried this with both chicken breasts and bone in chicken thighs.  I'm sure you could even do it with a whole chicken.  I also made a little dipping sauce with a bit of yoghurt and some chopped preserved lemon and sprinkled it with coriander and paprika.

I allowed 1 tablespoon of natural yoghurt to one chicken breast, or two smaller pieces.  Just multiply the recipe for larger quantities.  If using a chicken breast it is a good idea to make a few slashes in the thickest part of the breast before you marinate it.

For each tablespoon of yoghurt add 1 tablespoon of pomegranate molasses, the juice of half a lemon (or thereabouts.  Pomegranate molasses, while sweet, is also quite tart, so make sure you taste it), 1 clove garlic, grated and a little salt and pepper.  Toss the chicken in the marinade and refrigerate for half an hour (or up to six hours).   Preheat the oven to 200c.   Line a roasting tin with foil and put the chicken pieces on a rack.

Cook for approx 30 minutes until chicken is cooked and golden.

The next one used the same method, just different flavours:

1 tblsp yoghurt as above

1 teasp Dijon mustard

1 teasp tamari (to taste)

black pepper

The last one I tried had the following:

1 tblsp yoghurt per chicken breast

1 tblsp lemon juice

1/4 teasp tumeric

1/4 teasp cumin

1 teasp grated ginger

1 teasp grated garlic

salt and pepper to taste

Praying  for a cool change.