Jamaican Jerk Skewered Veggies

Our family likes Jerk. Singular. Not plural. And not the movie, though that's pretty fun too!

One of our recent discoveries, Jerk Pineapple with Sauteed Cabbage, was so good that when I was flipping through Vegetarian Times Complete Cookbook and saw Jamaican Jerk Skewered Vegetables I couldn't resist. Of course, I had to add a little chicken for the carnivores. Sorry Veggie Times!

Marinade Ingredients:

• 6 to 8 scallions (green & white parts) diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1-2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves or 1 tablespoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice or ground cinnamon

Vegetable Ingredients:

• 8 cherry tomatoes, halved (though we kept them whole because I like the "pop". We even call them "poppers" in our house)
• 1 green pepper, seeded and cut into 8 pieces
• 8 large button mushrooms
• 8 broccoli florets
• 1 onion, cut into 8 wedges

OH YEAH Ingredients:

• 1 pound chicken, cut into bits (there ya go carnivores... plenty of chicken for 4!)
• white rice

Directions:

In a food processor fitted with a steel blade, process the marinade ingredients for 15 to 20 seconds.

Thread veggies onto barbecue skewers, place skewers in casserole dish, cover with marinade, and refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours, spooning the marinade over the veggies occasionally.

(Confession: we didn't go grocery shopping until 6 p.m. tonight, so no time to marinade for a long time. We marinaded for about, oh, 15 minutes on the kitchen counter so we wouldn't have to eat at 9 p.m.)

Grill until veggies are cooked, but not burned, about 4 to 5 minutes on each side. Or if, like ours, your grill exploded in a blaze of flames last year -- just cook it on the stove.

Plate and enjoy!


Reviews (our of 5 stars):

Tanya -- 4.5 stars -- I would have never thought to use cloves, nutmeg or allspice in a marinade, but it was so good! And there were plenty of veggies in this meal, I didn't miss the meat (which I'm not eating ... going back to flexitarianism)

Chef Jason -- 3.5 stars -- It was good, but not as inspired as some meals. Kind of reminds me of college.

Miranda -- 2 stars -- I thought it was kind of bland. I didn't like the taste on the vegetables (the marinade ... though honestly, she didn't really eat many vegetables).

Olivia -- 5 stars -- I really liked it! I liked the green pepper things and the broccoli and the mushrooms, especially the mushrooms. It was really good.

Hannah -- (didn't give stars or a review, but she ate it all. Well, except for the broccoli.)