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five-spice grilled chicken kebabs
Five-spice powder is a delicious mixture of, you guessed it, five spices. Combining equal parts ground star anise, cloves, cinnamon, fennel seed, and Szechuan peppercorns, the pre-mixed version is readily available at any Asian market. While it's chock full of good flavor, it's a fairly mild concoction -- if you want a marinade with a little more kick, just add a few dashes of cayenne.

marinade
1 heaping tsp five-spice powder
2 fat cloves garlic, smashed
1 thin slice ginger, smashed
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. cooking oil
1 Tbsp. orange juice

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1 red bell pepper
2 heads of broccoli
cooking oil, salt and pepper

serves 4
time 20 minutes, plus marinating time

1 Mix up all the marinade ingredients. Chunk up the chicken into 1" or so cubes. Combine the chicken and marinade and let it all stew in the fridge for at least a couple of hours, or overnight.
2 Cut up the broccoli into florets; use a paring knife to peel off the tough outer skin, and chop the stalk into 1" chunks. Place the broccoli bits into a steamer basket. Add a little water -- about a ¼" or so -- to a pot big enough to accommodate your steamer basket. Bring the water to a boil, lower the steamer basket into the pot, and cover. Bring the heat down to medium and cook for 4-5 minutes. The broccoli should be bright green and crisp-tender -- be careful not to overcook, or the broccoli will be too smushy to stay on the skewers. Remove broccoli, plunge into an ice bath to stop the cooking, and drain.
3 While the broccoli's steaming, core, de-rib and de-seed the bell pepper. Chop it up into 1.5" chunks.
4 Place the broccoli and bell pepper into a large bowl; drizzle with cooking oil, and sprinkle with plenty of salt and pepper. Toss the ingredients to get them evenly-coated.
5 Pre-heat the grill, and assemble your kebabs. When the grill's good and hot, throw on your kebabs. I generally lower the heat to medium, and turn the kebabs after 3-4 minutes. Cook for another 3-4 minutes (when the chicken seems to have firmed up, pull a skewer off the grill and test for doneness). Get 'em while they're hot!

sesame sugar snap peas
Sweet, crisp sugar snap peas are so yummy that they're best enjoyed simply, without a whole lot of fussy extra flavorings to get in the way. The sesame oil and sesame seeds add just the right amount of flavor to accentuate the natural goodness of the peas. Super easy, and super good.

4 cups sugar snap peas, or about 1 lb.
1.5 tsp. toasted sesame seeds
1 tsp. sesame oil
salt to taste

serves 4-6
time 10 minutes

Bring a pot of water to a boil; add the snap peas and cook for 3 minutes, until crisp-tender (alternatively, you can steam the peas as well). Remove from water, plunge into an ice-bath to stop the cooking, and drain. Toss the peas with the sesame seeds and sesame oil; add salt to taste.

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