Rosemary Skewers Forever….

The day before yesterday at Sustenance Cooking Studio, one of their first time guests settled in at the counter to watch and have conversation. For the life of me (I can be bad that way) I have forgotten the woman’s name but shall never forget the conversation or her face. She is also a very strong supporter of Loaves and Fishes, my charity of choice.We started talking about spices and got into a conversation about rosemary.

The best rosemary to use for culinary purposes is Tuscan Blue, an upright varity of rosemary that makes not only for a wonderful spice because it it filled with plump leaves of flavor but the nature and form of the stems create the ideal skewer for meats and vegetables. The stems infuse rosemary throughout. and it is wonderful to use because when burned they give off a distinct mustard smell too.
This kind wonderful woman went home and wack-attacked her rosemary plant and came back to the studio with an armful of gorgeous rosemary for me. Tonight is the night for Kabobs al la Deborah.

As I was making my chicken marinade the thought came to utilize other spices to enhance one another. Ginger came to mind and an experiment was born.

The pungent taste of ginger has a spicy-sweet aroma and rosemary which has a slightly bitter, astringent taste which is also highly aromatic should dance together on the palette.

I mixed my marinade with a bit of soy sauce (Kikkoman’s of course), worchestershire sauce (salty because of the anchovies), rice wine vinegar (bit of sweet and sour), splash of balsamic vinger (strong and bold), garlic (always), powdered ginger, freshly minced rosemary leaves(high in iron, calcium, and Vitamin B6) and a touch of sugar (balance it out).

Yum!