May 2026

A fajita chicken marinade and bowl format built out and tested, a lemon chicken marinade and a crisp topping recipe finalized, plus early research into West African stews (yassa, mafe) and Turkish kebabs for later.

Sunday, May 24th

Research

• Turkish kebabs

Lemon chicken marinade

→ Lemon chicken marinade

• 80 g extra virgin olive oil
• 50 g fresh lemon juice (~1 large lemon)
• 1 lemon, zested
• 25 g garlic cloves, minced (3-4 large)
• 5 g dried oregano
• 3 g sweet paprika
• 4 g black pepper, freshly cracked
• 2 g dried thyme
• 7 g kosher salt (and 2 g MSG)

Monday, May 18th

Research

• Yassa and mafe (Senegalese braise/stews, not too far from curry)
  • mafe (1, 2, 3)
  • yassa (1)

Saturday, May 16th

Fajita salads/bowls

→ Fajita chicken bowl

• fajita marinated chicken (1, 2)
  • 3-4 chicken breasts pounded to ½-inch thick, or whole (marinate longer)
  • 100 ml lime juice + zest (if from fresh)
  • 80 ml olive oil
  • 10 g dark brown sugar (or white sugar, maple syrup, etc.)
  • ½ cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro (I finely dice the stalks for marinade)
  • 3 cloves finely minced garlic
  • 2 ½ teaspoons whole cumin, toasted and ground
  • ½ tsp ground black pepper
  • Mexican oregano, thyme
  • cinnamon (¼ stick)
  • chilies (to taste, I sometimes use sweet paprika for colour)
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¼ tsp MSG

Added: cinnamon, oregano, thyme, MSG, chilies.

Toast whole spices, and grind.

Assemble marinade, and season to taste (it should be a balanced acid/sweet/salt, with some depth).

Marinate chicken (30 minutes to 12 hours), and cook (grill or broil) to medium (or ~62°C, resting to 65°C). You want consistent browning in addition to an internal temperature exceeding 62°C.

Salad/bowl version

• pan-fried corn (salt, garlic, oil), until slightly blackened
• fajita-sliced onion, peppers (fried, or sautéed)
  • wok can work here!
• slaw as a base
• tortillas
• pulled/diced chicken (from above)
• guac + salsa dressing

Lemon/lime-aid iced tea, single serving

→ Lemon-lime iced tea

• 3 heaping teaspoons sugar
• 3 dashes lime juice, 2 dashes lemon
• 500-700 ml cold tea

Shake with ice in a martini shaker, serve over ice. Balances sweet and tart, and is a nice sunny day treat.

Friday, May 1st

Crisp, v2 + clean the cupboards

For crisp topping/crust, combine: → Crisp topping

• 1 cup old-fashioned oats
  • 55 g
• ⅔ cup flour
  • 50 g
• 1 cup brown sugar (maple syrup, white sugar)
  • 130 g
  • 60 g cane sugar (like brown)
• 2 tsp salt
• and 12 tbsp (¾ cup) cold butter to create the base (use fingers, or pie thingy)
  • 60 g butter
  • 20 g oil

Par cook bottom crust (if adding).

Cook until top crust is crispy.

Dal

→ Dal tadka

• 1, 2, 3