4 cups water
1 bag Earl Grey
1 lemon
3 tablespoons sugar
ice

1. Bring water to a boil and pour into a pitcher with the tea bag.
2. Cut lemon in half, remove any seeds and squeeze juice into the water.
3. Stir in sugar and add the lemon to the water while the tea steeps for 5 minutes.
4. Add ice cubes to chill and serve.

Makes 4 cups

1 small cucumber
2 large carrots
1 medium apple
2 stalks celery
1/4 small red onion
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons lime juice
salt and pepper

1. Grate cucumber, carrot, apple, celery and onion and combine in a bowl.
2. Combine honey, lime juice, salt and pepper and coat grated vegetables. Refrigerate before serving.

Makes 6 servings

1 cup mixed beans, cooked
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups coconut milk
1 cup long grain rice
6 sprigs thyme, stems removed
salt and pepper
water

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add the garlic, stirring until fragrant.
2. Add the rice to the garlic oil and toss to coat.
3. Stir in the coconut milk and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover, stirring ocassionally until rice is tender.
4. Fluff rice, stir in beans and season with thyme leaves, salt and pepper.
5. Add additional water as necessary to give rice a creamier consistency and serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings

1/4 cup Jerk Marinade
1 large plaintain, sliced 1/8" thick
4 ounces okra, 1/2" rounds
2 red chilies, sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and fry the plantain until browned on both sides, about 7 minutes per side. Remove the plantain and reserve.
2. Add butter to the skillet and saute the chiles until softened, about 5 minutes.
3. Stir in the okra and jerk sauce until okra is softened, about 3 minutes.
4. Add the plantains and continue frying until reheated. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings

16 chicken legs
1 small red onion
2 red chili peppers, stems removed
1 tablespoon ginger, chopped
1/2 teaspoon allspice
6 sprigs thyme
1 teaspoon black pepper
4 tablespoons white vinegar
4 tablespoons dark soy sauce

1. Combine onion, chilies, ginger, allspice, thyme leaves, pepper, vinegar and soy sauce in a blender or food processor.
2. Gently score the chicken legs and marinade overnight.
3. Preheat grill to medium.
4. Remove chicken from marinade and grill until flesh is no longer pink and juices run clear, about 25-30 minutes.

Makes 16 chicken legs

I find it really difficult to find small quantities of chicken legs, so I was forced into having a few friends over for barbecue tonight. I love that chicken legs are so incredibly cheap, come with their own stick and are loaded with dark meat, which I've always preferred to white. The only time I've ever made jerk chicken is with a commercially prepared marinade, so I was impressed when the recipe I found for Jerk Chicken Legs not only looked like a jerk chicken marinade, but tasted like a jerk chicken marinade. I was a little apprehensive about the spices and held back on the peppers, but in hindsight I probably could've gone with Scotch bonnet or habanero over the jalapenos and not have been hated too much. My only complaint is that I didn't make enough marinade to baste the chicken with afterwards and they could've had a bit more sauce, but since they marinated overnight the flavor infused a fair amount into the meat and it worked really well on the grill.

As I've probably mentioned, Shannon absolutely hates okra. I've only made it once and I did the bad mom method (boiled it to death) that makes kids hate vegetables. This resulted in slimy, seedy goblin fingers that weren't the least bit edible and we'd sworn off of it for over a year. I decided to be fair and give them at least one more chance since they're completely disguised and edible in gumbo and it sort of worked with the theme. Jamaican Plantain and Okra was better than previous plantain dishes and the okra was actually quite good. Shannon wasn't here to eat it though and probably wouldn't have if she were. I think the spiciness helped to mask any flavor that okra might actually have, but I'm going to have to give it yet another shot now.

Somewhat as another excuse to repeat Coconut Rice again, I made Jamaican Beans and Rice because a friend of mine was talking about an Indian buffet she went to that had a creamy rice dish that I figured was just rice cooked in curried coconut milk. Well, apparently I was totally wrong because she didn't dig this at all. It was essentially like the coconut rice I know and love with beans in it though, so I loved every delicious minute of it.

To bring in more typical barbecue fare I made a Caribbean Summer Slaw to try and compensate for the lack of barbecue salads. Everyone said that they really liked this and I thought it was a nice blend of veggies with a refreshing citrus sort of dressing. To finish it all off I brewed a couple pitchers of Lemon Iced Tea, of which only a single glass was drank because, hey, we had beer.