Mojito Chicken Sandwiches

This tasty lunch was inspired by the post at Food for my family. I pretty much followed the marinade recipe exactly, just skipping the cayenne. I didn't follow anything else from that recipe though, so here's what I did.

I marinated 5 chicken breast minute steaks overnight in a zip lock bag.
Mojito marinade
2/3 cup Mojito
2 tbsp garlic infused olive oil
Juice from ½ of a lime
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1 tsp fresh black pepper

I fried them over high heat for a few minutes on each side. After removing the chicken to a covered plate, I tipped the rest of the marinade into the fry pan, and boiled it at high heat until it had reduced down to about a third.

Scrummy mayo
2 tsp boiled down marinade
2 tsp ranch dressing
4 tbsp whole egg mayonnaise

Mix all together.

Slice some fancy rolls in half. I used Turkish Pide, but Ciabatta, or any nice crusty bread would do. Lightly brown the insides under a grill. Give each toasted side a liberal coating of the mayo mix. Top with lettuce, sliced tomatoes, and a piece of chicken.

I served them with chips.

DP doesn't like raw tomatoes

The Simple things...

Sometimes it's the simple things in life that are the best. A child's smile or laughter, sunlight glinting off water, a single flower at the height of its bloom, all these things have just as much power to please as a well executed move on an expensive games console, or any of today's other modern 'necessities'. Food can be like that too. Sure, there's a lot of satisfaction to be gained from accomplishing a huge ten course dinner for twenty of your closest friends, or sucessfully making a complex dish you've never tried before. But when it comes to eating, nothing really tops the beauty of a few simple, top quality ingredients thrown together very simply with no fuss. That's what I had for lunch today.

Fresh home grown tomatoes

My mother dropped by yesterday and gave this bag of tomatoes freshly picked from her garden. I'd already taken about six out of the bag by the time I took this photo. I'd made fresh bread this morning, so I cut myself a nice thick slice, and laid those tomatoes down in neat little slices.

Tomatoes on fresh bread

Really, all this need was a tiny grind of some sea salt, and to be eaten as is, but I was hankering for something warm, and couldn't resist gilding the lily a little. Besides, I knew I was only going to aggravate my heartburn with all that acidic tomato so I thought I better get the full treatment while I could. (Incidentally, the heartburn last night was more likely from the choc buns than the sausage since I had a toasted bun this morning for breakfast (yes, they do toast well) and my heartburn was back within half an hour. And now I've been fighting it all day, which is not good, because I'm about to run out of peppermints and milk, and can't go and buy any more till tomorrow. *growls* I don't see why the whole nation should get a day off for a Catholic holiday. Most of the folk around here are Hindu anyway. I guess they didn't take Diwali off...but anyway I digress.)

Grilled tomato & cheese sammich

So I threw on a couple of slices of cheese, and whacked the lot under the griller for a few minutes - perfect! I sliced it in half before remembering to take a photo, so it's a little messy, but I assure you it was no less delicious because of that.