Here at LENNDEVOURS, we aim to please and while the LENNDEVOURS Reader and NY Wine Interest Survey is still underway, one thing is already clear: you guys want to see a bit more food/cooking included.

Mrs. LENNDEVOURS has been saying that for a while…I guess I should have listened to her.

With that in mind, I give you the return of the "In Our Kitchen" category. It was never really gone…it just wasn’t housing any recent posts.

Saturday night, the missus and I teamed up to create a delectable (and healthy) summer dinner of grilled chicken thighs that were rubbed with a jerk spice mix we picked up in Jamaica, grilled local corn and a salad of blanched local green beans, julienned cuccumbers (from our garden), crumbled turkey bacon, feta cheese and red onion vinaigrette.   

The jerk rub from Jamaica was/is a little disappointing. It’s pretty salty and doesn’t have that distinctive allspice/ginger flavor I was hoping for. It’s more of a seasoned salt with a little heat. The next time around, I’ll add some ground allspice myself and maybe a little cinnammon too.

Far and away the best part of this meal was Nena’s salad. I’ve already encouraged her to make it again…and again.

The corn, while local, had clearly not been picked the same day — featuring more starch than a dry cleaner. It happens, but we were definitely diappointed. Remember, get the freshest corn you can…because every second it sits after being picked, the natural sugars are turning into dry, tasteless starch. Best solution? Grown your own.