Sheesh Ka-bobs

  
  

I LOVE fair food. Each year I look forward to the fried clams -- even through they're not that good. I also get Udon noodles that are made by the Oxnard Buddist Temple, which are that good. I didn't get a funnel cake this year -- I can only eat a bit before it starts to hurt my stomach.

Overall fair food is amazingly bad for you. I had to take a picture of the top dish when I was there the other day. Three women had ordered it and were each gobbling it down. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out what this nasty concoction was, so I went over the the booth where they sell spiral fries and saw that it was the chili cheese spiral fries.

I can honestly say that this looked like one of the more disgusting things I've seen people eat. First, of all the fries aren't crisp. They're served in a log shape, which keeps fries from getting a crispy outside. Then they're covered with a brown-chili sauce that has the consistency of gravy and a cheese product sauce that also has the consistency of gravy. Ewwwwwwwww. And, sorry, sometimes you DON'T have to try something to know it's disgusting.

In honor of the fair ending and in honor of just generally eating better, we had shish kabobs the other night. Let's put it this way, 180 degrees from the spiral chili cheese fries, lie shish kabobs, both in taste and nutrition. They are incredibly versatile and can be prepared for as diverse a culinary crowd as you can find, from the vegans to the meat and potato guys.

Shish kabobs are so easy to make, so economical, so good for you and so tasty, I like to refer to them as Perfection on a Stick.

Perfection on a stick
or Shish kabobs

1 to 2 pounds beef or chicken (buy an economical steak and cut it at home to save money. I prefer chuck, but whatever's on sale works) cut into one-inch chunks
1 green pepper cut into one-inch pieces
1 yellow or orange pepper cut into one-inch pieces
1 large onion, preferably red cut into one-inch pieces
mushrooms
Tomatoes are optional and I don't like them cooked this way
wooden skewers soaked in water. I use a water or juice pitcher for this
garlic powder
onion powder
Worcestershire sauce

Skewer the vegetables and meat alternately creating a nice balance, until the skewer is full. I've noticed that putting mushrooms on the ends is tricky since they tend to fall off when they cook. Sprinkle the kabobs with the powders and soak them in Worcestershire sauce. Grill over hot coals until the meat is browned. Make sure the meat is cooked through with the chicken kabobs. Serve with brown rice.