It was over 50 degrees yesterday! It finally feels like winter is on its way out. I didn’t wear my winter coat or my boots at all. My snowdrops are blooming. The skunks are out. I bought bunches of daffodils at Trader Joe’s. It makes me happy!

In the afternoon, we took Bella for a walk in Lexington Center. Passersby oohed and aahed at how cute the “puppy” was. We treated ourselves to ice cream. I had Heath Bar crunch. Howard had chocolate (of course). We both had hot fudge.

For dinner, we had “indoor shish kebobs”. Even though we had a teaser weather day today, it’s not quite grilling season yet, especially because we use charcoal. We had some beef kebob meat from Codman Farm. I roasted some vegetables under the broiler, seared the beef in a skillet, mixed it all together with yogurt and some seasoning, and finished it under the broiler again. It would have been great with rice pilaf, though I just served with more vegetables.

Indoor Shish Kebobs
Serves 4 – 6
Adapted from “The Best Recipes in the World” by Mark Bittman

2 red peppers
2 Anaheim peppers
1 onion, peeled and halved through the poles
2 -3 tomatoes, halved through the equator and seeded
1 lb beef kebob meat, cut into 1 – 2 chunks
1 cup yogurt
½ tsp dried thyme
Salt and pepper to taste

On the top rack of the broiler, roast the peppers, onions, and tomatoes. If you need to, cut the red peppers in half if they are too big to fit under the broiler. The onions and tomatoes should be cut side up. Remove the onions and tomatoes when the cut surface starts to char. Turn the peppers until the entire surface is blackened.

Cool vegetables enough so you can handle them. Slice the onions into half moon rings. Peel and coarsely chop the tomatoes. Peel the peppers, seed them, and cut into strips.

In a large skillet, sear the kebab pieces. Turn so all the surfaces are browned. The meat doesn’t have to be cooked all the way through.

Combine the vegetables, meat, yogurt, thyme, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Spread the mixture on a large baking sheet (with sides) and place it under the broiler for about 5 minutes, until the meat starts to char. Cut a piece to make sure it is cooked enough inside.

Serve over rice pilaf.