First Bear of Spring

They're back! I took this picture late last fall before the last of the bears decided to hibernate and leave our yard and their favorite apple tree. Or maybe it's the swing that amuses them. I've been a big fan of Lily the Bear at bear.org where she and her cub, Hope, have just left their den, so I knew it wouldn't be long until our bears were back. I wondered how he got in the yard and after checking out the neighborhood, I found out he had simply climbed over the fence, a good 8 ft fence, since I had neglected to leave the gate open for him. He found the compost and turned that over and sauntered down the hill towards the river. Nice life! 

This aside, I made a Sweet n Spicy chicken dish last night and it was wonderful. Just the right kick tempered with a sweet glaze served with cilantro onion rice and a big salad loaded with toasted cashews, feta, avocado and tomato. Has anyone tried the new artisan lettuce from Costco? 4 lovely small heads of crunchy lettuce..perfection. The recipe follows 

Get your spices ready! Start the rice. Serves 4.

8 boneless skinless thighs

Spice Mix:
2 tsp granulated garlic
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp chipotle chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp cilantro chopped
1 tsp sea salt
The chipotle is hot chili powder, if you don't have it on hand substitute cayenne to taste or another hot chili powder such as de arbol or pasilla.

Glaze:
1/2 cup honey, melted in micro
1 Tbsp cider vinegar or white vinegar
Mix and reserve 2 Tbsp for serving.

Pat chicken dry and rub with oil. Toss chicken in spice rub to coat well on each side.
Grill approx 5 minutes per side until cooked through. While chicken is cooking, drizzle glaze on each side the final minute of grilling or broiling. Prepare for a little smoke from the sweet glaze. Yum.