Yesterday, I woke up with an envie for barbecued chicken.  Yes, envie is Cajun Frenglish for a serious craving (though I’ve also heard the term tracas occasionally used for a really, really serious desire; it literally means trouble, to underscores the emphatic nature of a profound craving.)

Anyway, an envie must be answered. ( If ignored, it will cause you to go blind, or your chickens will quit laying eggs, or maybe you’ll get a splinter?  Anyway, a denied food craving is supposed to generate some sort of bad luck.)  So I fired up my Big Green Egg, rubbed a Murray’s whole chicken with Penzey’s jerk seasoning, and cooked it direct, on a raised grid, for about 50 minutes at 375 degrees (until the thigh registered around 180 degrees). 

[Side note:  if you’re in the market for a used BGE, check out this one for $400 on Craigslist, located in Metairie.]

With a side of corn-on-the-cob and baked beans, the meal tasted like summer.  Which is appropriate, as the thermometer is climbing steadily upward.  It’s been a bit warm for early April, and the strong southerly breezes are causing my hair to kink up like spanish moss. 

Though bad for the hair, the weather is good for my garden.  The tomatoes are well on their way, and even the zucchini is beginning to produce.  (See below; click thumbnails for larger photos.)