Summer is my favorite season. It’s a time of pure joy, spent sipping cold drinks on patios (or poolside, if you’re lucky) and eating al fresco. And one of my favorite things to do is barbecue. Not only is the cleanup easy, but the food tastes so much better. Although barbecues are associated with grilling meat, vegetables are also tasty when done over the coals. Here are a few ways to get the most out of your local produce.
Grilling corn three ways:
1.
- Set the barbecue to high heat
- In a bowl, melt enough butter for the corn you are cooking
- Peel back the husk of each cob of corn (keep the husk attached) and remove the silk
- Brush butter over the kernels and then add sea salt and pepper
- Close the husk back around the kernels and wrap tightly in aluminum foil
- Cook for about 30 minutes, turning frequently
This method courtesy of www.allrecipes.com:
2.
- Set barbecue to high heat
- Lightly oil the grill surface
- Soak unhusked ears of corn in cold water for 30 minutes
- In a bowl, melt enough butter for the amount of corn you are cooking
- Shake off excess water from the corn and place on barbecue
- Cook for 30 minutes or until tender, turning every 8 minutes
- Remove husks and add butter, salt and pepper to each ear
3.
- Set barbecue to high heat
- Remove husk and silk from ear of corn
- Lightly oil the grill
Place corn directly on grill, and cook until ready, rotating frequently for an even char.
Grilling mixed vegetables two ways:
I like to have a variety of vegetables when I’m barbecuing, so those with a similar cooking time get grouped onto a grill pan or into kabobs and the rest are placed directly on the grill.
What you will need:
- Red and yellow peppers, zucchini, eggplant, onions, cherry tomatoes and cremini mushrooms (amount required to feed your family and/or guests)
- Metal skewers or grill pan
- Olive oil
- Balsamic vinegar
- Garlic
- Lemon juice
- Basil (dried)
Instructions if not making kabobs:
- Set barbecue to medium-high heat
- Cut peppers in half and remove seeds
- Cut zucchinis into lengthwise strips about ½ inch thick
- Cut eggplant into rounds about ½ inch thick
- Clean mushrooms
- Brush olive oil on both sides of each vegetable except the mushrooms on which you will brush only the top. Add sea salt and pepper
- Place peppers directly over the barbecue grill and the rest in a grill pan. If you don’t have a grill pan, all the vegetables except the mushrooms can be placed directly on the grill, but follow cooking times and rotate frequently to get grill marks
- Cook peppers for between 8 and 10 minutes and the rest of the vegetables for 7 minutes or until tender.
- Serve on a decorative platter and drizzle with a mixture of olive oil and balsamic vinegar if desired
Instructions if cooking kabobs:
- Set barbecue to medium-high heat
- Cut peppers in into 1-inch chunks
- Cut zucchinis into 1-inch chunks
- Replace eggplant with 1-inch chunks of onion
- Clean mushrooms
- Clean cherry tomatoes
- Prepare a marinade of ¼ cup of olive oil, 1 clove of crushed garlic (more if you prefer it stronger), juice of half a lemon (or to taste), and ½ tsp of dried basil
- Thread vegetables onto skewers and place on a baking sheet
- Brush marinade over all skewers and let sit for 15 minutes
Place on barbecue and cook for 10 -15 minutes, rotating and basting with olive oil mixture every few minutes •
