I recently received an E-mail from Christine who came across my blog and started asking me questions about health. Yikes. I'll be the first one to admit my cooking is tasty, but it is not that health conscious. Just ask my roommate - she's convinced I should write a cookbook entitled: "The Joy of Cooking...with BUTTER."
Since then I went out and purchased a bunch of vegetables and some goat cheese with the intention of making a more concentrated effort into some vegetarian grilling. Here's what I've figure out so far:
Peppers:
Pure awesome on the grill - go buy a bunch of these when they're on sale (especially the red ones), seed them but keep them whole. Grill them directly over a Low-Med flame and turn until they are black and blistered all over. Then, put them in a bowl and cover them with plastic wrap while they cool - once they're cool-ish, you can strip the skin off super easy - and the peppers will retain a nice smokey flavour from the grill.
Eggplant:
Delicious and cheap - slice the eggplant into about 1/4'' slices, brush them with olive oil and slap them on the grill (Low). Be generous with the salt and the pepper because this will really bring out the flavour of the eggplant which is naturally sweet. They won't take long! So stay close and flip!
Zucchini:
Cut them into long strips or wedges - the entire length of the zucchini, other wise they may slip through the grills. I like to toss them in a bowl with Olive oil, Balsamic and S + P before grilling. Throw some oregano, thyme or basil on there too. Like the eggplant - keep a close watch or they'll get overdone and mushy.
Portebello Mushrooms:
Like the eggplant - these make excellent substitutes for burgers. Last week after Frisbee, my friend Vahan came over and we made a couple of these. Mix up some olive oil, balsamic and minced garlic - prepare the mushrooms by cutting off the stems and removing as much of the "gills" underneath as possible. Then let them sit for decent amount of time in the oil mixture. Gill them on LOW for about 2-3 minutes per side. You'll see the edges going soft when they're done.
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| Doesn't that look tasty? And possibly HEALTHY? |
Ted's Tip of the week...
To hold everything together - I made some quick garlic mayonnaise. Super easy to make and it'll make your burgers and/or sandwiches extra-awesome.
Happy grilling!Labels: Vegetables
