Marinades

Rachel here: Oh, summer. We've had an abnormally cool and grey summer here in the Bay Area with the heat finally arriving this week as we begin to consider the start of fall. This has left me and my fellow Bay Area dwellers scrambling to soak up these summery days before they disappear into the rain and fog that dominates...well...the rest of the year. Anyway, nothing is more summery than grilling and grilling is often best when done with marinaded food. Below you'll find a veggie marinade of my mom's followed by a chicken marinade of mine. What's one of your favorite marinades?


Janet here: As the part of this duo who is actually based in a part of the country where winters are, um, long and, depending on my feelings, challenging and depressing, I can say that I am not totally pumped to be even suggesingt summer is coming to an end. However, wonderful autumn, in particular fabulous October — the best month of the year — is on its way so I guess I don't have to get depressed yet.

Anyway here is a marinade I whipped up for grilling some veggies this past weekend. I did summer squash and onions, and it was mighty tasty. The key is to marinate long enough.

Veggie Marinade

ingredients
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 olive oil
1/2 cup diced tomato
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

method
Mix the marinade ingredients together. Place in a large plastic zip bag. Add whatever veggies you want to skewer on kabobs for the grill. Marinate at least one hour; the longer the better up to 24 hours. Skewer the veggies and toss the leftover marinade.

Chicken Marinade

ingredients
3 T. honey
1 T. chili powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
pinch of cayenne
salt and pepper
1/2 c. olive oil

method
Whisk ingredients together. Add 6 to 8 drumsticks (depending on size). Let marinate in refrigerator for several hours before grilling. Yum!

Meatless Mondays: Grilled Veggies

Janet here: I'm back from visiting the divine Miss M! and trying to get back in the swing of things. Rachel will begin to weigh in again as she starts to re-enter the world of the parenting and living, although I have to say, she and John have enough food to last at least another week thanks to the cooking I did while there. :)

Anyway it's Meatless Monday and you need to just ignore that piece of chicken on the plate. I had planned to make this fabulous vegetable tan but then I realized that I forgot to buy zucchini because I'm still getting settled back on the East coast after a day of flying. I will have this dish for next Monday, though, I promise.

In the meantime, you can make a whole meal of grilled veggies with a variety of sauces. This asparagus took about two minutes to grill, and then I just tossed it in some brown butter with pine nuts and lemons. It was terrific.

To make the entire meal meatless, just add some other grilled veggies, some rice or orzo and you are good to go. The amounts here are for just the asparagus, so if you add other veggies, you'll need to add more butter and pine nuts. Pick veggies that have a little oomph so they can hold up to the grilling. Some good options are peppers, eggplant, string beans, zucchini and mushrooms. Enjoy!

ingredients
salt and pepper to taste
1 bunch of asparagus
2 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup pine nuts
1/2 to 1 teaspoon lemon juice

method
Heat the grill.