Hold On To Summer

 It's still summer despite  people guzzling those pumpkin spice lattes and rifling through their casserole recipes.  Hold on to the season with august harvests from the yard and farmer's markets. Don't put away the grill It's still barbecue season too.

You can still enjoy just picked tomatoes and peppers even though you're packing those school lunches. Use those late summer beefsteaks for  those same lunches. Everyone lives a good old fashioned tomato sandwich on toast and slathered with mayo. They're also good for Saturday lunch BLT's or for a Sunday beach picnic. A quick week day dinner involves those fresh ones along with freshly picked basil in a salsa cruda. This is an uncooked sauce made an hour or two before the pasta is cooked.It's left out to marinate in olive oil at room tempeature. It's a great sauce epsecially when served with chunky pasta like rotelli. Grilled veggies can be made outdoors until the first very cold snap (and beyond if you're hardy)Think sliced bell peppers and eggplant brushed with olive oil and dusted with garlic powder, salt and pepper. Farms are still offering ears of fresh corn. Get  them and create tasty Mexican street corn with them. The kernals are also good in a cold fiesta salad with diced red and green peppers. If you are in the mood for making soup then think of the summery gazpacho. This is perfect to make for the still steamy days ahead. It's combining tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers  and olive oil, water and garlic in a soup that is chilled for a few hours.

You may get the urge to ditch the barbecue and make an oven roast. Think again about this unless you have really good air conditioning. We will still have ninety degree days in  many parts of the US. London Broil is a winter meat that' graced many a Christmas and New Year's table but it's also a great grill meat. You could easily grill it after marinating it in a mix of olive oil, red wine vinegar and garlic. Slice it an d serve it on fremch or Italian bread for a delcious sandwich. Another fall roast favorite Cornish hens can also be grill roasted too. Rub with melted butter and lemon and add thyme to the insides for a flavorful bite. Usually both the beef and poulty are good with mashed potatoes but serve grilled baked potatoes instead. You will have to preheat the grill to 315 degrees Farenheit. ( most grills now have thermometers in them to let you know the temperature) and then rub  them in olive oil and salt and then wrape them in foil. Cook thirty to forty mimutes or until a skewer pierces them with no resistance. Cut in half and serve with butter and sour cream. As far as dessert, have s'mores . These are still fun to eat and if you do want a fall vibe. sprinkle with pumpkin pie spice before you put on the top graham cracker.

Hold on to summer cooking. Make a cooling soup like gazpacho. fire up the grill Have a tomato sandwich. It's still warm weather. Embrace it.

One Grill So Many Uses

 There's nothing like an August barbecue. Corn and tomatoes for grilling are in full harvest and there/s still the urge for hamburgers and hot dogs. There's stil time to fire up the grill.

I feel this way thanks to my new grill.

This is the Expert Grill bought on sale today from one of my local Wal-Marts. It was orginally $107 and was on sale for $90. A true bargain. It can grill up to twenty (!!!) burgers on it, perfect for when I have to cook both plant based and meat patties.It also has a cool warming rack perfect for when there are batches of burgers and dogs.Another plus is the serving table with three hooks for barbecuing utensils and a thermometer to let me know the heat of the coals. A fun extra is the bottle opener, perfect for root beer (and maybe a few Coronas). However the best feature is the slide out ash pan for quicker cleaning. I LOVE this grill!!!!

What to make onit? Well, the usual Impossible Burgers and Field vegan hot dogs. I also want to try grilling veggies, like tomatoes, onions and bell peppers. Even though I can't eat corn myself the idea of grilling up Mexican street corn or elotes, slathered with crema sauce and sprinkled with Cotija cheese. I may experiment with making a grilled tomato sauce and savoring its' smoky taste. Then there are the fruits.I love grilled pineapple rings with butter and brown sugar. These make the perfect summer dessert.Peaches are something Im eager to grill along with bananas. Bananas foster will be even better with them grilled. You can also grill figs and melons  along with avocados but I think I'll hold off on them. Should there be s'mores.Maybe but melted and charred marshnallow a day later is a pain to clean. I may get grilling pans, now probably on sale. I can place marshmallows along with produce on these and then just soak in the sink to clean like any other pan.

Happiness is a new grill, especially the Expert Grill. There's still hot weather. There's still time for a good barbecue with yummy foods.