The Best Parts of Barbecuing

 This is the season for barbecuing. Yet it's not just eating delicious grilled meats and veggies. There's also the fun part of creating sides, the relaxing time spent flipping burgers and dogs or the fun afters of making desserts.

Here's the question of the week - what's your favorite parts? Do you enjoy creating a zingy marinade? Grilling steaks and wings to perfection? what about getting dessert read? Cutting watermelon into decoratative pieces or just sticking marshmallows or a stick to skewer for gooey gooey roasting.My favorite part is creating the fun sides. That's how I came up with my Oriental Cole Slaw. 

Here.'s the recipe

One bag shredded red cabbage slaw.

1/2 cup olive oil 

2-3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 clove garlic finely minced

2 heaping tablespoons of freshly grated ginger

Scallions  - optional

wash the cabbage and put into a big bowl. Finely mince garlic and grate ginger, this last with a microhasp (most grocery stores sell this)> Add garlic and ginger to olive oil. Stir in soy sauce and then pour over the cabbage. Toss until the cabbage shreds are well coated. Add chopped scallions for color and more flavor. Chill for about one hour. before serving. 

Extra Veggies, Extra Recipes

 This is the season where you could find a stray tomato or zucchini in your fridge. What to do? There's a lot of veggie recipes out there you can have fun with. It clears out the fridge and veggie drawyer along with providing a tasty dish.

Tomatoes are one of the most versatile veggies/fruits out there. They can star in a lot of tasty recipes. A favorite is the Piedmontese tomatoes and eggs.This is taking two or three Roma or Capri tomatoes  chopping them and then stirring them in a beaten egg mixture. A minced garlic clove is added for more flavor. Everything is then cooked up and served with sliced Italian bread.You can also make it Sicilian style by subbing in a chopped green bell pepper and cook the same way. A panzanella salad is an easy way of getting rid of any stray tomatoes. Just chop and add torn pieces of Italian bread. Drizzle with oil and you can add garlic and onion powder for more flavor. You could also add croutons instead of bread for a crunchier version.A fun salad is one made of all sorts of different tomatoes. If you had some cherries and grape along with vine ripened. ,slice and mix these together . Add a simple vinaigrette for a memorable and colorful side dish.You could also add a sprinkling of fresh Parmesan too.

Keep in mind that there are plenty of hot dishes to use on those extra vegetables. Use your grill for tomatoes, eggplants and zucchini, This makes for a nice side to any barbecue, especially if you're grilling chicken or fish like salmon. Just brush with olive oil and lemon juice and season with only sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Of course there's that year round classic ratatouille you can easily make on a stove top.It;s just taking those smaller eggplant or even zucchini, and cooking the  slices with chopped green peppers and tomatoes.You could  double the amount and freeze it for later on. It's also good reheated as the next day's lunch. Stuffed peppers are usually a winter dish but you can easily make them in your air fryer.Even if you just have one lying around you can create a tasty cooked meal with it. Add crumbled beef or plant based crumbles rice and whatever else you fancy. If you have some extra broccoli and cauliflower florets chop them and add to the stuffing along with olives and rice.It's an easy cook in the air fryer and a great way of getting rid of extra peppers.

Extra veggies lying around can be turned into tasty hot and cold dishes.It's a good way of using them up .It' also a great way of reducing kitchen waste/