Before I get to the body of this post, I have a trivia question for you. Can you guess what kind of plant this flower comes from?
You can find out here. It’s part of my new section of my blog called Ingredients. As I find time I plan to add some information about ingredients I try out and learn about. I hope others find it useful too. I plan on trying to add recipes to the posts. Perhaps a little like my I have… Now What series.
Last weekend we picked up our first propane powered grill. A neighbor of my in-laws was moving away and sold the BBQ at a bargain basement price. I intend to give it a good home with lots of use.
I’ve had a grill before, but it was a charcoal grill that I used once in a blue moon. Even then, I mostly made burgers and hot dogs for gatherings of friends. I would never claim that I have ever really grill. My father and father-in-law are so fantastic behind a grill that I have never felt a need to interfere (aka learn). I have so many memories of my dad behind the BBQ. He designed his deck especially so he could grill year round. He used to call us over because he needed another BBQ timer, aka a beer, it’s become a family inside joke.
So because I am a novice behind the grill, I am learning a fair bit. I have already cooked a few meat items for the spouse. Last night I made some veggies shish kabab for myself as well as some blue potato and bok choy that I cooked in a foil pouch.
I also made a raspberry lemonade, but it separated so quickly, that the recipe isn’t worth sharing.
My shish kababs had yellow zucchini, grape tomato, baby bella mushrooms, mini sweet peppers and yellow onion.
The potatoes where purple potatoes with purple flesh.
To bake them in the grill, I placed the potatoes in a pie dish drizzled with olive oil with onions, garlic, bbq seasoning and dill weed. I covered the dish with aluminum foil. Once cooked the potatoes don’t look as different as they did before being cooked.
It was good, but I’ve been avoiding potatoes for so long, that I actually found their flavor to be disappointing.
Recipe: Purple Potatoes on the Grill
Ingredients
- 1 bag of small purple potatoes
- 1 small onion, sliced
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 tbsp bbq seasoning
- 1 tsp dill weed
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Toss potatoes and onion in olive oil.
- Place in a disposable pie dish.
- Top with garlic, bbq seasoning, dill weed, and salt and pepper.
- Cover with aluminum foil.
- Grill until potatoes are tender.
Preparation time: 5 minute(s)
Cooking time: 40 minute(s)
Diet type: Vegan
Number of servings (yield): 4
The bok choy was random addition from the farmer’s market. I showed up at the farmer’s market late. The farmer sold me some kinda wilted baby bok choy, that I decided I would need to use right away.
I wasn’t sure how to prepare the bok choy so I decided to wilt them in a foil envelope on the grill.
It’s important to fold your foil envelope in a way that allows for easy peeks into the vegetables inside.
Recipe: Wilted Bok Choy on the Grill
Summary: Make these greens on the grill. Adapted from:
Ingredients
- 2 small heads of baby bok choy
- 2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 Tbsp Garlic, minced
- 3 Tbsp Ginger, grated
- Salt and Pepper to taste.
Instructions
- Remove ends of the bok choy.Rinse.
- Place on an piece of aluminum foil.
- Cover with oil, garlic, ginger, salt and pepper.
- Close foil into envelope, place on grill until greens are wilted.
Preparation time: 5 minute(s)
Cooking time: 10 minute(s)
Diet type: Vegan
Number of servings (yield): 4
I was pretty successful in my first attempt. I did learn a few things:
- Cooking on the grill keeps the house much much cooler. I wonder if I can bake on the grill.
- Putting the burners on low will not keep your leftover shish kabobs warm. It will burn them to a crisp.
- Grill clean up is actually quite quick.
I’m looking forward to doing more grilling this summer. I plan on making some grilled pineapple and veggie burgers but any other suggestions for vegan bbq?
What is your experience with grilling?
I'm an engineer, an animal lover, a runner and an ex-rower. I like medical devices, big ships and mountains. This is my journey teaching myself to make healthy foods and explore the world of vegan and vegetarian cuisine.
Beautiful vegan grilling! Even if the potatoes didn’t wow you, they were gorgeous
I love drizzling olive oil and balsamic vinegar over a head of romaine lettuce (full head, cut in half), with a little garlic, and grilling it flat side down. Done in minutes — a perfect warm, summer salad. I ended up purchasing an indoor / outdoor grill (George Foreman) for my tofu and homemade veggie burgers (too much sticking on the gas grill!)
That sounds incredible, I love when food is warm but still taste fresh.
I usually leave the grilling to the boyfriend, but the few times I’ve done something simple on the grill (like an ear of corn or a veggie hot dog), it always comes out awesome. I think the potatoes look delicious by the way!
I’m really looking forward to fresh NH corn so I can grill them. Nothing quite like fresh grilled corn (I hope I don’t ruin them).
You are a grilling master! That bok choy looks especially good. I have absolutely no grilling experience, but won’t hesitate to ask a griller to make something for me. Want to come over and cook?
Haha, I remember those days. I used to beg boyfriends to demean themselves to grilling a portabello mushroom for me.