Good Morning,

Consider incorporating your July 4th weekend grilling ideas with some of the veggies that you found in your shares this week. Last weekend a friend and I prepared these dishes, as provided below, and found them to be a great summertime meal as they were very light and tasty.  Wash your veggies good, as it has been a wet week. Also use your green beans ASAP as the humid weather is taking an early toll on their shelf life.

Grilled Pepper, Zucchini, Summer Squash Medley.

Take two medium squash, two zucchini, and one bell pepper.  For a more visual presentation with the zucchini, consider taking your "potato peeler" and running down the length of the zucchini vertically. This will leave a gap (stripes) of about an inch between the skin and flesh, so your zucchini resembles a zebra etc.  Now cut the partially peeled zucchini on a diagonal.  You need not peel your squash, but you can consider slicing either vertically into strips, or diagonally as well. Slice your bell peppers into strips. Rinse everything well to remove the seeds from the peppers etc and drain in a colander. Place all in a mixing bowl and drizzle with olive oil, 2-3 cloves of minced garlic, pinch of kosher salt, and add some fresh minced rosemary to taste. Mix thoroughly and allow to rest for 30 mins or so.  (I use a special grill pan made for grilling fish or vegetables that can be purchased at Home Depot etc. It has small holes to prevent the veggies from falling through. No grill? Use a skillet instead. )  Grill and flip your veggies, until you have grill marks on both sides. FYI the bell pepper will take longer to get soft, so you might place on the grill ahead of the squash. (If desired, you can grill your green beans as well. Remove ends, place the beans in boiling water for about 3 mins, remove and place the beans in ice water for a few mins. Then remove/add them to the marinade and grill as well with the squash.) Consider topping with fresh shredded Parmesan cheese.  Serves 3-4

Roasted New Potatoes.

Wash 10-15 baby potatoes and remove any of the "potato eyes" and rough spots with a peeler. Slice if needed and rinse. Place potatoes in a foil "shaped liked" bowl and add olive oil, 1-2 clove of minced garlic, pinch of kosher salt, a little fresh thyme or rosemary optional, and top/cover with more foil. Place on grill or in oven (300F) and roast for about 30 mins or until soft. Remove from heat and add butter and allow to rest, covered, for 5 mins or more. To make things go faster, consider first micro waving the potatoes on high for about 3-4 mins.

Cantaloupe with Prosciutto.

I think that the cantaloupe (Athena Seed) that we grew were not the sweetest tasting, but adding a little salt or salt cured meat really brings out their flavor in my opinion.  I purchased some prosciutto (Italian cured ham) at Spec's last weekend; about 3/4 lb. which was about $11.00. I had the prosciutto sliced paper thin, so a little goes a long way.  You probably only need 1/3 - 1/2 lb. per large cantaloupe, but having a little extra for some "Penne a la Carbonara" may be a good idea.  Go to this link for a Pasta Carbonara Recipe. Cut the cantaloupe, remove seeds, peel and slice in into bite size chunks. The prosciutto can be a little stringy, so consider slicing it into strips. Wrap the prosciutto around the cantaloupe chunks and remember that these chunks may be difficult to cut with a knife, so make them small or a finger food. Allow to rest at room temperature.  No prosciutto? Cook some bacon until crispy and serve with the cantaloupe.

Fresh Tomatoes w/Mozzarella.

Wash and slice about 3-4 tomatoes. Salt and rest on a plate. Any mozzarella will do in my opinion, but we had some from Paula Lambert's Mozzerlla company in Dallas.  Cut the cheese into chunks or slices, warm in a micowave or broiler until gooey. Throw on a few of our salad greens, which contained a lot of baby arugula this week. Now consider topping with the sliced tomatoes and drizzle with your favorite olive oil/dressing. I enjoy a balsamic vinaigrette.  Consider adding fresh cracked pepper and a few drops of fresh squeezed lemon juice.

Grilled Eggplant.

Wash 1-2 medium sized eggplant.  Similar to the zucchini idea, peel so the skin looks like a zebra. Remove the ends and quarter the eggplant length wise. Cut into 3/4 in. thick slices and place on a paper towel for about 15 mins. to allow some of the eggplant juice to be drained. This will remove some of the bitterness.  Take a tablespoon or two of honey, one clove of minced garlic and whisk with olive oil. Marinate/dress the eggplant for about 15 mins or more.   Place on grill.  Consider placing the eggplant on the grill about 5 mins before the squash/pepper medley, as eggplant has more juice than the squash, so it will take longer to grill. Keep the eggplant separate from the squash as they have different flavors.

Think about topping any of these dishes with your micro greens for an added flavor twist

There you have a nice assortment of grilled summer veggies.  As mentioned, for a more filling meal, consider adding a pasta dish possibly similar in the link above.

Enjoy.

Van