Faux Grillin'

I feel like there should be an urban dictionary word for my fear of grills. It all stems back to a home-on- break college afternoon where I turned on the gas, and turned the starter. What followed was a combination of a heat flash,singed widow's peak and eyebrows on both me and my faithful chocolate lab! And as if that wasn't bad enough, a phone call to my dad landed me with EMTs on my doorstep, being mockingly nice to me while struggling to keep a straight face over the Chief's daughter's dubious dilemma.

That being said, I do not turn on grills. Ever. The problem: I really like grilled food.



Wednesday brought a rare opportunity to prepare, and 'grill' some food. I was at my mother's house doing her some things when she called and asked me to figure out some dinner for us both. She had some frozen shrimp and zucchini and summer squash. I was excited to find metal skewers in her drawer and knew she would turn the grill on for me when she got home.

Grilled shrimp with crispy herbs & summer squash

While waiting, I defrosted 22 shrimp in a colander under cold water for about 5 minutes.

Then, I took a big spoonful of light mayonnaise and mixed it with some Herbs de Provence, salt, and pepper.

I mixed the shrimp up in the mixture until well coated and then stuck them on the skewers.

Mom cut up the veggies and mixed them with some water before making a tinfoil pouch for them to also grill.

Mom turned on the grill and we took turns flipping and checking on our food. The shrimp took about 5 minutes to crisp up on both sides, and the veggies turned out tasty, if not a little squishy for my crisper preference. 

The mayo coating was just enough to infuse the shrimp with flavor without adding a lot of calories and fat.

Delicious!

Grilled Eggplant & Mushroom with Chicken, Mini Pepperoni, and Tuscan shaved cheese

Tonight's meal was done on the inside grill- a best friend of mine since the college days-- my old friend George. I am getting better at cooking without any recipe or plan, and I feel just a little proud of my grocery store aimless walk, and the yummy dinner that followed.

I took home 1 large eggplant, mini turkey pepperoni, a roaster chicken, Tuscan shaved cheese (a combo of fontina and parmesan),mushrooms, rhubarb, and strawberries.

Now, it is oppresively hot outside, and I am not made for the heat, so there was no way any kind of oven or stove was going on in this house! I sliced 4 big circles of eggplant and sprayed them with olive oil, sliced the mushrooms in half, and placed both vegetables on the George. I also took a handful of the turkey pepperoni and tossed it over the veggies and let them 'grill' for about 5-10 minutes.

They grilled up nice, not too hard, not squishy soft. I pulled a few pieces of chicken and added it to the plate, and topped the dish with the shaved cheese.

Quick, easy, and tasty. Just the way I like it.

I am saving the strawberries & rhubarb for a gluten free baking experiment when I can stand to turn on the oven again! Stay tuned!