Barbecued Veggies

Potatoes

Take a couple of pounds of small red potatoes and quarter them lengthwise. Drop them into boiling, salted water and cook them partway – maybe to the point where they’re halfway done.

Remove from the hot water, rinse in cold water (to keep them from over-cooking) and dry them. Spread them on a baking sheet. Preheat your barbecue at this point.

Spray lightly with olive oil and season fairly heavily with seasoning salt and fresh ground pepper.

Put them on the barbecue, in a part of the barbecue that is not overly hot; medium heat is fine. Cook for a total of about 10 – 15 minutes, turning once in the meantime. Use coals or add some fruitwood to a gas barbecue for extra flavor. They’re ideal if they have some good brown color on the outside, but the inside is not overly soft.

Onions

Use sweet onions if possible. Peel and slice thick, at least ¼”. Spray lightly with olive oil and season modestly with seasoning salt and fresh ground pepper.

Put them on the barbecue, in a part of the barbecue that is not overly hot; medium heat is fine. Cook for a total of about 10 – 15 minutes, turning once in the meantime. Use coals or add some fruitwood to a gas barbecue for extra flavor. Do not over-cook. They’re ideal when they’re al dente like good pasta: just a bit of firmness to the bite.

Bell Peppers

Quarter the peppers lengthwise; remove all the seeds. Wash in cold water.

Put them on the barbecue, in a part of the barbecue that is not overly hot; medium heat is fine. Cook for a total of about 10 – 15 minutes, turning once in the meantime. Use coals or add some fruitwood to a gas barbecue for extra flavor. Do not over-cook. They’re ideal when they’re al dente like good pasta: just a bit of firmness to the bite.

Zucchini

Use young zucchinis, before the seeds have developed. Do not peel; slice thick, at least ½”. Spray lightly with olive oil and season modestly with seasoning salt and fresh ground pepper.

Put them on the barbecue, in a part of the barbecue that is not overly hot; medium heat is fine. Cook for a total of about 10 – 15 minutes, turning once in the meantime. Use coals or add some fruitwood to a gas barbecue for extra flavor. Do not over-cook. They’re ideal when they’re al dente like good pasta: just a bit of firmness to the bite.


I love to barbecue veggies any time I'm barbecuing meat: it compliments the flavor of the meat, and allows us to do all the cooking outdoors so the kitchen stays cool on hot days. Besides, my family really enjoys barbecued veggies with our barbecued meat.

Thyme Oregano Bread

Into the bread machine, in this order:

1½ tsp yeast
½ cup sesame seeds
1½ whole wheat flour
2 cups unbleached white flour
1 TBSP millet
1½ TBSP sugar
1½ tsp salt
2 TBSP butter
2 TBSP powered nonfat dry milk
½ cup herb mix (see below)
1¼ cups tepid water; maybe a bit more.

Herb mix, makes ½ cup.
½ cup fresh thyme leaves, no stems
¼ cup fresh oregano leaves, no stems
¼ sun dried tomatoes, chopped small
½ head of garlic, roasted, paper removed
¼ tsp lemon juice
Chop this all up in a food processor until it’s more or less the consistence of a good tapenade.

Load it all into the bread machine. Set the baking level on “dark” and fire it up.

The first time I made it, I forgot to add the sugar until the machine was through with the first mix. Since the sun dried tomatoes I used were the dry kind (not the kind on olive oil), it could use the extra time to soak them, so I added sugar and started the cycle, on “quick”, from the start again.

I also used 1½ cup water, instead of 1¼, thinking the dried tomatoes would use the rest of it. Bad idea! It was a soupy dough and didn't raise properly.

However, the flavor was wonderful! Toasting brought out the best of the flavor, and some butter helped it even more. This will be a great bread recipe when I get the liquids right.