This last weekend we grilled out on the front porch. When the meat’s all done and the coals have died down a bit we always throw on the vegetables. Squash is always a favorite with us, sliced length-wise about a quarter of an inch thick. We only leave them on long enough to get good grill marks on both sides. Any longer than that and squash begins to fall apart. Brush a little olive oil on both sides and season before you place them on the grill. Take them up gently and place them in a pan. Cover to keep them hot until they are ready to be served.
One vegetable you might not think about when grilling is okra, and since okra is just beginning to become available this time of year, you should give it a try. It’s almost impossible to get grill marks on okra since they roll around and refuse to rest across the metal, so the main objective is to soften the pods to the perfect point of table consumption. Like squash, okra needs to be lightly coated with olive oil to grill properly. Add a few dashes of your favorite seasoning salt, and toss the trimmed okra in a bowl with a small amount of olive oil. Lay them all out evenly on the grill top, close the lid, and don’t walk away. If you do you are sure to scorch them. After only two or three minutes covered, turn the okra and cover again for just a few minutes, or until they reach your desired texture. Take them up, rush to the table with them and let the feast begin!
We should have a good supply of okra for a good while, so give us a call for a time to come out. We would love to make your next outdoor grilling session a feast fit for a king.
Nothing says Italian like fresh basil, and there is no better way to save your extra basil than by turning it into a pesto base. There are very few rules when it comes to pesto recipes, except that it should contain basil and olive oil. Beyond that add what you want . . . what you like. We like to add pine nuts and garlic. Blend your mix in a food processor, adding enough olive oil to make a medium-thick paste. Parmesan cheese and butter can be added later, if you are wanting a traditional pesto.
Our greenhouse is complete, and we are bursting at the seams with spring vegetable starts. Come out and visit, but not just yet. Our plants are a bit small yet, but it is too early to set any tender plants outside anyway. In just a few weeks, ready to sell, we will have red leaf lettuce, red romaine lettuce, green leaf lettuce, and spinach. Parsley and sweet basil plants won’t be too far behind that, maybe a week or so. Yum, yum; pesto! Tomato, eggplant, and pepper plants in various varieties will round out our early offerings. All of it should be ready in time for Mother’s Day. By then the soil will have warmed up enough to be inviting to tender young roots, and all danger of frost will be past. We like to plant our lettuce in the garden as young plants- we call them “starts.” They provide numerous advantages over sowing seeds directly in the garden.