How to Grill your Vegetables

I was feeling uninspired. I was lacking creativity. I was feeling blah.

This was a problem, because I was hungry. Really hungry.

The class of hunger that's so overwhelming, all you can think about is food. Not shopping. Not boys. Just food.

This is the type of hunger that won't be squashed with your ordinary PB&J.

The kind of hunger that starts off with a desire for cheesecake, then turns into a desire for chocolate cheese cake. Better yet, pizza. No wait, chocolate cheesecake pizza. Can I do that?

I'm going to warn you. This hypnotic hunger spiral never ends well.

In my house, it frequently ends in a messy kitchen. No, I don't mean your ordinary/typical messy kitchen. I mean a kitchen that looks as though a tornado just ran through it, or like you've been robbed. And trust me, not the type of crime committed by a ninja, because ninjas are stealthy. Ninjas don't make messes. Unless you owe them money. Then I can imagine that things get messy.

How does it get so messy you ask?

Well, it begins with me. And then I open the fridge door. And then I start throwing stuff on the counter. Stuff that looks good. Stuff that could possibly make a meal. And then I open the pantry.

I love that word, pantry. Don't you?

My grandma's pantry, it was awesome. It was like a window in the wall with a bright red door.

It was only possible to reach this window in the wall standing on a chair. Once inside, I would hide. Sometimes for hours.

ok, so back to my kitchen.

Imagine. Food is everywhere. I don't even know what's going on. It's like my body has been possessed. I can't think. What do I do? Order pizza?

I went to the fridge and grabbed every vegetable imaginable. No wait, the vegetables are on the counter. What are they doing on the counter?

I grabbed all the vegetable I could, and I grilled them.

That's right. I grilled everything. Was it awesome? Yes it was. Was it manly? You bet. Did I feel like a wussy, grillin greens instead of burgers? No way.

Am I going to do it again? Yep, probably tonight.

Grilling vegetables is cool. And veggie meat. It's also cool.

Oh wait, what else do I see? Portobello mushrooms.

I know what your thinking - Pretty hardcore, right?

It's tricky though. Just don't think you can throw those mushrooms on the grill as is. They need to be spruced up. Oil, and vinegar, and spices, oh my.

The rest of the vegetables are really not hard. Brush them with a little olive oil, and add salt and pepper. You're basically going for a nice char-grilled exterior. The black grill lines are good. That's what you want.

Once the barbecue is hot, grill the vegetables for 5 minutes on each side. The portobello mushrooms take a bit longer. Maybe 8 -10 minutes on each side.

I love how grilling changes the texture of the mushrooms. Yum, so good.

I made a little marinade for my mushrooms. I soaked them for 10 minutes. You can soak yours for longer. I was hungry. There was no time for soaking. I soaked mine in a ziplock bag. It was easy.

Here's the recipe for 2 mushrooms. It is good. Real good.

Ingredients

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
couple squirts of Tabasco sauce
salt and pepper
1 tsp dijion mustard
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce