Grilled Veg Two Ways

Let's talk about vegetables. Grilled ones.

Lightly charred, smoky, soft, succulent morsels of carmelized, nutritious veggies. Who needs steak when you have a portobello fresh from the grates? Grilling is the summer form of winter roasting, when the idea of opening a 400 degree hot box is close to suicide.

The hardest part is walking outside to turn on the gas. And trying not to cut myself while I prepare the vegetables. I do that a lot. If you can muster these two things you'll be pleased with the results. I've watched veggie converts take place right before my eyes. Ray has learned to love lots of veggies when they're prepared this way.

I like to grab an armload of vegetables at the beginning of the week and grill them as I go. Portobellos, bell peppers, and zucchini are some of my favorites and are perfect for the grill method.

This week I doubled this recipe and did the same thing twice: Once for lunch in salad bowl form, and again for dinner with pasta.

Grilled Vegetables

1 giant portobello mushroom, sliced thick

1 red bell pepper,

1 yellow bell pepper,

1 orange bell pepper- innards removed and sliced thick

2 zucchini, ends trimmed and sliced lengthwise in four pieces each

salt

garlic olive oil

Put all the chopped vegetables in a large bowl and add salt and a glug of garlic olive oil. Toss with tongs.

Heat the grill to medium-high, about 375 degrees. Place vegetables in a single layer directly on the grates. Close the lid and let cook for a few minutes. It's not exact, just ballpark it. Check the veggies and when they have nice grill marks, turn them with tongs and cook covered for another several minutes. When the veggies are a bit charred and soft, remove and let cool for a few minutes. The zucchini and mushrooms should cook a wee bit faster than the bell peppers; just remove them first and leave the peppers on a bit longer.

For the pasta, sliced the vegetables in thin strips and add to a large bowl. Julienne 2 tablespoons of fresh basil and add to the vegetables. Meanwhile, cook fettucine or other noodles to al dente. Add drained pasta to the vegetables and drizzle with a bit more garlic olive oil to moisten. Add some fresh goat cheese and toss.

Garnish each plate with a bit more goat cheese.

~ OR ~

Use the grilled vegetables for this delicious lunch bowl.

Roughly chop slightly cooled vegetables into bite-sized pieces and throw in a bowl. Chop two hard-boiled eggs- one whole egg, one egg white- and add to the bowl. Sprinkle with crumbled feta cheese and bon appetit!

. . . . It was gone before the camera made it out. Hungry pregnant girl is no match for food blog photography.

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