It's Veggie Grilling Time

With the arrival of warm days and evenings, it's time to put away the vegetable steamer, give the microwave a rest and cook those veggies on the grill alongside that coveted slab of meat. In fact, once you get the hang of grilling vegetables, you might never steam or microwave another vegetable again.

Any outdoor grill will work, either a charcoal or gas model. And if you have an indoor grill, even a stovetop grilling or cast iron pan, give it a try; it might be just the ticket for grilled veggies during those colder months when you don't want to venture out onto the deck or patio.

You can find special baskets at your local hardware or cooking store. These come in handy when grilling some smaller vegetables that might slip down through the grill. Skewers, either metal or wood, are useful for some items. If you use the wooden skewers, don't forget to soak them in water before you expose them to the heat of the grill.

Got everything? Now it's time to fire up the grill. Bring it up to medium high heat while you get your veggies prepped for cooking. Zucchini, yellow squash, green peppers, onions, green onions, asparagus, and tomatoes are well suited to cooking on the grill.

Slice your vegetables into pieces that are about the same thickness so they will cook uniformly. Since the vegetables have no natural fat to keep them from sticking to the grill, and to add some flavor, coat the pieces with a good virgin olive oil, or if you prefer, canola oil. Also, give a quick squirt of a non-stick spray onto the grill. Sprinkle the vegetables generously with salt and pepper. Lots of professional chefs find no need for any additional seasoning. If you want to experiment with garlic salt or some fresh herbs, have at it. Marinades, commercial and homemade, also work well.

Here's a secret that some families might find helpful. Do some of your younger children turn up their nose to their vegetables? Sprinkle a little sugar on the veggies when you grill them. They will brown up very nicely and develop a nice sweet glaze certain to please the younger palates in the crowd.

After your vegetables are on the grill it will take about three to five minutes per side. Take a quick peek after a few minutes. You want some light browning and grill marks, but you don't want to cook them so long they begin to boil from the inside out!

Ears of corn can also be great on the grill. There are two ways to approach this king of the summer vegetables. For the first, remove the silk, soak the ears with husks on in water and then put the whole thing on the grill.

In the other technique, which is popular in Mexico, you strip away the silk and husks, coat the ears with a little oil and put them directly on the grill. After some of the corn has charred a little, remove from heat and slather with a mixture of mayonnaise, sour cream and cilantro, then sprinkle with chili powder, lime juice, and Parmesan cheese. Not exactly a low fat recipe, but quite good.

You'll be grilling like a pro in no time. See where your imagination takes you!

http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/grilling-tips7.htm
http://low-carb-cooking.suite101.com/article.cfm/grilled_vegetables
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/mexican-grilled-corn-recipe/index.html