Vegan, Detox-Friendly Vegetable Kabobs Recipe

This is a recipe I invented while on a vegan, wheat-free and processed-food free diet. The portabella mushrooms are treated as the "meat" on these kabobs and given their own unique flavor with a separate marinade, then all the vegetables are treated with an additional flavoring sauce.

This recipe will serve 4.

You will need:

12 bamboo skewers

4 large portabella mushrooms

2 large bell peppers (any color)

1 medium-sized onion

15 cherry tomatoes

A dash of balsamic vinegar

¼ cup vegetable broth

½ teaspoon sage

8 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, grated

sea salt to taste

pepper to taste

2 tablespoons fresh hot pepper (serrano, chili, jalapeño, etc.)

Place all the bamboo skewers in a pan of water to soak (this will keep them from scorching during cooking and is very important). Next, de-stem and halve the cherry tomatoes and cut all vegetables into large cubes/squares (or whatever size you like - I find that the smaller you go, the more flavorful the final product). Set aside (and refrigerate) all veggies except for the mushrooms.

Mix vegetable broth, sage, half the olive oil, and half the garlic in a large bowl. Add some sea salt and pepper. Stir well. Add mushroom cubes and toss to make sure that the mushroom chunks are all evenly coated with marinade. Cover and allow to sit (for optimal flavor, be sure to let these marinate for at least 1 hour).

Arrange the cubed vegetables and mushrooms on the bamboo skewers, taking care to pierce them in such a way as to keep them from falling off. Next, mix remaining garlic and olive oil, grated hot pepper, and additional salt and pepper in a small bowl.

Evenly coat the kabobs with pepper mixture. This can be done with a brush, by ladling the mixture over the kabobs, or just using your hands (recommended, but wash them first, of course).

Once the kabobs are prepared, you can either cook them on the grill, or using your oven's broiler. Since they contain no meat, you can cook them for as much or as little time as you like. Personally, I like to cook them until the bell peppers have just a few spots of black on them, as this is excellent for their flavor.

If you're feeling creative, you can play around with some of the herbs and seasonings in this recipe. Just remember, the unique taste comes from having a milder-flavored marinade for the mushrooms.

Serve with rice.