Friends, tonight marked several firsts on the Recessionista Grill! And I can’t help but spoil the surprise right here at the top of the broadcast: The final results were all just great. I love when a maiden voyage gets to its destination safely!
Let’s start with the vegan scallops. We tried these a little while ago as part of an indoor meal, and I confess we weren’t 100% blown away by the final product. The problem, we determined, was that we expected the flavor profile to be bursting straight out of the box, when what was necessary in actuality was a bit of seasoning before cooking. So with that in mind, this morning I defrosted a box of Sophie’s Kitchen’s vegan scallops in the fridge, and this afternoon I brought them out to room temperature, sprayed both sides with cooking spray, seasoned the scallops with one of my favorite barbecue rubs, and placed them on two rosemary stalks. (LeeLee and I like to buy “barbecue rosemary” each year at the nursery; this is the first time we’ve ever actually used the stalks on the barbecue!)
Once the scallops were prepared, I set them aside and worked on the other dinnertime components. I snapped the ends off of the green beans (bought just yesterday from our friends at Bigg Riggs Farm) and placed them in their standard foil packet with a pat of butter and some chipotle seasoning, and then I sliced an acorn squash (which arrived a couple of weeks ago in our box from Great Country Farms) into half-moons to accompany the meal. Then it was time to light up the grill!
The green beans went on first, allowing for about half an hour’s worth of cooking time. Next went the acorn squash with a total cook time of about 20 minutes – I flipped the crescents over halfway through. Finally, with 15 minutes left in the cooking time, I placed the scallops on as well, turning them every 5 minutes or so in order to get them fully crispy-cooked.
As everything grilled, I prepared one last side dish inside: the apple and Asian pear salad I made a few weeks ago! I topped the dish with honey, cherry pepper spice, and some feta cheese, and brought it to the table to wait on dinner.
Within short order, the green beans, acorn squash, and scallops all made their way off the grill, and we dug in. The scallops weren’t lacking for flavor this time around, let me assure you! I think I’ve found out their secret, which shouldn’t be a secret at all: Like seafood scallops, this vegan variety requires a bit of finesse work to make them fun to eat. How quickly we forget the ways of the sea!
The acorn squash – another first on the grill – turned out incredibly tender and flavorful, not needing much in the way of additional seasoning. And the green beans and salad both got the job done in terms of satisfying our appetite – as usual!
What a great autumnal meal this was! I’m already looking forward to next week.
:)