We’re deep in the heart of late-summer veggie season now, and our dinnertime menus are the better for it. Tonight, LeeLee and I enjoyed an all-grill meal featuring kebabs (with vegan fish, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, and zucchini), green beans with vegan bacon bits, and acorn squash with a dollop of honey and pumpkin-pie spice.
I intended for tonight’s meal to be a relaxed backyard affair, so I got all the components prepped at once before firing up the grill. First, I snapped the ends off a bunch of green beans from our friends out at Great Country Farms, then placed the neat-and-tidy beans in an aluminum pan for grilling along with a couple of pats of butter, some salt, pepper, garlic powder, and dried minced onion, and finally some Bacos for good measure (and because they were still hanging around after this week’s potato-soup excursion!). Then I put a sheet of foil on top, closed it well, and set it aside until Go Time.
Next I turned my attention to the acorn squash, also from our friends at the farm. I sliced it into little half-moons and placed the slices on a plate for grilling. Simple enough, yes?
Finally, I prepared the kebabs. I sliced a zucchini (also-also from the farm!) and washed some cherry tomatoes (from our friends at Bigg Riggs Farm) and mushrooms (from our friends at, um, Safeway) and then, finally, sliced through some slightly defrosted Gardein vegan fish tenders. Then I layered all of the above on four skewers – they ended up fitting perfectly! I put the kebabs on a plate for grilling and then went to fire up the charcoals once and for all.
Once the coals were piping-hot, I put the green beans on and let them cook for about half an hour. About five minutes into the cooking time, I added the acorn squash slices, and then 10 minutes into the cooking time, I plunked the kebabs onto the grill as well, brushing them with barbecue sauce on one side. Ten minutes later, I flipped the squash and the kebabs, painting the kebabs with sauce on the other side while I had the chance.
Half an hour after we started cooking, I took everything up piece by piece! First the green beans, then the kebabs, and then finally the acorn squash, just to give them every last second of cooking time I possibly could. We dumped the kebabs off the skewers and onto our plates, then helped ourselves to the green beans and squash – which we seasoned with the aforementioned honey and pumpkin-pie spice tableside! – and dug in to feast.
This was the first time I’d used Gardein’s fish in a kebab, and it was a welcome change from the usual! The fish handled the grill beautifully, crisping up on the outside while remaining tender and flaky on the inside, and we had no trouble with it sticking to the skewers or to the grill grates. The vegetables cooked up nicely, as well; the cherry tomatoes fell apart when the fork hit them (a desired response!) and the zucchini was crisp-tender. And the mushrooms held in just as they always do.
LeeLee and I both saved the acorn squash for last; an unexpected little dessert at the end of the meal! There were only a couple of squash slices left by the time we had done our best, which is always a testament to the tastiness of the meal.
We will certainly repeat all the components of this meal again and again. And now that we know how nicely the fish does on the grill, we’ll employ it in many uses! I can’t wait to try a new trick or two next time.
:)