You guys! It’s getting cold out there!
Tonight, LeeLee and I didn’t even bother bringing our newspapers and magazines outside to read. Instead, we dashed back and forth to the grill when needed, turning our back door into more of a revolving door. Charcoal smoker time is right around the corner – I can feel it! (Which means I ought to order some new accessories for the smoker – I always like to start the season with brand-new charcoal and water bowls.)
Anyway, tonight we made good use of our CSA and farmer’s market; two out of three dishes for the meal were local! Alas, the tofu – which I sliced into six strips and marinated in barbecue sauce for two hours before grilling – came from the grocery store. But what can you do?
Our friends at Great Country Farms sent along some more delicata squash in last week’s box (sadly, the delivery season is now over!), so I washed one and sliced it up for tonight’s dinner. We enjoyed last week’s butternut squash so much that I decided to roast the delicata on the grill in a foil packet in the hopes of giving it the same texture as last week’s oven-roasted variety. So I sliced and diced the squash into inch-long pieces, each one about half an inch thick, then placed the squash into two foil packets for quicker cooking time. I gave each packet a pat of butter and a dash of cherry-pepper/cinnamon spice, and then wrapped them up!
Once the grill was hot, I placed the squash on the hottest part and let them cook for about half an hour, turning the packets every 10 minutes or so. When their cook time was about halfway done, I added the strips of tofu to the middle of the grill and let them cook for about 15 minutes, turning them very frequently so they wouldn’t stick. That’s the thing about tofu, I’ve learned much too late – you have to keep a close watch on them so they don’t plaster themselves to the grill grate, never to be separated again and causing much angst in the process. I’ve toyed with the idea of using a cedar plank to cook them (as well as seitan) – when I give that a try I’ll be sure to let you know!
Finally, I added the broccoli rabe to the mix. We had such a fun time with it last week that we knew we had to try it again this time around! This time, I sprayed them with cooking spray, then added a dusting of garlic powder and curry powder, along with a touch of lemon juice for tang. Then I grilled them for about 10 minutes in all, turning them halfway through. We like a little crunchy-burny-leaf on our green veggies, so if you like them a little less well-done, I’d take ’em off a little earlier.
And with that, it was time to eat! We chowed down with gusto, leaving only a few of the delicata squash pieces as a memento. But the tofu and the rabe: All gone. “We are members of the Clean Plate Club,” LeeLee remarked after surveying the scene. And he’s so right. Though we both decided the Wonder-Cat was definitely the president.
:)