Kitchen? What Kitchen?

Beat the heat this summer by cooking your whole meal, from appetizer to dessert, on the grill

Story by Lindsey Norris

Hot, sticky summer days are here. Even when the heat radiates off the pavement and your house feels like an oven, you can’t spend all day lounging by the lake and making trips to the ice cream store. Eventually, you’ll have to cook dinner. But standing over a sweltering stove gets you longing for the days of toques and parkas.

So you retreat to your deck with a pair of barbecue tongs in one hand and a cold beverage in the other. With a comfy lounge chair at your back as the meat sizzles on the grill, it’s clear why barbecuing is one of the season’s most popular pastimes. Of course, nobody wants to leave the shady cool of the deck to step back into a steamy kitchen and tend to boiling corn and baking veggies.

The good news is you can ditch the kitchen altogether. Just about every type of fruit and vegetable, from tomatoes and Taber corn to pattypan squash and saskatoon berries, can be cooked on the grill along with your steak and pork chops. Grilling brings out the natural sugars in fruits and vegetables, intensifying their flavour.

“Anything can be grilled and it’s a very healthy way of cooking,” says Glenn Sheridan, executive chef at the Fantasyland Hotel in the West Edmonton Mall. “Grilling changes the flavour of the vegetable, and that’s why I like to grill corn without the husk. Otherwise, when you throw away the husk you throw away the grilled flavour.”

While just about anything can go on the grill, Sheridan says there are a few basic guidelines. “Vegetables can be trickier to grill than meat,” Sheridan says. “Eggplant will burn, so you have to marinate it in oil. You should marinate squash for at least two hours to let the flavours soak in. But watch the amount of oil you use; you don’t want to cause a flare-up.”

And just because you can throw your entire meal on a grill doesn’t necessarily mean you should serve potatoes, hamburger and saskatoon berries all together. Putting in a little more effort will ensure the medley of flavours works in your favour.

“Fruits go well with wild meats like boar, caribou, elk and bison,” Sheridan says. Plants that naturally grow in an area where an animal would graze tend to complement the meat that comes from that animal. That’s why, for example, berries go with bison. “It’s similar to pairing wine and cheese,” he says.

Keep some greens in your summertime diet with a few cool ideas for grilling your veggies. The best part? If they get a little burned, it may actually improve the flavour.

Quick and Tasty

For the past two years, a steady stream of city dwellers has made a pilgrimage to the Blooming Fields U-pick, a 27-acre farm between Didsbury and Olds. After wandering through rows of strawberries, raspberries, swiss chard, potatoes and cabbage to pick their dinner, they stay for lunch at the Blooming Fields Country Tea House.

Inside the 40-seat café, co-owner Mary-Ann van Oeveren serves homemade fare featuring the farm-fresh produce van Oeveren and her husband Pim grow.

Since Blooming Fields opened in 2005, van Oeveren has become an expert at serving good food quickly. One of the most popular recipes is her grilled panini.

“This is a very convenient, quick recipe,” says van Oeveren. “It’s a little more exotic than soup and a sandwich, and the cheese and garlic butter make it very tasty.”

van Oeveren promises it’s a snap to make. Most of the ingredients should be prepared ahead of time. The key is to use the freshest vegetables possible, so van Oeveren uses what’s in season. In the summer, she uses tomatoes, peppers and carrots. She chops, mixes and refrigerates them a day or so ahead of time.

“The really nice thing about this recipe is that the veggies marinate themselves, especially when you put in fresh carrots and fresh tomatoes,” says van Oeveren. “They make their own juice and that’s what makes it so tasty.”

When she’s ready to grill the panini, she takes some of her homemade garlic butter (made from a few gloves of crushed garlic, a little bit of salt and pepper and butter, thoroughly mixed) and spreads it over some flat bread. She places the marinated veggies on the bread, adds some cooked meat, folds it in half, and after a few minutes on the grill, it’s ready to go.

Another popular item, she says, is grilled fish packets. She wraps any fish in aluminum foil and adds more in-season veggies, such as zucchini, bell peppers and onions and a little dill. By the time the fish is cooked, the veggies will are ready and have picked up the flavour from the dill. She serves it with a green salad, complete with lots of fresh herbs.

Terrific Tomatoes

Nicolas Desinai might specialize in creating classical French cuisine for the patrons of Bistro Provence, but he does it using authentic Alberta ingredients.

Situated in an 1882 heritage building (originally a post office) in downtown Okotoks, dining at Bistro Provence is a unique experience, offering fresh, creative dishes unlike anything else you’ll find for miles.

One of Desinai’s most popular dishes is a colourful appetizer of organic tomatoes cooked three ways: confit (cooked slowly in its own juices), smoked and grilled. He often uses yellow, red, green and black organic tomatoes from Hotchkiss Herbs and Produce, and chooses three different sizes (for example, cherry, grape and roma) to provide a variety of flavours.

“People really like this dish because they don’t see it very often,” Desinai says. “It’s very good and very fresh. The great thing about tomatoes is that you have so many different colours, tastes, shapes, textures and sizes to choose from.”

Desinai makes a salad from the smoked tomatoes by combining fresh tomatoes with bocconcinni cheese and a pesto sauce (made of garlic, olive oil and fresh basil).

To substitute the confit tomatoes, which require stovetop time, Desinai says to try mixing smoked tomatoes with fresh to make a salad. You can turn your barbecue into a smoker, and the techniques used to smoke tomatoes work equally well with other vegetables.

First, fill a small empty can, such as an empty tuna or salmon can, with untreated, soaked wood chips, available in most hardware stores. Light half the burners of the barbecue in order to heat half of the coals. Place the vegetables on the unheated side of grill and the can of wood chips directly on top of the heated coals. Close the lid to create smoke. Cooking time can run up to four hours, but varies widely, depending on the vegetable and the heat of your grill. Briefly pre-grill the veggies before smoking to shorten the smoking time.

Grilled Fruits

Nothing quite says summertime like a basket of fresh berries. Summer’s just about the only season where you can find reasonably priced fruit that’s chock-full of flavour. Strawberries, saskatoons, wild black cherries, raspberries - all kinds of fresh, local fruits go well on the grill, which caramelizes their natural sugars.

Grilled fruit can be served as part of an entrée, a side dish or for dessert. Many can also be cooked in their skins to help them maintain their structure and reduce prep time. Try skewering larger fruit or wrapping smaller pieces in aluminum foil packages. It’s easy and quick to prepare.

You can sprinkle grilled fruit with brown sugar and cinnamon, dribble syrup over it or serve with vanilla ice cream or yogurt. Or, eat it au natural and enjoy the way the flame heats the outside of the fruit, preserving the cool inside for a delightful contrast. Here are some fruity tips:

Start with firm fruit, such as pears and strawberries. Bananas and mangos will turn to mush if left too long. Aim to heat the fruit rather than cook it.
Clean the grill first; nothing spoils the taste of fruit like leftover hamburger drippings. And use clean tongs.
Coat unpeeled fruit with butter, cooking spray, or mild canola oil. Other oils may have a strong flavour that may not suit the sweet fruit.
Keep the heat medium to low. A raging flame can quickly blacken fruit, and you don’t need a lot of heat to caramelize the sugars.
Remove when grill marks form and fruit is hot.

Grilled Salads

You can prepare main courses, appetizers and even dessert on the barbecue, so it should come as no surprise that salad can find a home on your grill. Grilling is suitable for a variety of different lettuces and leafy greens, and you’ll love what it does for the flavour. You might not look at the humble lettuce leaf the same way again.

Before you grill lettuce or other leafy vegetables, make sure they are thoroughly washed and dried. Most recipes will also recommend drizzling with oil. Grill lettuce until it’s brown, then chop into bite-size pieces.

Romaine lettuce, a staple in many people’s fridges already, is an easy start to grilling salads. It will appeal to everyone at your table. Also, large romaine leaves are easy to place on the grill.

Iceberg lettuce works too. Remove the core, stuff it with cheese, beans and vegetables, wrap it in aluminum foil and grill. It takes a little longer - most recipes recommend grilling for at least half an hour to ensure the stuffing is warm - but when it’s done, you can take it right off the grill and serve.

Radicchio, a red-leafed Italian chicory, is too bitter for some people. If that’s the case, use it grilled lightly and tossed in a salad mixed with other, milder greens.

Belgian endive is also bitter, but the grilling will mellow the taste and soften the texture, and its unique shape and colour make it an attractive addition to salads. Pair it with a darker salad green, such as arugula, and you’ll have a striking contrast that will look as good as it tastes. Or, use grilled endive leaves to wrap around other foods, like grilled peppers and goat’s cheese.

Bok Choy has a lighter, sweeter taste than radicchio and endive, and it’s easy to grill. Its milder flavour means less preparation; for a tasty side dish, toss it with a little sesame oil and serve.

The Fingertip Guide to Grilling Veggies

Choose veggies from this list to slide onto wooden skewers (soaked first in water) and serve veggie kabobs at your next barbecue. Or, grill each separately as a side dish.

As a general rule for kabobs, cut veggies into small pieces that will cook evenly and quickly. Leftover grilled veggies are great cold, tossed into a salad or served in a wrap.

Asparagus: Soak in cold water for 30 minutes. Snap off bottom ends. Place on grill, turning every minute. Remove when tips start to turn brown.
Bell peppers: Slice the pepper from top to bottom. Remove stems, seeds and ribs. Grill for 2-3 minutes on each side.
Corn on the cob: Soak in cold water for 30 minutes. Gently pull back the husks but don’t remove. Remove the silk and cut off the very end. Fold the husks back down and tie or twist the ends. Grill for about 10-12 minutes, turning regularly to avoid burning. Or remove husks entirely and grill for 7-10 minutes, turning regularly.
Eggplant: Cut smaller eggplants lengthwise and larger ones in disks. Soak in cold water for at least 30 minutes. Grill 2-3 minutes.
Tomatoes: Cut in half, top to bottom. Brush with a light coating of canola oil and grill cut side down, 2-3 minutes.
Garlic: Cut off the root end of the bulb, brush with butter or canola oil. Grill cut side down until the skin is brown (about 10 minutes).
Mushrooms: Rinse, pat dry and brush larger mushrooms of any variety with butter or canola oil. Grill for 4-8 minutes, depending on the size of the mushroom. Small mushrooms can be wrapped in aluminum foil packets and cooked on the grill.
Onions: Remove skin, and slice into 1/2-inch (1-cm) rounds. Brush with butter or canola oil and grill for 3-4 minutes.
Potatoes: Wash thoroughly and dry. Rub with canola oil. Wrap in aluminum foil and grill 35-40 minutes, turning occasionally. Or slice potatoes and onions, drizzle with canola oil and place in aluminum packets. Cook on the grill for 30 minutes or until potatoes are soft.
Squash (yellow, zucchini): Slice lengthwise in 1/2-inch (1-cm) strips. Brush with canola oil and grill 2-3 minutes per side. Small squash can be cut down the middle and grilled in halves.

Recipes:

Grilled Tian
Mary-Anne's Panini
Desinai's Organic Tomatoes



	Food for Thought Magazine > Current Issue > Past Issues > Food for Thought on CTV > Food for Thought Gift Pack > Photo contest > Subscribe today! > Contest Rules and Regulations > About Food for Thought > Advertising Information Special Content for: > Parents and Teachers > Media > Industry and Producers The GROWING ALBERTA LEADERSHIP AWARDS were presented at the 11th Annual Harvest Gala on October 17th in Calgary. Find out more about the 2008 recipients. Click here. Take your fork on the road - visit Chomp Around Alberta to enjoy Alberta's marvellous food secrets! Visit our Market Place Craving quality Alberta food or innovative services? See what's new in Growing Alberta's Market Place.	Kitchen? What Kitchen? Beat the heat this summer by cooking your whole meal, from appetizer to dessert, on the grill Story by Lindsey Norris Hot, sticky summer days are here. Even when the heat radiates off the pavement and your house feels like an oven, you can’t spend all day lounging by the lake and making trips to the ice cream store. Eventually, you’ll have to cook dinner. But standing over a sweltering stove gets you longing for the days of toques and parkas. So you retreat to your deck with a pair of barbecue tongs in one hand and a cold beverage in the other. With a comfy lounge chair at your back as the meat sizzles on the grill, it’s clear why barbecuing is one of the season’s most popular pastimes. Of course, nobody wants to leave the shady cool of the deck to step back into a steamy kitchen and tend to boiling corn and baking veggies. The good news is you can ditch the kitchen altogether. Just about every type of fruit and vegetable, from tomatoes and Taber corn to pattypan squash and saskatoon berries, can be cooked on the grill along with your steak and pork chops. Grilling brings out the natural sugars in fruits and vegetables, intensifying their flavour. “Anything can be grilled and it’s a very healthy way of cooking,” says Glenn Sheridan, executive chef at the Fantasyland Hotel in the West Edmonton Mall. “Grilling changes the flavour of the vegetable, and that’s why I like to grill corn without the husk. Otherwise, when you throw away the husk you throw away the grilled flavour.” While just about anything can go on the grill, Sheridan says there are a few basic guidelines. “Vegetables can be trickier to grill than meat,” Sheridan says. “Eggplant will burn, so you have to marinate it in oil. You should marinate squash for at least two hours to let the flavours soak in. But watch the amount of oil you use; you don’t want to cause a flare-up.” And just because you can throw your entire meal on a grill doesn’t necessarily mean you should serve potatoes, hamburger and saskatoon berries all together. Putting in a little more effort will ensure the medley of flavours works in your favour. “Fruits go well with wild meats like boar, caribou, elk and bison,” Sheridan says. Plants that naturally grow in an area where an animal would graze tend to complement the meat that comes from that animal. That’s why, for example, berries go with bison. “It’s similar to pairing wine and cheese,” he says. Keep some greens in your summertime diet with a few cool ideas for grilling your veggies. The best part? If they get a little burned, it may actually improve the flavour. Quick and Tasty For the past two years, a steady stream of city dwellers has made a pilgrimage to the Blooming Fields U-pick, a 27-acre farm between Didsbury and Olds. After wandering through rows of strawberries, raspberries, swiss chard, potatoes and cabbage to pick their dinner, they stay for lunch at the Blooming Fields Country Tea House. Inside the 40-seat café, co-owner Mary-Ann van Oeveren serves homemade fare featuring the farm-fresh produce van Oeveren and her husband Pim grow. Since Blooming Fields opened in 2005, van Oeveren has become an expert at serving good food quickly. One of the most popular recipes is her grilled panini. “This is a very convenient, quick recipe,” says van Oeveren. “It’s a little more exotic than soup and a sandwich, and the cheese and garlic butter make it very tasty.” van Oeveren promises it’s a snap to make. Most of the ingredients should be prepared ahead of time. The key is to use the freshest vegetables possible, so van Oeveren uses what’s in season. In the summer, she uses tomatoes, peppers and carrots. She chops, mixes and refrigerates them a day or so ahead of time. “The really nice thing about this recipe is that the veggies marinate themselves, especially when you put in fresh carrots and fresh tomatoes,” says van Oeveren. “They make their own juice and that’s what makes it so tasty.” When she’s ready to grill the panini, she takes some of her homemade garlic butter (made from a few gloves of crushed garlic, a little bit of salt and pepper and butter, thoroughly mixed) and spreads it over some flat bread. She places the marinated veggies on the bread, adds some cooked meat, folds it in half, and after a few minutes on the grill, it’s ready to go. Another popular item, she says, is grilled fish packets. She wraps any fish in aluminum foil and adds more in-season veggies, such as zucchini, bell peppers and onions and a little dill. By the time the fish is cooked, the veggies will are ready and have picked up the flavour from the dill. She serves it with a green salad, complete with lots of fresh herbs. Terrific Tomatoes Nicolas Desinai might specialize in creating classical French cuisine for the patrons of Bistro Provence, but he does it using authentic Alberta ingredients. Situated in an 1882 heritage building (originally a post office) in downtown Okotoks, dining at Bistro Provence is a unique experience, offering fresh, creative dishes unlike anything else you’ll find for miles. One of Desinai’s most popular dishes is a colourful appetizer of organic tomatoes cooked three ways: confit (cooked slowly in its own juices), smoked and grilled. He often uses yellow, red, green and black organic tomatoes from Hotchkiss Herbs and Produce, and chooses three different sizes (for example, cherry, grape and roma) to provide a variety of flavours. “People really like this dish because they don’t see it very often,” Desinai says. “It’s very good and very fresh. The great thing about tomatoes is that you have so many different colours, tastes, shapes, textures and sizes to choose from.” Desinai makes a salad from the smoked tomatoes by combining fresh tomatoes with bocconcinni cheese and a pesto sauce (made of garlic, olive oil and fresh basil). To substitute the confit tomatoes, which require stovetop time, Desinai says to try mixing smoked tomatoes with fresh to make a salad. You can turn your barbecue into a smoker, and the techniques used to smoke tomatoes work equally well with other vegetables. First, fill a small empty can, such as an empty tuna or salmon can, with untreated, soaked wood chips, available in most hardware stores. Light half the burners of the barbecue in order to heat half of the coals. Place the vegetables on the unheated side of grill and the can of wood chips directly on top of the heated coals. Close the lid to create smoke. Cooking time can run up to four hours, but varies widely, depending on the vegetable and the heat of your grill. Briefly pre-grill the veggies before smoking to shorten the smoking time. Grilled Fruits Nothing quite says summertime like a basket of fresh berries. Summer’s just about the only season where you can find reasonably priced fruit that’s chock-full of flavour. Strawberries, saskatoons, wild black cherries, raspberries - all kinds of fresh, local fruits go well on the grill, which caramelizes their natural sugars. Grilled fruit can be served as part of an entrée, a side dish or for dessert. Many can also be cooked in their skins to help them maintain their structure and reduce prep time. Try skewering larger fruit or wrapping smaller pieces in aluminum foil packages. It’s easy and quick to prepare. You can sprinkle grilled fruit with brown sugar and cinnamon, dribble syrup over it or serve with vanilla ice cream or yogurt. Or, eat it au natural and enjoy the way the flame heats the outside of the fruit, preserving the cool inside for a delightful contrast. Here are some fruity tips: Start with firm fruit, such as pears and strawberries. Bananas and mangos will turn to mush if left too long. Aim to heat the fruit rather than cook it. Clean the grill first; nothing spoils the taste of fruit like leftover hamburger drippings. And use clean tongs. Coat unpeeled fruit with butter, cooking spray, or mild canola oil. Other oils may have a strong flavour that may not suit the sweet fruit. Keep the heat medium to low. A raging flame can quickly blacken fruit, and you don’t need a lot of heat to caramelize the sugars. Remove when grill marks form and fruit is hot. Grilled Salads You can prepare main courses, appetizers and even dessert on the barbecue, so it should come as no surprise that salad can find a home on your grill. Grilling is suitable for a variety of different lettuces and leafy greens, and you’ll love what it does for the flavour. You might not look at the humble lettuce leaf the same way again. Before you grill lettuce or other leafy vegetables, make sure they are thoroughly washed and dried. Most recipes will also recommend drizzling with oil. Grill lettuce until it’s brown, then chop into bite-size pieces. Romaine lettuce, a staple in many people’s fridges already, is an easy start to grilling salads. It will appeal to everyone at your table. Also, large romaine leaves are easy to place on the grill. Iceberg lettuce works too. Remove the core, stuff it with cheese, beans and vegetables, wrap it in aluminum foil and grill. It takes a little longer - most recipes recommend grilling for at least half an hour to ensure the stuffing is warm - but when it’s done, you can take it right off the grill and serve. Radicchio, a red-leafed Italian chicory, is too bitter for some people. If that’s the case, use it grilled lightly and tossed in a salad mixed with other, milder greens. Belgian endive is also bitter, but the grilling will mellow the taste and soften the texture, and its unique shape and colour make it an attractive addition to salads. Pair it with a darker salad green, such as arugula, and you’ll have a striking contrast that will look as good as it tastes. Or, use grilled endive leaves to wrap around other foods, like grilled peppers and goat’s cheese. Bok Choy has a lighter, sweeter taste than radicchio and endive, and it’s easy to grill. Its milder flavour means less preparation; for a tasty side dish, toss it with a little sesame oil and serve. The Fingertip Guide to Grilling Veggies Choose veggies from this list to slide onto wooden skewers (soaked first in water) and serve veggie kabobs at your next barbecue. Or, grill each separately as a side dish. As a general rule for kabobs, cut veggies into small pieces that will cook evenly and quickly. Leftover grilled veggies are great cold, tossed into a salad or served in a wrap. Asparagus: Soak in cold water for 30 minutes. Snap off bottom ends. Place on grill, turning every minute. Remove when tips start to turn brown. Bell peppers: Slice the pepper from top to bottom. Remove stems, seeds and ribs. Grill for 2-3 minutes on each side. Corn on the cob: Soak in cold water for 30 minutes. Gently pull back the husks but don’t remove. Remove the silk and cut off the very end. Fold the husks back down and tie or twist the ends. Grill for about 10-12 minutes, turning regularly to avoid burning. Or remove husks entirely and grill for 7-10 minutes, turning regularly. Eggplant: Cut smaller eggplants lengthwise and larger ones in disks. Soak in cold water for at least 30 minutes. Grill 2-3 minutes. Tomatoes: Cut in half, top to bottom. Brush with a light coating of canola oil and grill cut side down, 2-3 minutes. Garlic: Cut off the root end of the bulb, brush with butter or canola oil. Grill cut side down until the skin is brown (about 10 minutes). Mushrooms: Rinse, pat dry and brush larger mushrooms of any variety with butter or canola oil. Grill for 4-8 minutes, depending on the size of the mushroom. Small mushrooms can be wrapped in aluminum foil packets and cooked on the grill. Onions: Remove skin, and slice into 1/2-inch (1-cm) rounds. Brush with butter or canola oil and grill for 3-4 minutes. Potatoes: Wash thoroughly and dry. Rub with canola oil. Wrap in aluminum foil and grill 35-40 minutes, turning occasionally. Or slice potatoes and onions, drizzle with canola oil and place in aluminum packets. Cook on the grill for 30 minutes or until potatoes are soft. Squash (yellow, zucchini): Slice lengthwise in 1/2-inch (1-cm) strips. Brush with canola oil and grill 2-3 minutes per side. Small squash can be cut down the middle and grilled in halves. Recipes: Grilled Tian Mary-Anne's Panini Desinai's Organic Tomatoes	Subscribe Today! 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