Grilling Portobellos, Veggie Dogs & Burgers

This week I tried wooden skewers for the first time and it worked out really well!  No more onion pieces rolling all willy-nilly around the grill.  And as an added bonus, the skewers didn’t burst into flames.

I preheated the grill to HIGH, then cubed 3 onions and put the cubes into a gallon sized Ziploc bag.  I added olive oil, garlic flakes, and seasoned salt, shook the bag up, dumped it out, and skewered the pieces.  I have no idea if I was supposed to soak the wooden skewers in water first, but I didn’t:

       

I put the onions on the grill first, so they’d be less al dente for hubby:

While they were cooking [under a closed lid], I went back inside and opened the 2 packs of portobello mushroom slices I’d bought.  I cut each slice in half, then dumped them into a bag, added olive oil and seasonings, shook it up, dumped it out, and skewered them:

       

I added the mushroom skewers and 4 ears of corn to the grill.  The onions had been cooking for about 8 minutes already and were starting to get nice and charred:

After 6 minutes:

After 6 more minutes:

After another 7 minutes everything was perfectly done:

I cut the corn off the cob into bowls, added a bit of butter, and we had a feast:

       

The petunias in our yard are doing really well this summer – they seem to love the heat!

Last week after work we went to Crane Beach in Ipswich [4 miles down the road from us].  The marshes leading to the beach, the boardwalks over the dunes, and the beach itself are so pretty.  We always feel so lucky to live in such a beautiful area:

      

       

This past weekend I drove 40 minutes to visit my parents in Marblehead.  Their condo has a beautiful view of the harbor:

We had a very nice cookout on their deck with my aunt and uncle.  I hope you’re all enjoying the summer as much as I am!

3 days later I grilled up some veggie dogs & burgers.  I haven’t eaten “real” hotdogs in a very long time, because they’re typically made with pork. I gave up eating pigs about 15 years ago ever since learning they’re smarter than dogs*. Plus they’re adorable. Those little faces! And Esther the Wonder Pig is my all time favorite pig [the following screen grabs from her Facebook page were posted without her permission – hopefully she won’t mind]:

       

      

She makes me laugh all the time. I love you, Esther!

I’ve tried all-beef hotdogs, and I’ve had turkey dogs, but I’m also OK eating veggie dogs. Jim picked some up at the store Tuesday, as well as roasted garlic & quinoa burgers:

With burgers & dogs there’s really no grill preparation required asides from preheating it. I tossed 3 dogs and 2 burgers on the grill Tuesday night:

I closed the lid and went back inside because it was SO FREAKING HOT IN THE YARD:

Our back yard heats up to well over 100° many days, once the sun moves around. This was almost 7pm and it was still 99° out there! Thankfully with the AC on, the inside of the house was a more reasonable 81°. Still on the warm side, but better.

After 5 minutes:

After another 5 minutes – done! So easy:

I tossed buttered rolls on for me [Jim prefers his un-grilled], and the flames leaped up to grab the butter, which is always slightly startling:

Sooooooooooo easy and so good:

2 dogs & 1 burger for hubby, 1 dog & 1 burger for me. Numnumnum.

This will probably be my last grilling post for a while, since I’ve just about covered everything on my summer grilling list. Although my friend Holly suggested I try beets, and that sounds tantalizing… And Jo suggested peaches, which I’ve had at Abbie’s, and those are awesome. And Jim’s coworker suggested cabbage impaled on a half-full beer can, which sounds intriguing… We’ll see! I’m hoping this weekend to actually work on some DIY stuff around the house, since it won’t be so blastedly hot out.

And for people who worry about the protein content in vegetarian choices [hi Mom!], here’s the breakdown between a regular Oscar Mayer beef/pork hot dog, and a Morning Star Farms veggie dog:

       

The veggie dog has less calories, MORE protein, less fat, and less sodium.

Here’s the breakdown between a typical beef hamburger and a Morning Star Farms veggie burger:

       

The veggie burger has less calories, LESS protein [but still a good amount for half a meal], less fat, but [and the only bad part] a crap ton more sodium.

Have a wonderful weekend!

* Meat caveat: I can’t eat pigs because they’re smart. The idea of eating sentient meat makes me nauseous. That’s why I’ll never eat octopus or squid, either. I can’t eat ducks because they’re WAY too funny & adorable. Same goes for rabbits. I can’t eat lamb [even though I love it] because lambs are babies. I’ve never been able to stomach veal for the same reason.