A Summer Meal (1)

The grilled pineapple, grilled zucchini, and tomato salad have been featured previously.  Add the proteins and grain and voila!  A meal fit for a king, or at least my family of men.

Pork tenderloin is a lean and mean protein.  We don't have to worry so much about trichinosis like our parents did and these days we can cook pork to medium rare without concern.  Lightly seasoned with salt, pepper, and a little garlic powder, grill until done. Using the same grill, cook the side dishes except the quinoa.  (It would slip through the grill - Ha!).

The quinoa was cooked over the stove according to package directions. In the meantime, heat a little olive oil and butter and saute carrots, onions/shallots, and garlic until softened.  Add the quinoa to the mix and blend well.

I typically use 1 whole carrot, 2 shallots or 1/2 of one whole onion, and a clove or two of garlic.  All are chopped finely.  Chopped parsley is a delicious addition as is a hint of salt and pepper.

Four ounces of grilled pork tenderloin, 1/4 cup quinoa salad, grilled zucchini and pineapple, and a serving of tomato salad offers less than 550 calories assuming you eat everything.  The great news is that the pork and quinoa offer almost 900 mg potassium!

Potassium is essential for helping nerves and muscles function properly (and help with cramping), lower risk of high blood pressure, and ensure metabolic balance with electrolytes and pH.

- Kim Fielding

Grilled Pineapple

Great with pork, chicken, and whatever else you like.

With all of its natural sugars and juiciness, people are often shy to think of barbecuing pineapple.  The sugars will cause a sticky mess on the grill and juices will spark flames... The key to grilling pineapple is to spray Pam on the pineapple.  That way it doesn't stick to the grill and reduces flare-ups.  It somehow seals the fruit and what you are left with is simply tender and sweet.  A great side dish for any meal.

Serves:  4
Prep and cook time: 10 minutes

One whole pineapple, peeled and sliced 1/2-inch thick
Spray Pam

Preheat your barbecue to about 350 degrees. Lightly (!) spray Pam on both sides of the pineapple slices.  Grill about 2-3 minutes per side, turning if you like the grill marks a certain way.  That is it!

This needs no dressing.  It is delicious all by itself.

One whole pineapple offers less than 250 calories but, if you are sugar sensitive, there is a lot of sweet stuff in this fruit.  Each serving has about 65 calories, 1.7 g fiber, and is high in vitamin C and the element manganese.

- Kim Fielding

Grilled Zucchini

These cook quickly on a hot grill. Use tongs and watch them.  Done in a minute or so.

Zucchinis can take over a garden rapidly if you are not watching.  It seems that a medium-size zucchini you hope to cook for tomorrow night's dinner can grow to enormous size within a day or so. How do you vary all the ways to cook a summer squash?  One way is to stick it on the barbecue grill along with cooking whatever else you are having for dinner that night.  There are other ways of course and recipes will follow.

Serves:  4
Prep and cook time: 10 minutes

One large or two medium zucchini
Olive oil
Vinegar
Salt and pepper

Fresh cut, about 1/4 or 1/3-inch each.

Sprinkle oil, vinegar, salt and pepper over.  Toss with your hands.

To a preheated grill, add the zucchini slices.  Using tongs, turn each piece after 1 minute. These cook quickly so be careful not to let them burn.  All cooking times are approximate as all barbecue grills have their individual quirks.

My parents like to sprinkle Parmesan cheese on theirs.  Up to you!

Each serving offers 32 calories. Most fats are monounsaturated.

- Kim Fielding

Grilled Vegetable Salad Dinner

Potatoes, peppers, eggplant, chards, red onion, green beans, and fennel sliced and ready for the grill.
 

End of summer produce is the best.  Hot days ripen tomatoes, eggplants and peppers mature, and other produce available in farmer's markets and stores is glorious.  For our cooking class I featured grilled vegetables in a pasta salad and a Nicoise salad.  Left-overs inspired this simple salad that was filling enough to sate my boy's bellies.

The vegetables were tossed only with olive oil before grilling.  The eggplant cooks quickly while the onions, fennel, chard stems, green beans, and peppers take a little longer.  Be watchful so that the veggies are neither under nor overcooked.

Composing the salad consisted of a handful of spring mix surrounded by halved cherry tomatoes.  Arugula is good also as are a variety of chopped herbs.  Next, layer on grilled veggies.  (I used them all).  Top with your choice of protein.   In this case we used thinly sliced grilled beef.  Other protein options include pressed and grilled tofu or seitan, chicken, or whatever your heart desires.

The finished product.  A salad composed of grilled and non-grilled vegetables topped with a lean protein. 

The final touch is the dressing.  As always, a freshly made vinaigrette is the first choice.  Two parts oil, one part vinegar, salt and pepper, and depending on how you feel, herbs or dry mustard.  In this case I ventured into something a little different.  I added ricotta salata which is a hard version of ricotta cheese and is crumbly.  Add a couple tablespoons of crumbled cheese to the vinaigrette and then drizzle over the composed meal.  For a vegan option, leave the cheese and meat out.  This was delicious.

One of the great things about eating healthy, besides not feeling guilty or glutteny afterwards, is that you can walk away with a sense of well-being.  A stroll after dinner with your family or spouse, your dog, or your music should end the evening and prepare you for restful sleep.

Calories for the salad with the ricotta salata dressing but not including the meat is about 550 and offers almost 15 grams of fiber and 12 grams of protein.  The measurement for this calculation included 1 cup greens, 3 cherry tomatoes halved, 2 red small red potatoes halved, a handful of green beans, 4 slices eggplant, about 1/2 head of fennel, several slices of red onion, and a couple tablespoons of vinaigrette.  All vegetables except the lettuces and tomatoes were grilled.

- Kim Fielding