4th of July Veggie Feast Recipe
I knew heading off to work yesterday that I was going to grill chicken when I got home for our 4th of July dinner. And, I knew that I wanted something a little less ordinary than potatoes in one of their many summer forms—baked, fried, potato salad all seemed a bit boring.
So on my way home I stopped at our favorite grocery store, Fraizer’s Farm, where we get all our produce. Egg plant, summer squash, onion, corn-on-the-cob, watermelon, lemon and bananas found their way into my basket.
Sometimes a big old mess of grilled vegetables hits the spot. And as I thought about it, why not grill up some fruit too.
And that’s what we did. Super simple. Really tasty. And different. The vegetables became the star of the meal. A treat for a couple of die-hard carnivores.
And then, not long after dinner we got to enjoy our city’s annual fireworks display from our balcony. You can kind of see them poking up above the trees across the street but it’s always fun.
Now I didn’t take a whole bunch of pictures of the process last night…I didn’t think to take any until after I had cooked the dinner on the grill. And the photos of the finished product aren’t the greatest. My timing was off just a bit last night and some of the veggies got a bit browned to the point where they’re not overly photogenic. Oh, but they tasted really, really good.
But here’s the basic recipe for this simple approach to grilled veggies:
Summary: Here’s a tasty way to turn a grilled dinner into a tasty feast–Grilled Vegetables.
Ingredients
- 1 eggplant
- 1 summer squash
- 1 medium onion
- Vegetable oil
Seasoning
Instructions
Get out your cutting board and chef’s knife along with a couple of sheets of paper towels.
Slice the eggplant about ¾” thick at an angle. It’ll make 4 or 5 good slices.
Take a small slice off each side (2) of the summer squash to make a flat spot and then slice the squash into 4 “planks”.
Lay the sliced squash and eggplant on the paper towel and sprinkle lightly with salt (to draw the moisture out). Cover with another paper towel and let them sit for about 10-15 minutes.
Take the onion and cut 2 or 3 slices about ¼ inch thick.
Put a light skim of vegetable oil on each slice of eggplant, squash and onion and rub in with your fingers. Season with either some salt, pepper and garlic powder or use a “Mexican” type spice blend of paprika, salt, cayenne/chipotle, garlic and oregano.
Put each slice on a hot grill (the onion is going to take the longest). Ideally you want some good grill marks and char on the vegetables but with just a bit of “tooth” left. The total cooking time for the eggplant is going to be 5-6 minutes and the onions 6-8 minutes.
Preparation time: 10 minute(s)
Cooking time: 8 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 4
You can do this as a main dish or as a side dish. It’s got a bit of texture, a hint of grill char and some flavor from the seasoning. It’s tasty! No ‘taters! (Although you may have noticed the corn on the cob). But the vegetables raised what is one of our favorite grilled meals (bone-in/skin-on chicken breast) to a whole different level.
And the grilled watermelon is just as easy! Put a bit of oil on a 1″ thick slice of water melon. Sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper. Plop it on the grill for 6-8 minutes. Remove. Slice the melon from the rind, squeeze a bit of lemon juice and enjoy!
The Cheap Bastid Test: The eggplant cost $.88, the squash was $.77 and the onion about $.40. Total for this dish is $2.05 for vegetables for 2 or 3 people. And it’s really, really good. Now why don’t I do that more often?
That’s the Cheap Bastid Way: Eat Good. Eat Cheap. Be Grateful!