Grilling Out

When I moved to Chicago in 2005 I didn't know that it snowed. Well, that is not entirely accurate. I knew that it snowed, but I figured that snow was romantic and fluffy like it is in the movies. I thought it would cover the city in a soft, white blanket and I would be able to twirl in the park as the snowflakes danced down from the sky and onto my eyelashes. Oops.

Five winters later I am beginning to understand why people from the Midwest get so excited at the prospect of a 60 degree day. 60 degrees was an unimaginable cold in southern California, but I now find myself wishing for 30 degree days in the wintertime. While I can safely say that I will never love winter, I can say that I do love the changing of the seasons because every season comes with something that is indicative to that season that I look forward to. In the fall, I look forward to apple picking and pumpkin flavored food. In the winter, I look forward to snowboarding and baking Christmas cookies. In the spring, I look forward to my first outdoor run of the season and fresh fruits, and in the summer, I look forward to laying out in the sun and grilling.

The thing I love the most about grilling is that the simplest ingredients marry together into explosive flavor combinations. Take, for example, the photo to your left. 5 scallions tossed in extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper. Grill for about 5 minutes. You can eat them on their own or as an addition to tacos. They tend to be stringy and can be a little hard to manage if you place them whole in a taco so you might want to cut them into pieces if you care about maintaing proper table manners. Simple. Quick. Healthy. Delicious.

The same can be said for the photo on the right. 3 ears of corn still in the husk. Place on grill for about 20-25 minutes. Note: The cooking time may vary depending on the size of your corn and the temperature of your grill. We use a gas grill and set the heat to medium. I don't know how this would translate to a charcoal grill, but we just got one this weekend so I will test that out and update accordingly. Cool. Peel. Enjoy!

Seriously, can it get any simpler than that? I don't think so. I like to squeeze fresh lime juice and sprinkle salt and pepper on my corn, but you can enjoy this plain as well. Grilling them in the husk keeps the kernels brightly colored and crisp and gives them a nice overall earthy flavor. The best part of this is that it keeps very nicely unrefrigerated and can be enjoyed the next day for lunch. I like it room temperature. Microwaves freak me out so I try to avoid them at all costs, but I would assume you could heat these up the next day in the microwave. If you wet the husks and leave them intact, I would imagine they would steam as you heated them up, but I have no idea how successful that would be since I haven't tried it.

Tonight's menu will consist of grilled chicken, grilled pineapple, brown rice, steamed broccoli, and grilled romaine (something I have been wanting to try and that I am hoping resembles roasted brussels sprouts).