Warm Weather–Time to Grill!

Lately it seems that everything I’ve cooked is either something I’ve already posted about or it’s something for which there’s no recipe. We’ve had a lot of grilled foods recently since the weather’s been so nice. Yesterday I decided to try a grilled flank steak with a spicy rub on it. I saw a recipe for a rub in a Southern Living magazine at my sister’s house in North Carolina in March, and put it in my little notebook I carry in my purse. I changed a few things to adapt it to what I have in my kitchen, and came up with this:

Spicy Grilled Flank Steak

1 1-pound flank steak
1 T canola or vegetable oil
2 t ground cumin
2 t chili powder
1/2 t salt
3/4 t ground black pepper
1/2 t red pepper flakes
1/4 t cinnamon
1 t ground coriander

Rub both sides of flank steak with oil. Mix remaining ingredients in a small bowl, and rub over both sides of meat. Grill over medium heat till done (we like ours medium–still slightly pink in the middle), and slice across the grain.

Today we went up to Angleus Oaks, a small town up the highway about 8 miles, to visit our friends Shannon and Rob. Shannon’s a great cook, but had never made biscuits and gravy. I offered to come up and make some, and then Rob and DH could go fishing while I hung out with Shan and her two girls. Her olderst daughter (age 10) wanted to help, so I had her do the cooking. She’s been interested in learning how to cook, and recently made Johnny Cakes on her own for some extra credit at school. She did the research all by herself on the history of Johnny Cakes, how they used to be called “journey cakes,” and described to me how to make them. She dug right into the process of making the sausage gravy, and since everyone liked it, will probably be making it for her family again.

Tonight’s dinner is one of my favorite ways to eat grilled chicken. It’s marinated for a short time in a balsamic vinegar mixture, and served on a crusty sandwich roll with grilled onions and bell peppers. I served it with a pasta salad that I created out of a chicken pasta salad recipe. It was easy to mix up and chill while the chicken marinated and then was grilled.

Grilled Chicken with Onions and Peppers

1/4 c balsamic vinegar
1/4 c olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 t dried rosemary, crumbled
2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halvescut in 1”-thick strips
1 medium red onion, sliced
1 green bell pepper,
2-4 crusty sandwich rolls
mayonnaise
romaine lettuce leaves

In a medium bowl, combine vinegar, oil, garlic and rosemary. Marinate chicken in this mixture at least 30 minutes. Prepare grill by covering part of it with aluminum foil. Pierce foil in numerous places and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Grill vegetables on the foil, and chicken on uncovered part of grill over medium heat until cooked through. Serve chicken and vegetables on a crusty sandwich roll along with mayonnaise and lettuce. Makes 2 or 4.

Asian Pasta Salad

8 oz. cooked thin spaghetti (I used Barilla Plus)
1 c frozen baby peas, thawed
1/3 c sliced peeled carrot
1/4 c chopped red bell pepper (other colors will do, too)
1 can water chestnuts, drained and coarsely chopped
3 green onions, sliced

Dressing:
1/3 c light soy sauce
2 T canola oil
2 T rice vinegar
2 t sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T brown sugar
1 t grated fresh ginger
1/4 t red pepper flakes

Put salad ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk together dressing ingredients in a small bowl and pour over salad. Toss to combine. Chill. Serves 4-6

A question for those of you more technologically adept than I am: Do rechargeable batteries "wear out?" I have not used my digital camera much at all all lately, but the batteries have lost their charge. It's happened more and more often lately, so I'm thinking they start losing their ability to keep a charge. Is that the case?
(That's why there are no photographs with this post!)

food & drink