Grilled Zucchini

It has been a quiet two months here, but not in real life.  When this year started, I could not have imagined that by August, my house would be sold and I would be living in a rental house on a farm.  It has taken two and a half months to get here, but here we are.  Now we are going to get ready for the next phase, which is save money and look for our “forever” home, as the kids and I have started to call it. 

This past weekend involved an immense amount of cleaning, and lifting heavy boxes.   We would not have made it without the moms in our lives bringing and preparing mass quantities of sandwiches, pizzas, drinks and cookies.  It was a blessing, and it saved me several times over.  When it got down to Sunday night and it was time to feed my family myself, things got very simple.  The oven is not usable yet, that is a job I have not mentally been able to bring myself to tackle, and so the grill was my heat source of choice. 

This is a sentimental recipe in some ways, the first time I ever had this was at my aunt and uncle's house while on vacation.  It was so good,I didn't even know that I liked zucchini up until that moment.  I have been making it non-stop ever since.  During the summers, when my garden has been growing zucchini faster than I can pick it, this dish comes into play several nights a week.  I often throw other vegetables into the mix, and the spices differ depending on my mood.  These quantities are extremely flexible. 

Grilled Zucchini

• 3-4 zucchini
• 3 Tbsp. Olive Oil
• 1tsp Garlic Powder
• 4 TBSP Parmesan Cheese
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• Grilling Basket

Optional Vegetable Additions, cut into large chunks or quarters—Mushrooms, Green onions, onions, Summer Squash, Bell Peppers, Tomatoes, use your imagination

Option Spices—Red Pepper Flakes, Creole Seasoning, Seasoned Salt, Steak Seasoning Mix, again, use your imagination

1. Prepare Grill and get it to a med-high heat.
2. Combine all ingredients, except the parmesan cheese, in a bowl and stir to distribute olive oil and spices.
3. Spray the Grill basket with cooking spray AND THEN place the Grill basket on the grill rack, dump the veggies in the basket.  DO NOT RINSE THE BOWL; you should still have a little olive oil in the bowl.
4. Now if you are going to walk away from this, I suggest either preparing the grill in a two heat zone set up, so one side on med-high heat, and the other side low heat, or if you have the option, putting the veggies on the top rack.  I have four burners on my grill, so I usually leave the left-hand burners on med-hi heat, and turn the right-hand burners down to low.   I then put the veggies on the low heat side, close the lid and carry on with whatever else I am making for dinner.  Come back and shake the basket about every 5-7 minutes or so, until the vegetables reach your desired level of doneness.  If your aren’t going to multi-task, just throw them on the grill, however you have it set up, and keep an eye on it, still shaking the basket every so often until they reach.  These should be cooked in about 10-12 minutes. 
5. When the vegetables are ready, take the bowl with the leftover olive oil in it, and dump the grilled vegetables into it, add the parmesan cheese to the bowl, stir it all together, and enjoy.