Easy End-Of-Summer BBQ

The sun was out again today, and we decided to throw together a simple barbecue for dinner. After all, it’s hard to say how many more sunny days we’re going to have. Weather in mid September in the Pacific Northwest is anyone’s guess!

In our house, Sam is the grill master and I’m the food prep. So I’ll show you what we threw together and hopefully inspire you to take advantage of the grill for whatever sunny days we have left.

I should also mention that Sam is on a two week “no dairy trial diet” per orders of his doctor – which means I’ve been on an all-dairy diet, trying to consume the cheese, yogurt and milk in our fridge all by my lonesome before it all goes bad. I hate wasting food. I’ve been working really hard on the ice cream too... I am TOTALLY taking one for the team here :)

In all seriousness though, this trial diet has made us realize that we don’t have many dairy-free recipes. Lucikly, this BBQ is totally dairy free and would make Sam's doctor proud.

Dad’s Famous BBQ Chicken

Because I love my Margaritas In the Rain fans, I’ve decided to reveal the recipe for potentially the best BBQ chicken in the world: my dad’s famous recipe. Scroll down to see the secret ingredient:

Yup, you’ve got it. Yoshidas. It’s not just the SECRET ingredient; it’s the ONLY ingredient! Just give the chicken a good soaking in Yoshidas, and plop those suckers on the grill until they’re done. We normally buy boneless, skinless chicken breasts because they are slightly lower in fat, but chicken thighs are actually a little better on the BBQ because they maintain moisture.   

BBQ Veggies

This is by far the EASIEST recipe in the history of recipes, and perhaps also the most delicious. Simply cut a zucchini and some summer squash in half (they are dirt cheap at the local farmer’s markets this time of year), rub with olive oil and sea salt – and grill!

Brown Rice

We own a rice cooker, so there’s really no need to explain anything here. But I will mention that between my Asian-inspired cooking habits and Sam’s Mexican-inspired culinary skills, we use the rice cooker quite a bit.

And when we’re making stir fry, sushi, teriyaki tofu or even Dad’s Famous BBQ Chicken – I always bust open the Furikake to sprinkle over the rice for a little “oomph!” Furikake is a salty Japanese condiment (often called the salt and pepper of Japan) that is generally sprinkled over rice. Furikake usually consist of various ingredients such as sushi nori (seaweed), sesame seeds, dried tuna flakes, salmon flakes, powdered soy sauce or miso, and dried egg.  I grew up eating the stuff, but here in Portland, I can always find my favorite flavor at Uwajimaya.

Salad

You’d think we would turn into Popeye with the amount of spinach Sam and I consume. In truth, we buy the organic baby spinach boxes from Costco and usually consume the box before it goes bad. We throw handfuls of spinach into omelets, spaghetti sauce, and eat it raw in salads. It’s filled with tons of vitamins and fiber (much more so than iceberg or romaine lettuce), plus we both happen to love the taste of it. I also make our own salad dressing thanks to one of my favorite toys: this salad dressing dispenser from Williams-Sonoma, which was a housewarming present from one of my besties. 

We generally try to keep our salads entertaining with different toppers. Tonight I used fresh tomatoes from this week’s Portland Farmer’s Market.

And here's a post-grill picture before we dove in to devour the meal:

Told you it was easy! Now try it for yourselves  – or share YOUR favorite easy BBQ recipes!