Grilled Godly Goodness

For anyone who is a city dweller and does not have access to an outdoor grill yet loves the smoky taste of grilled vegetables I recommend making your next errand a trip to get a grill pan.  This morning I decided I would try something out of my cooking comfort zone.  Upon returning from the Dupont Farmers Market in Washington, DC, arms loaded with brightly colored vegetable bounty, I knew I couldn't subject such beautiful specimens to the regular vegetable steaming process any store bought vegetable predecessors might have known as their final fate.  Instead, I decided these locally grown treasures would be involved in something a little different.  The grill pan.

My grill pan experience today was proof of a thought process I had recently.  As humans, we tend to think many things are harder than they are.  If we commit to trying something slightly out of our comfort zone at least once every day, we'd be amazed by the strides we are capable of making. Things are often actually much easier than we perceive them to be. As a mostly vegetarian eater, trying new ways to cook vegetables is essential in maintaining variability and satisfaction.  But for years, I thought grilling vegetables with beaming color and exquisite taste was a task best left to a chef well equipped with years of experience and an all clad kitchen.   Reality?  If you have a little time, patience, and tender loving care, you can grill vegetables to perfection by your own hand, in your own kitchen, just by giving it a try.

Here's my first attempt. Verdict? These vegetables blew off my tastebuds.  Want to create yourself?  Here's what you do.

1. Buy a grill pan (Cephalon is a good brand)
2. Hunt down some fresh vegetables (peppers, zucchini, red onion, squash, asparagus are good choices)
3. Cut up vegetables and coat in olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano, basil (dried is fine, or mince fresh herbs)
4. Place vegetables on grill pan (heated on medium heat) and do not disturb for at least 8 minutes
5. Turn vegetables over for a few additional minutes
6. Optional - take 1 tbs olive oil, 1 tbs good quality balsamic vinegar, mix, and toss with cooked vegetables
7. Enjoy :)