Monday, April 20, 2009

Not a Blah-becue

There was a radio ad running this week that said something like “Was your last grilled dinner a bore-becue? Did you serve blah-becue?” I knew I would be grilling on Sunday and I felt the pressure! Chase and I are eating grainfree and concentrating our meals on veggies, fruits, and beans. We just feel better without grains, plus we can lighten up a bit for the summer. I think it’s super healthy and actually quite colorful and never blah. Anyway….

After much needed rain most of last week, the weather teams promised Sunday would be beautiful. Indeed, it was a glorious day. I got out for some exercise and marveled that there was not a cloud in the sky and all the trees were finally green.




A butterfly landed on me before I went inside.




Now, for some very un-boring food! All great barbecues need a great sauce. While any grocery store here has at least 60 feet of shelf space devoted to barbecue sauce, the best is always homemade. I decided to make Vcon Backyard BBQ Sauce.


Most of the sauce was used for the BBQ Blackeyed Peas and Collards. I had some beautiful local collards, but I chose not to make rolls. I also used eggplant instead of mushrooms. I can’t imagine this dish would be any more delicious in rolled form. It was outstanding.


I put together some skewers for the grill. I marinated baked tofu for Chase, along with red peppers, purple onions, zucchini, and mushrooms for me. This marinade is ½ cup broth, 2 T. soy sauce, 1 T. olive oil, 1 T. red wine vinegar, and 1 clove minced garlic.


Here are Chase’s skewers ready for the grill. I gave them a little brushing of BBQ sauce.



And done.



Here are my mushroomy skewers done.



Another side dish to go with this meal was Crispy Baked Cabbage Wedges. I’ve made them before, but this time I sliced them extra thin. I sprayed them with oil, sprinkled with salt and pepper, then baked them at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.



I made a tiny bit of mustard-soygurt-fresh dill dressing for them. These were so good. The cabbage wedges were still firm and the crispy edges were so tasty. If you love cabbage, I recommend this method.



Of course Chase had to stay late at work and couldn’t come for dinner. So I packed up his skewers, the collards, half the cabbage, mustard sauce, and BBQ sauce and took it to his apartment so he would have dinner when he got home. Then I came back home and decided some mashed sweet potatoes would be perfect with the crispy cabbage. I boiled and mashed myself a potato and reheated my dinner. Here’s my big, lonely, but not a blah-becue plate.




You probably thought there wouldn’t be dessert, but alas, grainfree baking was accomplished! Chickpea Blondies, courtesy of Celine. Not a speck of flour. I made them entirely with flaxseeds. I used apricot jam (her recipe used strawberry jam), I added 2 T. of coconut flour to help it bind, and I just couldn’t resist sprinkling some chocolate chips on top. I can’t tell you how much I love these, except too much, and as much as I love Celine and her always fabulous recipes.


Chase called me as he was eating his dinner. He loved everything, especially the homemade sauce. Hooray for springtime and not boring BBQs!

41 comments:

  1. Ah, to be Chase and actually get toeat some of your amazing food...

    *Dreams*

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  2. not boring or blah, but glorious indeed! mmmmmmmmm! i'm sorry Chase had to work late, but that's awesome that enjoyed everything & you're too sweet to pack it up for him & take it to his place so he could enjoy it after work.

    the butterfly is just too pretty! and while i'm talk'n about pretty - your skewers look awesome, and the bbq sauce looks spectacular! i love a good bbw sauce, and i'm gonna have to check out vcon's recipe, fo 'sho! i really love your crispy baked cabbage wedges - as a big fan of cabbge i'm totally gonna have to give them a whirl! thanks, Diann!

    p.s. - celine's blondies sound wonderful - and i love that you used apricot jam & chocolate! hooray!

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  3. I wish my mom made such creative and healthful vegan food for me! Your son is so lucky :)

    So you made your blondies without flour? I'll have to try that method soon!

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  4. Wow, what an impressive spread! And that dessert looks fab... I can't believe it has no flour in it. I'm mesmerized by it!

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  5. That cookout looks amazing! I could definitely go for one of those skewers right now. And VCon's BBQ sauce is oh so good!

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  6. Anonymous9:29 PM

    the cabbage! look at it! have I mentioned how I adore cabbage? and how I love you for trying the blondies?

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  7. This is the second post I've read today about barbecue and I may just have to get myself a grill this summer.

    The cabbage looks so good. I've never made cabbage in the oven but obviously I've been missing out!

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  8. Ooh the black eyed peas and collards sound delicious, and your skewers are so pretty! I've been thinking of making those chickpea blondies, as I love Celine's white bean blondies. I'm glad yours were delicious!

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  9. Chase is soooo lucky! And everything looks fabulous. I must try out the cabbage that way--got two of them sitting in my fridge right now. And the blondies--I feel a bit faint! ;)

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  10. Sadly, I left Texas on Sunday morning. It really was a beautiful day! I really want to try that chic-pea blondie recipe, looks great :)

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  11. YES,very impressive! Everything looks so beautiful and yummy. I can't wait to make my own mushroom skewers and the homemade BBQ sauce.

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  12. i love bbq skewers in the summer! me can hardly wait to fire up the grill!

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  13. I love the cabbage idea, I'll definately be trying that! I can't believe how many BBQ sauces you have, we have about 10 varieties, maximum!!

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  14. Anonymous5:28 AM

    You are such an amazing mother! Chase is so blessed to have you - making all that deliciousness. It looks so great, and I need to try those chickpea blondies - Celine rules!

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  15. Ooh, I have a cabbage in my fridge and know what I want to try now...do you this would work with savoy cabbage?

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  16. Clea, it may be difficult to keep the wedges intact with savoy cabbage, but it should taste just as good.

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  17. Butterflies and grilled cabbage- definitely two of my favoruite things.

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  18. Buffins! - Such a cute name! Could I use something else in place of the mayonaise?

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  19. Steph, try soygurt instead of mayo.

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  20. So many yummy vegan dishes!

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  21. WHOA, the BEP's with Collards and egggplant looks so good I am sweating drool. (I was trying to be creative with that comment :D ) And the skewers... it's been in the 80s the last few days and i'm dying for a skewer.

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  22. Hmmm, I almost made kebabs Sunday when it was 75. Then Monday was in the 40's - no more summer weather!

    Chickpea blondies - genius!

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  23. The weather has been perfect for grilling. I want to try those black eyed peas and collards. They look delicious. And so do the blondies!

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  24. Homemade bbq sauce is the best! I need to make me some. And skewers, yummy. We were actually thinking of grilling some skewers this very weekend.

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  25. That is DEFINITELY not a blah-becue! I can't wait until someone invites me to a bbq party! Warm weather and bbq sauce are the best!

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  26. Great mom + great cook = lucky Chase!

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  27. Ooh, I love collards! yum. I've never seen lettuce wedges like that!

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  28. There's absolutely nothing blah about your bbq! Delicious!!

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  29. oh by the way - thanks for saying "marinated" instead of "marinaded"!!! That seems to be a trend these days.

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  30. What beautiful food for a beautiful day. I have some cabbage in my fridge that is begging to be turned into Crispy Baked Cabbage Wedges. I've never seen such a thing!

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  31. I NEED to make those blondies!

    I'm sorry Chase couldn't make it to dinner..

    LOVE the BBQ/black eyed peas/collards...

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  32. Wow, what a fantastic looking bar-b-que!!

    The butterfly landed on you! I would take that as a good sign.

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  33. Gorgeous bbq!!! Those black eyed peas/collards look so good. I'm sorry Chase couldn't join you for dinner. I'm sure you were looking forward to it. Hopefully next time he doesn't need to stay late at work!

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  34. Mmmmmm, lovely, that is just my kind of barbeque! Yum!

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  35. oh, I'm dying! beautiful-becue! and I'm super curious about that blondie.

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  36. Anonymous6:24 AM

    Diann - as always, your food looks great. You're a good mom -- I'm sure Chase appreciates your weekly dinners together.

    The collards/black-eye peas looks tasty. Is that recipe one of yours or in Vcom?

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  37. Anonymous2:13 PM

    Diann, you are such an awesome mom and an inspiration.

    I love the cabbage wedge idea with a little dressing. So simple but tasty looking.

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  38. Can I second CCV?

    Now I want to bbq too!

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  39. I have never made the Vcon bbq sauce or those roll ups. I always mean to but end up doing something else instead. But that looks so good! And I am loving the cabbage idea.

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