Summer has exploded in the Eastern states and throughout the Midwest, celebrated by hordes of children suddenly free of the school routine and women relieved to pass on the kitchen tools to their men tending the grill. Our summer here in Southern California has been tip-toeing around us, offering mere moments of heat intermittently exchanged with the fresh ocean breeze. Our nights are still chilly, and the mornings see dew on my succulents.
We don’t really have to exchange our clothes to match the seasons and our shorts and tank tops are mixed in with the jeans and light sweaters that are sufficient to shield us from the cruel California climate. But we have brought along one Ohio habit that peeped through the California azure skies and showed its familiar face: Husband’s summer diet.
When we finally met for the first time, after exchanging ever so erudite and romantic e-mails, husband was a tall and lanky guy sporting a goatee that hid his slightly receding chin. He looked like an ascetic poet, his glasses accentuating the point, his longish hair cementing it. But within a couple of years a watermelon appeared underneath his shirt and he was devastated. His youthful metabolism betrayed him and he did not recognize himself in the mirror. That’s when the infamous diets started.
Every summer I observe from the sidelines in amusement as he brings into the house his breakfast staples: a box of Grape Nuts cereal and a big container of fat-free vanilla yogurt. And every summer he tries without success to enlist another recruit from the family to join in this delicious morning fare. Lunch and dinner are monotonously the same – dry, spiced-up, grilled or broiled chicken breast, cod, or orange roughy, served with steamed green vegetables and an undressed salad.
I have tried many times to be creative, thinking that versatility can only aid him in his efforts to regain at least a semblance of his boyish figure, but he rebels, claiming that the repetition and routine are the only things that work for him. He is not a person that can open a bag of cookies he supposedly bought for the girls and eat only a couple. Therefore, when he diets, he goes for the other side of the extreme, from excessive gluttony to excessive asceticism. At least that’s my very astute psychological analysis.
The diet started on Monday with Husband crunching his Grape Nuts parfait while the girls enjoyed eggs and toast. Forgetting to plan ahead, he skipped lunch, and for dinner he reluctantly ate my Moroccan chicken sans couscous, after I recited the nutritional information, trying to include all the fats and carbohydrates that went into it. On Tuesday it was pho that had been simmering on the stove for two days, and he poured several bowls of the rich broth, skipping the noodles altogether. Somewhat encouraged by this slight deviation of the rigid routine, I am already planning several healthy, colorful meals that I can make skinnier and lighter for him, hoping that he will forget the individually frozen packets of tasteless chicken breast languishing in the freezer.
Lighting up the grill excites both of us again and again: the woodsy smell of charcoal, the orange glow of embers in the chimney, the dance of the ash flakes, and the crackling of the flames combine in a synergic sensory opera that awakens some wonderfully primitive feelings that assure us that everything is fine with the world. There is meat. And there is fire. And soon there will be meat on the fire. Bliss.
While the steaks were luxuriating, loosely covered on the counter in the aftermath, I brought out a bowl of vegetables glistening with olive oil, and a smaller one for the dieter, sprinkled instead with some balsamic vinegar. We still do not own a vegetable basket that fits on the grill, but a piece of sturdy aluminum foil made a perfect bed for the colorful piles. By the time I plated the steaks and leaned a crusty piece of olive oil bread against our three plates, missing Husband’s on purpose, the tomatoes were nicely shriveled, the asparagus tender, the onions fragrant, the peppers yielding to the fork, and pink, halved radishes still firm, but without a crunch. The heat has mellowed the rosemary and enticed the thyme, and the smells from the vegetable plate were in serious combat with the assertive, smoky aroma of the steak.
The chill had crept into the air and we had to reach for the sweaters and hoodies while we ate the last bites of our summer dinner. Fresh breezes carried the hints of the Pacific into our dining room and I could say with complete sincerity I was not envious that my friends in Ohio are cooling off from the sweltering heat splashing in our old neighborhood pool, even if I have to endure another week of school.
GRILLED VEGETABLES
There is really no recipe for this dish.
Pick any combination of spring/summer vegetables:
- Cherry tomatoes
- Red onions
- Bell peppers
- Zucchini
- Corn
- Asparagus
- Radishes
- Green beans
- Broccoli
- Squash
Clean and chop if necessary. Place into a bowl. Sprinkle with coarse salt and freshly ground pepper. Drip some olive oil and/or balsamic vinegar on top. Sprinkle with herbs:
- Rosemary
- Thyme
- Basil
- Oregano
Mix to distribute the oil, herbs, and spices. Prepare a sheet of heavy aluminum foil and place it on a cookie sheet for easier transportation. Pour the vegetables on foil evenly and in one layer. Lift all four edges of the foil and make walls around the vegetables. Place on the grill holding the walls, and let cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes with tongs, until done to your liking.
The vegetables can also be roasted in the oven for 10-15 minutes at 425F.
I am sending this post to Get Grillin’!, the event organized by Dara of Cookin’ Canuck and Marla of Family Fresh Cooking. For dozens of seriously delicious grilled recipes head over to their blogs and browse.
Get Grillin’ with Family Fresh Cooking and Cookin’ Canuck, sponsored by Ile de France Cheese, Rösle, Emile Henry, Rouxbe and ManPans.
Makes me miss summer, or at least spring all the more
Mild temps yes, but is the missing daylight hours that get me…shortest day next week & then light at the end of the tunnel…a little more daylight every day 
Meanwhile I will live vicariously through your wonderful California summer & everything you have to dish up. 
Mairi @ Toast recently posted..Super Natural Everyday – Spinach Strata
Ista situacija je i u našem domu. Prošle nedelje sam grilovala povrće u rerni i to na žici, što je moram priznati naporno, ali je rezultat odličan. Žica povrće, a ispod žice pleh koji skuplja sokove. Doduše u većoj količini, pa se sve to servira u ogromnoj činiji sa malo limunovog soka i sa maslinovim uljem. meni je mnogo lepše kada odstoji u frižideru. Tako imam povrtnu salatu za nekoliko dana.
ps već duže vreme pokušavam da se setim na koga me podsećaš i konačno mi je kliknulo-Lena Olin iz mlađih dana. Ta žena mi je čarobna.
Jelena recently posted..
Lana, thanks so much for including your grilled veggies into Get Grillin’
THis post literally made me inclined to crash your house for dinner unannounced….unfortunately – I’m a plane ride away. Otherwise, I’d be knocking!!
So many things made me laugh and smile here. Especially “But within a couple of years a watermelon appeared underneath his shirt and he was devastated” 
So I imagine you will be grilling fruit this summer too!?! I would love to see a post on that as well! I love that every time I read one of your posts, I feel like I get to know you better.
amee recently posted..The Baked Potato- Old- but Still Very Much Alive
Your husband sounds so much like mine. He eats the same thing for breakfast every single day (steel cut oats, Pavel’s yogurt and apple). For lunch and dinner, he would do the same if left to his own devices. Not much help to a food blogger wife who wants variety, LOL! Mine is also the same way whenever chips and cookies are brought into the house–I have to ration or the entire bag would disappear.
I already had grilling on my mind this week but even more so after this post. So glad summer weather is here!
Have a great weekend, Lana.
Jean recently posted..Purple Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Clams and White Wine
I absolutely adore your writing, I wish this post were at least twice as long! The descriptions of your husband are hilarious and such an astute portrait of the bedraggled male ego, fighting against the odds. And you are so right about the fire and meat and all will be well feeling! And by the way, I really, really appreciated your comment on my Krakow street meets post – thank you so much!!! xoxo
Wish I could find the words to describe my husband and you do – admire your writing so. I make the same aluminum foil “pan” for grilling veggies – easy cleanup
Ah, I love veggies from the grill! I actually got my dad a grill basket for a birthday present and the first thing he made in it when I was visiting were grilled veggies. You are totally right, there is no recipe, but they come out perfect and smoky every time.
I want so cal summer!!!
The Cilantropist recently posted..Bacon Meatball Subs
So of course your veggies look so tasty…and I badly want to try them, but what I really loved about your post was your witty observations and commentary. This made me smile so wide! I loved hearing about your husband’s diet…and I laughed out loud several times. Thank you for sharing…and for you kind words on my blog. I appreciate your creativity and beauty!
HA HA HA! First, you described my husband down to the goatee hiding the receding chin, the poet look and the belly. And mine is back on his diet. Second, I absolutely love grape nuts and fat-free vanilla yogurt. Every day for a snack I have fat-free vanilla fromage frais with meusli (no grape nuts here). That said, I love grilled veg all year round!
Great post. You made me smile with your description of his watermelon belly. Sounds like he might need some more protein for breakfast? Trying to get my husband to do the same – he’s on a toast kick right now. I boil eggs for the week and reheat as needed in a cup of hot water; peal and dab with a bit of sriracha or chimichurri, etc.
Andrea @ Fork Fingers Chopsticks recently posted..
This is definitely a quick and easy summer side dish and I love how you’ve described everything. Thanks for sharing and Happy Cooking!
I will anxiously await word on hubby’s progress, but as for myself, that kind of diet always backfires. Deprivation leads to overcompensatory gluttony!
Lentil Breakdown recently posted..
Delicious! Every day I battle in between baring the heat outside to grill or warming the house using the oven… I’m very jealous of your weather.
Grilled veggies look so bright and fresh! Would have loved to have more breeze!!
Ilke recently posted..Minty Pea Salad for Summer Evenings…
It’s sad that eating has to be all or nothing for so many people. I blame it on my mother giving me a cookie to feel better when a cuddle would have done the job.
These veggies look so good – in fact I’m going to do this tonight.
Good luck to the hubs. Nobody needs a watermelon.
Maureen recently posted..Moroccan Chicken
Hmm, what does it say about me that I actually think grape nuts and yogurt sounds like an excellent breakfast? Well at least you have to admire his determination!
Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchen recently posted..