It's been difficult to do Hive posts lately. We have been just working and sorting out things in our moving process. We've kept our current apartment for a month while having a new apartment. It's a double payment for the month but it gives us time to get things slowly over there. We will do the final furniture move on Monday. On our last days off we ran back and forth from one apartment to the next. It's really close. It's just on another corner.
On the last day before work, I said to Marc that we should just stop and go to the park for a barbecue. The sun was perfect and we haven't spent much time outside. The last time we went for a picnic, it suddenly out of nowhere poured rain. We didn't even unpack anything. We ran home. This time it was not going to rain.
I have had on several occasions, people ask how I could have a barbecue if I don't eat meat. To most of you this is silly. To some it is baffling. I tell them you can put just about anything on the fire to grill.
I usually choose firm tofu, tempeh, veggie burgers or veggie sausages, which are great on the grill. This time I chose tofu, and items I got on the markdown bin at the grocery store. I don't like to see perfectly good items go to waste in the garbage. This store is mostly frequented by students who usually eat instant food or sandwiches.
I grabbed things quickly and packed up in a frenzy before the perfect sun went away. I picked up some marked down potatoes. These russet red potatoes are some of my favourite. They're nice and starchy. I had to cut them super thin so they would have a fighting chance to cook. Our barbecue is a disposable tiny one from the dollar store. I know that's not really eco friendly. Guilty as charged!
I got some mushrooms which were marked down to a dollar. The regular price is almost 3 dollars. I really like mushrooms on the grill.
There were a bounty of bell peppers marked down perfectly good so I grabbed a couple of those. I'm not someone who cooks bell peppers too often but they're good on the grill along with onion which together with the mushrooms make a good shish kabob. I forgot the skewers so we had to put them on as is.
Another item which I rarely have is this endive. I have only had it raw but I thought I would see what it would be like on the grill. It was also in the markdown bin. I rarely see this item. No wonder people didn't buy it.
Our barbecue was too tiny with a small pack of coals ready to ignite, so we pried the mesh wire grill off the top. We added little wood branches that were laying around. We made a bigger fire. Marc and I love making fires. I guess it's our survival instincts kicking in. Many cultures would take fire cooking outdoors, for granted.
The fire was quite good. I was worried it would cook through the base but it didn't.
I had forgotten to bring oil or butter so I drizzled some of our salad dressing on the potatoes. It was a garlicky, lemony tahini dressing that I had already made. I also forgot salt and pepper so this compensated for the seasonings.
When the potatoes were almost done we added the peppers, mushrooms, onion and endive. It barely fit so we kept the tofu for last.
We wanted the tofu fresh off the grill and hot.
Before we left home I put the tofu in a marinade of vegetable broth, soy sauce, miso paste, and a few spoonfuls of a peanut sauce that I had made.
While the tofu was cooking, I saw a squirrel in the distance. I love squirrels so I offered it a grape. It's the only thing I could offer really. I know they prefer peanuts but I didn't have any.
She shyly approached the grape and wasn't happy about it. She was expecting nuts. I tried to explain to her how sweet and delicious they were, and that they were imported from Chile.
After some consideration she picked it up and tasted it realizing that it was a good decision. I gave her another one when she finished it, but she buried it to have later. How they remember where it is, I just don't know.
After some quality squirrel time, dinner was ready.
We had poured the marinade over the veggies when they were cooking so everything had flavor. Salt and pepper were not necessary. I would have liked some hot sauce but it was still flavorful.
I was pleasantly surprised by how nice the endive was after being grilled. It really wasn't over cooked so it maintained some juice and the grilling seemed to bring out some sweetness.
The potatoes were perfectly cooked but if I were to cook potatoes on a regular barbecue I would have kept them in bigger pieces or even whole.
It was overall a success which we weren't sure about when we set out in a hurry. I do think I'll get a better barbecue but not too big. Our storage space in the new apartment has been cut in half.
Sometimes the simplicity of a picnic and barbecue are just as enjoyable or perhaps more, than preparing several ingredients to cook at home. In this case I did almost all of the preparation right on the wooden picnic table.
Living in the middle of a big city with no backyard or balcony makes me really appreciate such times.
Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.
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