Another day, another set of stuff on the grill. This time once again highlighted a few nice pieces of Steelhead from Central Market ... and a lime ... and some variety of veg. Badger doesn't much like getting wet (he's not a grey-skies and rain-lover like Mushroom is), so in the winter we don't grill quite as much, but in the spring, summer, and fall, it's probably every other meal we eat at home.
And we love us some Steelhead. Cheaper than all of the other local salmon options, and yet just as tasty on the grill ... this was more than a pound.
Once I pulled out all the bones and washed and dried it off, there it was, ready for whatever happened next. Usually we just get one fillet, but these pieces looked especially perfect in the case and I felt bad for them, so this is two pieces, kind of folded in on one another.
Ubiquitous lime squooze over said fish ...
Oh how we love our grindy-pepper. We have two pepper grinders that live here in the corner of the Airstream's galley, always awaiting action. When we were first dating, there was an awesome restaurant in Rockland, Maine (close to where we lived at the time) called Amalfi (not the big tourist one but the one that was there way before that on Main street; back when it was really something very special). Amalfi had Greek [or Turkish, you choose your proclivity] pepper grinders on every table. Badger was especially taken with them so Mushroom bought him one for her birthday—yes, she often buys Badger gifts during her own birthday month, but never a grill, that's his present to buy her. Sigh.
Ground pepper and truffle salt joined the bath, were mixed around, and spooned atop the fish multiple times while the vegetables were being prepped.
These mini bell peppers were on sale today at Central Market, so I bought a bag, knowing how good they would be on the grill. And, they were CHEAP! Here they are all washed up and ready for cutting.
The way I cut smaller kinds of peppers for the grill is super easy. First, slice off the very top, leaving as much pepper on the pepper side and as little as possible pepper on the stem side.
Then stick your trusy long, thin knife into the pepper and cut the pith/vien/septum/endocarp from the walls of the pepper. These particular ones really had only the two, but some varieties have more.
Then make a slice down one side from top to bottom and pull apart slightly. Grab what remains of the stem and gently pull out all the seeds and stem as well as the leggy bits.
Repeat however many times. I ended up with 17 peppers and a small pile of peppery compost.
Look at the legs on that thing ... fun with food.
And here we are with a pile of cored peppers.
Balsamic vinegar, black pepper, and sea salt got added and mixed about.
On to the carrots. Organic carrots often look for shite but they're especially tasty and probably won't kill you.
Have I mentioned how much I love my galley sink lately? I think it's one of the most luxurious things about the airstream. Just look at how deep she is ... and how shiny.
Carrots chopped and laid out in the bottom of my trusty pot.
Again, Central Market is awesome! They have prepped and washed dark leafy greenery in bulk. We eat a lot of it. I usually give it a pick-over, but that's because I am especially finicky.
Once inspecion is complete, the greenery goes into the pot, on top of the carrots, along with a cup of water or so. Put the cover on and wait until the grill is going before turning it on.
And one of our beloved red onions ... peeled and then sliced into thick rounds. I just add some olive oil to the separated slices and let them wait for the grill. Sometimes I add seasonings, but they really hold up on their own.
This is what dinner consisted of (plus some brown rice). Hey, I never mentioned the zucchini: three of them cut lengthwise and given a slight bath in olive oil (pictured below with the onions).
This is what went on the grill.
Badger came home just as I was finishing up the prep work. And although over the years and living situations he has now purchased me TWO grills as birthday presents, I rarely ever get to touch the blasted thing. It's HIS realm. So, on went everything.
Note the totally brilliant grill pan on the right; ours actually lives there full-time on the grill. It has lots of holes in the bottom so that the smaller vegetables can still face the fire, and they get cooked beautifully. I originally bought it to test out an idea for grilled Brussels sprouts (probably Badger's very favorite vegetable-type-thing) and that worked so perfectly that we tried a series other things, most of which worked very well. But once we started grilling red onions this way, that's almost always what gets put in there. So sweet and smokey ...
While we were out by the grill, I let the water in the bottom of the pot come to a boil and then I turned it off and just let everything steam until we were done outside. I find that if there is a layer of carrots or other hardy vegetable at the bottom, the greenery atop steams perfectly without getting overcooked.
I added a few spoonfuls of brown rice and plated it up. Delicious!
And this is what we had left over ... two breakfasts and a lunch for me (there's a layer of rice below all the fish and vegetables). Yup, I eat leftovers for breakfast, no doubt.
