Lamb Burgers with Tomato Salad and Grilled Vegetables

Last night we grilled up a bunch of vegetables that were laying around the kitchen - onions, peppers, potatoes, eggplant, and some garlic.  Next time, the perfect topping will be goat yogurt with a little chopped garlic added to that.  The lamb burger was good but had a little too much cumin - should reduce the amount to about 1 t.  We added cumin, black pepper, red pepper, salt, egg, some dry bread, and a little ketchup.  Fresh chopped Italian parsley would have been good but we didn't have any.  To top the burgers we made a fig, goat cheese, and onion.....

The tomatoes had fresh cucumber from the garden, garlic, fresh basil, chopped walnuts and ......  A great combination of flavors. 

Abundance

Far from being "crapped up", these fruits of our gardening labors may be perfect the way they are. The tomato plants are close to resembling trees and the golden beets are ready to eat!

Grilled Lemon Chicken

This is one of those recipes that when you get the chicken cooked just right, it’s “wet your pants” good.  The chicken rub is essential and the grilled lemons are the secret ingredient that puts the flavors over the top.  The trickiest part is to get the chicken grilled just right so that is does not dry out.  The cooking time may be shorter or longer depending on the thickness of the breast.  Check the temperature often near the end to make sure it doesn’t overcook.

Lemon Chicken

·         Use bone in Chicken Breasts with the skin on

·         Mix 2t salt, 2t pepper, and 2T lemon zest (scraped from fresh lemons)

·         Rub chicken with this, all over and under the skin – sit for 30 minutes

·         Grill on indirect heat for about 60 minutes, grill temperature should be 350-400.  Chicken should not be directly over the flames – turn the chicken occasionally.  Try tenting with aluminum foil to maintain juiciness.

·         Cook until internal temperature is about 160 F.  Cooking time depends on the thickness of the breasts. 

·         Let chicken rest for about 10 minutes before eating.

Vinaigrette

·         Cut 3-4 fresh lemons in half and grill for 5 minutes face down on the hot part of the grill

·         Turn over and grill for 3 more minutes right side up

·         Squeeze lemon juice from the grilled lemons into a bowl – about 2/3 cup of juice

·         Take 1 garlic clove and mash thoroughly together with 1/2t salt into a paste

·         Mix with lemon juice

·         Add 2 t fresh chopped parsley

·         Add 2 t Dijon mustard

·         Add 1 t sugar

·         Add ½ t black pepper

·         Wisk in 2/3 cup of olive oil, mix thoroughly until it emulsifies

Pour the Vinaigrette over the cooked chicken and add to a side salad

Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce and Meatballs

Last night I made a fresh batch of marinara sauce from the first garden tomatoes of the season.  The secret was to grill the ingredients before adding them to the sauce, to add fresh chopped basil and oregano on top at the end, of course fresh "real" garden tomatoes, and a good quality pasta.  The result was an amazing blend of roasted sweet grilled flavors and the fresh punch of the herbs.  My brother Joel wolfed down two large bowls of it, barely looking up from his plate.  He said it was, "the best meal I can remember having in a long time."

1. Grill between 6 and 10 tomatoes, depending on size.  Use thick slices to keep them together while turning them.  Oil the grate to prevent sticking - which can be a problem.
2. Grill 1 whole green pepper and 1 whole red pepper whole.  Peel and rinse the skin off after grilling, and chop up.
3. Grill one large thickly sliced onion.  Chop it up before adding it to the pot.
4. Saute several chopped garlic cloves in olive oil.  Add the tomatoes, peppers, and onion.
5. Add dried herbs and salt - 1/2T salt, 1T black pepper, 1/2T red pepper, 1T Italian spices, 1/2T thyme, 1/2 T tarragon
6. Add 1 - 8oz can of no sodium tomato sauce
7. Cook gently for about 1/2 hour.
8. In the meantime - prepare about 1 lb. of small round meatballs from ground Italian pork sausage.  Place a square of lightly oiled tin foil on the grill and grill the meatballs about 3.5 min on each side so they are not overcooked. 
9. Add the meatballs to the marinara sauce to finish.  Adjust seasoning as needed.
10. Cook pasta.
11. Chop about 1 cup of fresh basil and 1/4 cup of fresh oregano.
12. Serve pasta with sauce, herbs, and fresh Parmesan cheese on top.