Channeling Pat Benetar for a moment there, forgive me….Part of the enjoyment of growing your own fruits and vegetables is, of course, eating them! The beauty of a potager is that there is always something new ready to go at any given time. Last night, it was an onion, some fingerling potatoes and broccoli! I thought I could simply blanch everything and serve it with the incredible wild salmon I was planning to poach. However, I was inspired to grill out since the weather was so gorgeous!
I love to grill and nothing brings out the sweetness of food than grilling! To enhance the flavor of the food I was making last night, I decided to cedar plank grill instead of simply placing the food on the grill.
Cedar planks are available everywhere now. High quality ones are available at http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/h244/index.cfm?pkey=xsrd0m1150cedar+grill+planks&cm_src=SCH
These couldn’t be easier to use and you will be amazed at the flavor they add to grilled meats, fish and vegetables!
To use a cedar plank for grilling, you must rinse any loose material off the plank and then place it in a sink or vessel submerged in water for a minimum of 20 minutes, up to 4 hours. Once soaked, you can light your grill (charcoal or gas). Once the grill is at temperature, place the cedar grilling plank on the grate and watch until it begins to smoke. Place your fish, fruit, vegetable and or other meat on the plank arranged for proper cooking. The salmon I made last night along with the potatoes, brocolli and onions were ready in less than 20 minutes with a smokey and savory flavor that just couldn’t have been better.
Try different cooking methods with your potager’s bounty as you begin the heavy harvesting season and remember if you are in the midwest, to start your secondary tomato seeds in the next two weeks so they will be ready to go in the ground in mid August for late September harvesting!
Happy Gardening!
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