There is nothing difficult about choosing a meat dish for a party — in fact, say “party food” and the first images that form in my mind are large slabs of meat, large birds and plenty of drinks and dessert. It’s not as easy — for me, at least — when cooking vegetarian dishes. So, I keep practicing.
For lunch today, we had grilled food. The original plan was to do the grilling late in the afternoon and have an array of grilled food for dinner. But Speedy was the first out of bed and by the time I got downstairs, he was already in the garden grilling thick slices of pork that looked and smelled beautiful, browning quite nicely and glistening with the fat that melted in the heat.
By the look of the rest of the plates on the table beside the grill, it was pretty obvious that Speedy intended to grill the five medium-sized tilapia next. I figured I had just enough time to prepare the vegetarian component of the meal — sweet corn on the cob and vegan kebabs with mushrooms, bell peppers and tomatoes. And tomato omelet, per Sam’s request.
- 10 shiitake mushrooms (white button or Swiss brown will work too), stems discarded
- 4 tomatoes
- 1 to 2 bell peppers
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
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Cut the shiitake caps into halves.
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Quarter the tomatoes.
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Dice the bell peppers.
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In a large bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Add the mushrooms, tomatoes and bell peppers. Toss well.
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Thread the mushrooms, tomatoes and bell peppers alternately on the bamboo skewers.
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Grill over hot charcoal for about one minute per side.
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Serve immediately.
To prevent the bamboo skewers from catching fire on the grill, soak in water for at least 30 minutes before using.
