Celebrate Green Blog

I read somewhere this week that the 4th of July is the start of midsummer burger burnout. I get that. From the first warm evening sometime back in March or April when the grill could be fired up, many people including my family, have been grilling burgers to our hearts content. There’s nothing like a flame-grilled pasture raised, grass-fed ground beef burger from a local source that screams summer is on it’s way.

Somewhere between Memorial Day and July 4th, burger grilling seems to go into overdrive so by Independence Day, you might be looking for something different to pop on the grill. How about kabobs filled with fresh, seasonal vegetables and perhaps cubes of meat popped onto the beginning, middle, and end of them?

I’ve found that the trick to kabobs is to chose a variety of colorful vegetables and then marinate most of the vegetables and the meat in your favorite marinade for several hours. I’ve got a recipe for a honey marinade for chicken and a garlic marinade for beef for you at the end of the post, but first lets talk about which vegetables to use.

Since gardens, farmers markets, and grocery stores are brimming with local produce right now, there is so much to choose from. I think mushrooms are a key addition to kabobs, especially if you’re going meatless or with very little meat. Then you need some green (pepper, zucchini?), red (cherry tomatoes, red pepper?), and yellow (squash?). Once you’ve got a few colors going, you can add whatever else floats your boat.

Here’s list of vegetables that work great on kabobs.

• Peppers (any color)
• Onions (quarter them)
• New potatoes
• Small mushrooms (I usually use crimini)
• Zucchini
• Yellow squash
• Cherry or grape tomatoes (don’t marinate the tomatoes)
• Eggplant
• Asparagus

Cut your vegetables as closely as you can into uniform size pieces that are large enough to be threaded through the skewer. Place with the chicken or the beef cubes (some people like to marinade them separately) in a non-reactive covered dish and pour marinade over them. Marinate for about 6 hours (longer is okay but not for more than 24).

Thread the vegetables and the meat on skewers. Let’s talk about the meat for a minute. You can go meatless, of course, but if you choose to add meat, a little goes a very long way with kabobs. Three pieces per kabob does just fine, especially if you use meaty mushrooms. This will keep the cost of your meal down significantly and allow you to purchase better meat. The best side dish for these kabobs, especially for the 4th of July, is farm fresh corn on the cob dripping in butter.

These marinade recipes make enough for the ingredients for about six 10-inch skewers, so adjust accordingly.

Honey marinade (use for chicken)

• 1/4 c vegetable oil
• 1/3 c honey (I use a local wildflower honey – so good with this, but any honey will work)
• 1/3 c low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (jarred minced garlic works great in this recipe and is a real time saver)

Garlicky marinade (use for beef)

• 2/3 c vegetable oil
• 1/3 c Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 c steak sauce
• 1/4 c water
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 yellow onion, mined (this is in addition to the onions cut up larger for the kabobs)
• 10 cloves garlic, minced (again, jarred garlic works just fine)

Cooking directions

Place threaded skewers over medium-high heat and turn every minute or so until the meat is cooked through, or if meatless, until all vegetables are cooked. These don’t take long so don’t walk away.