During the summer, I don’t usually spend much time planning dinner.  About an hour or so before 5 in the afternoon, I peek in the fridge to see what is grillable. My only plan is to light up the grill and avoid the stove and the oven.

Today after perusing through Pinterest and looking over my healthy eating board, I became inspired.   I craved for something a bit more creative– Something different from the norm, so I decided that after picking up my son from camp, that I would visit my favorite roadside market; Reed’s Farm Market.

I didn’t feel like dealing with the traffic and lines at Shoprite and knew that Reed’s would have fresh produce that I could toss on the grill.  I brought zucchini, Jersey tomatoes, cucumbers, red and sweet onions. I also brought two beautiful 8-Ball Squash!  Cool right!  This attractive round squash has the same flavor (to me) as the more traditionally shaped squash (zucchini), but the shape inspires creativity. The roundness of it screams, “stuff me!” Already I have ideas for the next ones that I buy.

8-Ball Squash

I wasn’t certain about how to cook them on the grill, so I did the following:

– Thoroughly wash

– Cut into round slices

– Place on a large greased cookie sheet

– Mince 8-10 (I didn’t count) garlic cloves

– Drizzle with olive oil (next time I will brush both sides with garlic roasted olive oil)

– Douse with freshly ground black pepper (I didn’t measure)

– Sprinkle with Cayenne (I didn’t measure)

Toss in the oven…YES THE OVEN!  It wasn’t hot today and the air conditioning was on, so it wasn’t too bad. I broiled them on low for about 15-20 minutes

The result? They were too soft. I like squash with a slight crunch, but the flavor was intense.  Also, next time, I’d sprinkle the squash with a tad bit of garlic roasted cheese (I buy from the Shops at Smithville), but you can probably find it somewhere in your home town.

Before the oven

My  second experiment was broiled tomatoes. Yup! Ohhhh My Gooooodness!  If you love, notice I said, LOVE tomatoes, you have to give this a try.

Beautiful ripe tomatoes

– Thoroughly wash 1 large (Jersey) tomato

– Slice the tomato into medium-sized circles

– Place on a large greased cookie sheet

– Coat with minced garlic (I didn’t count)

– Olive oil? (I can’t remember, but think I drizzled a little on)

– Chop a handful organic fresh baby spinach

– Grind fresh black pepper

Toss in the broiler (on low) for about 20 minutes

Mouth Watering

Hurry and eat the veggies while they are warm.  The flavor is amazing!!  Hubby, my son, and my mom, all especially like the tomatoes.

Now, I have to figure out how to cook them on the grill.  If you know how to please do share!  Several hours later, I’m still licking my lips!

Talk to you later!

Thanks for visiting!