As how it usually happens on a Wednesday near 5 pm, Mom and I are wondering what we should have for dinner. I toss out suggestions and Mom makes pained faces until I ask what does she want? To which I get: Oh, anything that you like, it doesn’t matter to me.

Yeah. Right.

I’ve learned that this is really an underlying code for: Mom is tired of making dinner every night and it’s now my turn to feed us. My natural response in the summertime is let’s grill! That was my first suggestion and now it’s final. We went through the freezer and fridge and pulled out a couple of sirloins and some mini bell peppers. (Another trip to the Farmer’s Market was in order to replenish the vegetables in our larder.) The Dal that you see in the picture above was made a day before and a recipe on that will be coming soon!

So this is my quick go-to recipe for grilling, it’s simple and fast. I’ve found a combination of ingredients that brings out the flavors of the meat and veggies while giving it a little spice.

Here’s what I did:

Thoroughly wash and dry your meat.

I then sprinkled them with coarse Sea Salt, freshly ground Black Pepper, granulated Garlic and Chili powder. Again, I don’t measure. I take my spice spoon and use it to sprinkle. Then drizzle Extra Virgin Olive Oil over the meat. Now rub it in with your hands. Do the same with the other side. Afterwards, wash your hands really well, especially if you used a lot of chili powder.

This will turn into a nice crust for your steaks.

I did the same for the mini bell peppers. Salt, Black Pepper, Garlic, Chili powder, and Olive Oil. Then toss them up in the bowl. Let them sit while you prepare the grill.

When building a fire, I use the two-stage method. Bank the lit coals on one side creating a hot zone and a warm zone. I keep the meat in the hot area in order to sear it and put the veggies on the warm side.

As you can see, two fish fillets decided to join the party at the last minute. Also the sun was setting as the coals were heating. By the time the grill was hot enough I was cooking in the dark. If this happens to you, invest in a bright grill light attachment. Mine is clamped onto the table with a bendable neck to position the light any which way I like.

This is what usually happens when I start to get really hungry. Everything moves over to the hot zone. I like some char on my veggies, so I don’t mind them burning a little. As for telling when the steaks are done, I read in a grilling book that you could tell by the firmness of the meat. If it feels like your cheek – rare, tip of the nose – medium, and forehead – well-done. This is a helpful trick when it’s hard to see the color of the meat and you’re too lazy to look up the grilling time guidelines. You could use a meat thermometer, but I’m too greedy to have some of the juices leak out of hole that the probe makes. When the steaks reach the level of doneness you want, take them off the grill and cover them for 5 min. to let the juices redistribute. For the veggies I cooked them until they softened a bit and had some good looking char marks on them. Near the end of the cooking time I toasted some pita bread on the grill, placing them on the warm part of the grill for a few min. on each side.

Grilling took 15 min. (The fish needed some extra time.) The steaks thawed out in 40 min. So all together under 90 min. from when I began. I made enough food for leftovers on Thursday. Some may balk, but I am perfectly fine with reheating steaks in the microwave.