Beating The Summer Heat

When the mercury rises, I lose my appetite for heavy, rich foods. In their place, I find myself wanting lighter, grilled fare. To help weather the summer heat, I break out my grill as often as I can and eat my meals on the shaded deck outside.

This past week, it really felt like summer in the Seattle area. Although not the searing heat that the East Coast is suffering through, it was still hotter than normal out here. To get through one of the hotter evenings, I was asked to cook the whole meal on the grill (so that the oven/stove didn't heat up the house anymore than it already was). The other request was that the meal contain shrimp and veggies. My response was shrimp and veggie skewers with polenta and Rainer cherries.

Here is my recipe for the meal:

Shrimp and Veggies
Ingredients
2 lbs shrimp
1 yellow squash
1 zucchini
1 large onion

Marinade
1 1/2 cups Chardonnay
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 of a fresh squeezed lime
2 tablespoons garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon parsley
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon pepper (use more if you like)

• Place skewers in water and allow to soak (the longer the better).
• Add all marinade ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
• Clean, peel, and devein the shrimp.
• Cut all veggies into bite sized pieces.
• Add the shrimp and veggies to a large zip lock bag and pour in the marinade; coat well.
• Refrigerate mixture for at least 2 hours.
• Divide the shrimp into 4 equal servings and place on skewers.
• Divide the veggies and place on skewers.
• Preheat the grill.
• Add the veggie skewers to the grill and cook over medium-high heat for ~3-5 minutes per side. Once cooked to the desired doneness, move to the upper rack (to keep warm).
• Add the shrimp skewers and cook for ~3 minutes per side.
  

Grilled Polenta
1 tube of polenta, cut into 1/2 inch pieces (~12)
olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
chili powder

• Place polenta slices on a cookie sheet that has been lightly coated with olive oil.
• Brush both sides of the polenta slices with olive oil.
• Sprinkle with salt, pepper and chili powder.
• Place the slices on the grill - I use a grill sheet, but you could add them directly to the rack. Cook on medium-high heat for ~5-7 minutes per side. I flipped mine 3 times to make sure that I had a nice crunch on both sides.

Serve everything up and enjoy! This is a pretty low calorie meal, is super tasty and perfect on a hot summer night.