I grilled!

While Aunt Timmy was in town I planned a vegan lunch (which became merely vegetarian when I added a plum crisp to use up two-week-old plums and citrus left from Jamie and George's (your? blogging directed at communicating with one person leaves me uncertain about whether to use second or third person. Third person feels strange but if this works out maybe more family members will get involved (I could add a subtitle like "Ratners united by love of food" (despite none of us being literal Ratners) which would make second person confusing)) and completely non-vegetarian when I decided to serve the steaks that, not wanting to waste the hot coals, I'd grilled after the vegetables.)

I'm glad these posts can be edited after they're posted as the thought of all those parentheses may nag at me to come back and fix the structure of that paragraph. But for now, on to the food. I made quinoa with grilled zucchini, garbanzo beans, and cumin and creamy gazpacho from the July/August 2010 issue of Cook's Illustrated 

The grilling wasn't nearly as difficult as I'd feared. It helped that I was working in advance: I'd want a lot more practice before attempting to grill at mealtime when guests are present. The quinoa was gorgeous, the shiny green zucchini contrasting with the rusty-golden of the turmeric and smoked paprika (below are pictures taken both with and without flash, trying and failing to capture its true colors).

My opinions: The quinoa was good but not worth the effort of preparing the three elements separately--there must be quinoa salads just as good and easier (I'm looking forward to getting the recipe for the one Erin and Dan served at their wedding); the gazpacho was outstandingly delicious and thoroughly worth the effort. Other people's: Everybody liked them both except Betsy and Hedy who requested grilled cheese. Dorothy preferred the quinoa, and I think my mom was with me on the gazpacho.

The plum crisp was actually just a plum pie that I didn't bother making a crust for and was enjoyed by all except Hedy who is in such an anti-fruit-and-veg phase that she doesn't even like fruit desserts. We ate it with ice creams and plum caramel sauce left from your visit. The vanilla had firmed up nicely. The ginger that was too strong the day it was made had mellowed into perfection. And the grapefruit-tequila sorbet...I'd eat it every day if it didn't involve so much grapefruit-squeezing.