B.B.Q. - Kebabs

With Summer in the Northern Hemisphere many of you will be enjoying barbeques. Being vegan or vegetarian doesn't cut you out and there is no reason why you cannot have tasty, well balanced meals. You have your salads, stuffed veggies, corn on the cob, veggie sausages, veggie burgers and vegetable kebabs. The variety is endless.

I find kebabs great as they are easy to eat directly off the stick or the items removed and put on your plate with whatever else you are serving. There are great combinations you can pop on the sticks but I have some favorites here for you to try.

Veggie Shish Kebabs with Savory Marinade from VeganStreet
Part of the fun of making shish kebabs is experimenting with different combinations of vegetables and soy products. There's a veritable cornucopia to choose from, including:

cherry tomatoes
red or yellow onions, cut into chunks
big cloves of garlic
globe eggplant, cut into chunks, or sliced Japanese eggplant
mushrooms
bell peppers, cut into squares
extra-firm tofu, cut into cubes and patted dry
tempeh, cut into cubes
broccoli, separated into little trees
new potatoes
etc., etc., etc.!

1. Choose about 2 pounds of your favorite, most luscious shish kebab material.
2. Make your marinade (see below). If you're using tofu or tempeh, place it in a medium bowl and pour 1/3 of the marinade over it. Toss it gently to coat, cover and refrigerate for 4 - 8 hours, stirring occasionally to distribute yumminess evenly.
3. In a large bowl, combine all the other vegetables, pour on the remaining marinade and let sit for 4 - 8 hours. If it will be marinating for longer than 4 hours, cover and put in the refrigerator.
4. Thread the veggies and tofu or tempeh in a pretty, alternating sequence on skewers. Cook over hot coals for 15 minutes or so, turning the skewers every 5 minutes and brush with leftover marinade a few times while cooking, and again just before serving. Dee-lish!

Marinade
1/2 cup canola oil
4 tablespoons lemon juice
5 tablespoons tamari
2 1/2 tablespoons sesame oil
4 garlic cloves, pressed
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon dried basil
2 scallions, thinly sliced
salt and pepper, a smidge

Combine all the ingredients in a jar with a lid (like a leftover pasta sauce bottle) and shake, shake, shake.

Grilled Vegetable Kebabs from Vegetarian Times
4 Servings . Some vegetables, such as broccoli, potatoes and cauliflower, require precooking or they will burn on the outside before becoming tender within.

1 medium eggplant, sliced 1 inch thick and quartered
8 small red-skinned potatoes, parboiled
1 large zucchini, blanched and sliced 1 inch thick
8 whole, peeled garlic cloves, blanched
1 medium red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium yellow bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
pepper to taste

Marinade
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup minced onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbs. crumbled dried oregano
Salt and freshly ground black

1)Prepare charcoal grill or preheat gas grill for at least 10 minutes.
2)Marinade: In large shallow glass bowl, whisk together all marinade ingredients.
3)Add vegetables and toss to coat. Let stand 10 minutes. Thread vegetables on skewers, alternating for color. Grill until tender and lightly charred, turning and brushing with marinade often, about 5 minutes.

Vegan Kebabs from VeganVillage
This is a veganised version of Parsnip-Pepper Kebabs from the New Vegetables on your Barbecue cookbook.

2 red peppers, cut into 8 squares each and blanched
12 pickling onions, peeled and cooked in boiling water until tender
2 medium sized courgettes, cut into 3 cm slices and blanched
2 medium sized parsnips, cut into 4 cm chunks and boiled

For the marinade:
5 tbsp soy sauce
6 tbsp sherry
2 tbsp sunflower oil
1 clove garlic chopped
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 cm piece of fresh ginger chopped
half teaspoon dried mustard powder

1)Thread the vegetables onto 4 skewers. Mix the marinade ingredients together.
2)Brush the marinade over the kebabs and cook on the barbecue. Keep basting the kebabs generously with the marinade during cooking, until all the marinade has gone.

Notes : Ideally marinade the kebabs for an hour or so before cooking.

Banana Kebabs with Peanut Sauce from VeganVillage
The combination of the cooked banana with the peanut sauce is scrummy!

onion
red pepper
banana
mushrooms

For the peanut sauce:
peanut butter
2 cloves garlic (crushed)
3oz creamed coconut (grated)
¼ teaspoon chilli powder
2 fl oz water

1)On skewers, thread chunks of onion, red pepper and banana along with whole mushrooms.
2)Brush with olive oil and cook on the barbecue. Meanwhile, blend the sauce ingredients together.

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In The News

China's happy vegetarian turns 120 (UPI Quirks in the News Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)Listed in the Guinness World Records as the oldest living person, a Chinese woman has marked her 120th birthday.
Celebrating her birthday Saturday with dozens of relatives and locals in the city of Leshan, Sichuan province, Du Pinhua said she has been vegetarian for her whole life, China Daily reported Wednesday.
Locals describe Du as a tolerant and happy lady who never argues with others.
TMCnet.com 26.4.2006