Will Write For Chocolate, grilling, and herbal teas

(Update: Happy birthday to David Barker today!)

Just realized that I never posted about Will Write For Chocolate being updated last week, sorry.


Jeff and his brother, at breakfast.

Jeff and I have been eating out on our back deck more often these days. I've been getting a lot of grilling tips from Grilling For Dummies by Marie Rama and John Mariani, recommended by my friend Luisa. I tend to like cookbooks that don't just give recipes but that also offer extra info like the science behind particular cooking techniques and general principles about why certain combinations of ingredients work. Despite its lack of luscious colour photos, Grilling For Dummies is packed with useful info, plus some excellent recipes as well.

I'm going a bit nuts over grilled vegetables. They taste SOOOOOO much better than vegetables cooked the regular way. My friends John and Kristen got me hooked earlier this year after inviting me for a bbq; I like the sauce that John brushes onto vegetables before grilling them: a simple combination of oil and soy sauce. I've also been experimenting with one of the marinades suggested in Grilling For Dummies: olive oil, balsamic vinegar and chopped fresh basil. Yum.



I've also been experimenting with make tea from different fresh herbs in my garden. My favourite: chocolate mint tea! I also love lemon balm tea, and even experimented with thyme and peppermint combined. When I'm in the mood for tea, I'll start boiling some water and go browse my herb garden, pinching a leaf or two here and there, tossing them into a mug. As for my numerous basil plants, I've been using them heavily in soups, salads, and sandwiches. Next year, I'm going to try growing different types of basil. Hmm...I wonder what basil tea would taste like?



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