Grilled Balsamic Vegetables with bonus Grilled Pineapple

Grilled vegetables are a bit of a summer classic, but to be honest I've never loved them.  The vegetables that are good for shish kebabs tend to not be among my favorites.  However, this marinade actually had me looking for more.  If you're not a vinegar lover, these may not be for you, but if you're generally ok with vinegar (or even better, you are a lover of all things vinegar as I am) then these are definitely for you.  If you have white balsamic vinegar, it will help the vegetables stay a little prettier (the rainbow of colors in this is gorgeous), but regular dark balsamic vinegar will work just fine if that's what you have.

Grilled Balsamic Vegetables

Number of Servings: 4
Time to Prepare: 5 hours 15 minutes

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 tsp basil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 large sweet potato
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 1 medium zucchini
• 1 large red onion
• 8 oz mushrooms

Bake sweet potatoes at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes--until it is softened but not completely cooked.  You want it to still have a bit of firmness to it so it will stay on the skewers. Meanwhile, chop the bell peppers, zucchini, and red onion into 1" pieces.  Slice mushrooms in half, as needed, so there are all somewhat uniform in size.

Combine olive oil, balsamic vinegar, basil, garlic, and salt in a gallon-size bag and mix well.  Add the veggies and seal.  Refrigerate and let marinate for 4 hours, turning over occasionally.

Soak wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes. 

Thread the veggies onto the skewers.  (I usually group the red onion in layers so there are 3 or 4 pieces together.)  Grill until vegetables are tender and have a bit of char.

Source: slightly adapted from frecklesinapril.com
Produce Used: Garlic, bell pepper, sweet potato, zucchini, red onion, mushroom


Grilled Pineapple

Number of Servings: 4
Time to Prepare: 4 hours 15 minutes

• 1 pineapple, sliced into rings and cored (we use a small round cookie cutter to punch out the core of the rings)
• 4 Tbsp brown sugar
• 4 Tbsp lime juice

Place all ingredients in a gallon-size bag and seal.  Turn to coat.  Refrigerate for four hours.  Grill for a few minutes on each side--long enough to get nice golden brown grill marks.  Serve warm.

Source: slightly adapted from frecklesinapril.com
Produce Used: Pineapple, lime