Season to Season

June - It's all about the grill

It's backyard season and there's plenty coming into stores to make an afternoon or evening cook-out  a splendid occasion. Imagine a world with no processed foods. It's you, the grill and a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables. You master how to prepare each, and family and friends can't wait for the invitation to your next backyard extravaganza!

Rainier Cherries - Before we light up the grill, we can all snack on the best tasting cherries we've ever had - right? Rainier's are in, but watch the signage in the store and seek out the Northwest grown ones. As a member of the Dirty Dozen, don't go for less than organic.

On the grill - As I write, I'm preparing dinner for several friends. Tonight I'm grilling T-Bone steak, but these aren't your run-of-the-mill T-Bones. These are fresh in from Beefalo Meats in Ellensburg and come off those lean, low cholesterol, high in Omega 3 beefalo I'm coming to love so well. We've discussed the ground meat in a previous Season to Seasons and I've also enjoyed their beefalo filet mignons.

Corn - It's been coming in from all over the US for a few months , but the local pickings are making their way in now. When we grill it, we soak the corn in water about 30 minutes, peel back the husk and take out the string, then coat it with ghee (butter without all the milk fat, i.e., clarified butter), wrap the husk back over and grill for about 15-20 minutes, flipping once.

Carrots - Corn isn't the only thing you'll want to grill this summer. Take some nice local organic carrots and spread them out on foil. Mix a little ghee, cinnamon and honey, warm the blend and mix that up, then baste the carrots. Wrap up the excess foil around the carrots and cook on the grill about 6-8 minutes. Depending on the heat, you might want to leave them on a little longer.

Onions - We're famous for our Walla Walla onions! Good job from the WW marketing department, but let's not forget there are so many other great onions that are grown here in the Northwest and available year around. Whatever you choose, summer sure is a good time to enjoy them.

Use a similar cooking method as above for doing grilled onions.

And even though we won't be grilling every meal in the backyard, you may have other chances to enjoy Walla Walla sweets. The good folks at Burgerville, you know, the ones who do fast food SLO, use locally-sourced Walla Walla sweets for their onion rings each summer. Making a trek between Seattle and Portland? You'll find Burgervilles all up and down I-5 between Olympia and Salem.

More than a dozen years back, Tom Douglas published his recipe for onion rings in his Seattle Kitchen cookbook. The recipe mirrors closely the one Babe uses to make her rings at Red Mill Burgers (three Seattle locations to serve you--Phinney Ridge, Interbay, Red Mill Totem House), featuring masa harina corn meal and chili powder. You won't be grilling these, you'll be doing them in high temp peanut oil. Go get out your copy of the book, or get one cheap on Amazon and enjoy.

Berries - The berry meter just struck 11 up here at media central. They're all coming in locally so start the scarfing! Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and soon blackberries! A favorite way I enjoy them is to simply put them in a bowl or large ramekin, pour in a little soy milk, then spoon and savor the flavor. I also love to drizzle a little balsamic vinegar over fruit--check out the great flavors at Queen Anne Olive Oil Company on upper Queen Anne.

You can also use a simple smoothie recipe like the one published in this magazine, then pour the blend into ramekins in the morning, freeze and enjoy for dessert that night.

Meanwhile back at Burgerville - they source locally grown huckleberries and make tasty shakes with them all summer long.

I can't stress this enough. Berries are also on the dirty dozen list. Buy organic berries and wash them well regardless. Anyone remember that deer poop incident in Oregon a few years back? That does not need to happen. I end every column with the same advice. It sounds cute, but it's there because that's how important it is.

This isn't the last you'll hear about berries, I'll be talking about them during the next few months. So much so you'll want to locate yourself 10 gallons of freezer space so you can enjoy them well into next winter. More later.

Summer Chinook - We started with a protein and we'll end with one as well. Of course all the hoopla has been about Copper River Salmon. Locally our second run of summer Chinook is just making its way in. Grilling tip - place a piece of foil over the grill, brush the top with light olive oil and place the Chinook over that, rather than attempt direct grilling which more often than not leads to skin peeling off and generally a big mess. Native Americans didn't cook 'em like that.

Last Call: Previously discussed but now making their exit, scoop up rhubarb and new potatoes before they are all gone.

Coming in July: More about berries, broccoli.

Wash your fruits and veggies well and we'll see you next month!

Tom Mehren/June 2015