Dinner on the Grill

Dinner on the Grill
Originally uploaded by Food Fanatic.

Steak on the grill is one thing. But steak on a campfire is an entirely different experience. You can get that campfire taste by using hardwood charcoal, but sitting around the campfire in lawn chairs, watching your supper cook over an open fire really adds to your meal.

The corn was wonderful. It's recommended that you soak it in water for a while before grilling it, but we found just putting it directly on the grill with the husks peeled back worked just great. And the little fires that burned away the husks were entertaining, too.

Stick to Your Own Backyard

Actually, I do like to travel. But when it comes to food, I find it's best to stay home. I mean that in more than one sense of the word. No, I am not stuck in a rut, thinking I have to eat all one kind of cuisine. I like to try foods from all over the world. I learned that from my mother. And no, I am not necessarily thinking I have to eat at home all the time, never going out to eat at restaurants.

But the fact of the matter is, most of the time the best food I have is that which I prepare myself. And furthermore, the best food I have is locally grown. And to go even further, I really do think it's best to eat what's in season.

That said, here is my conundrum: tomatoes and okra just hit their stride in South Carolina, where I live. What did I do? Did I rush out and get as much of it as I could and then start preserving it for the winter, stuffing as much down my gullet along the way? No! I left on a trip to Minnesota!

Here in Minnesota the tomatoes are still green and very hard. And there is very little okra grown here. It will start coming in at about the time I leave for South Carolina, where the tomatoes will be pretty much done for the year.

So, I'm here for two weeks, feeling kind of bad about missing all that tomato and okra bounty. I am, however, assuaging my grief with lots of fresh sweet corn.

So folks, the posts here will be a bit sporadic for the next couple of weeks. I thought about posting about the places where I'll be eating, but decided against it. I've decided that this food blog is about home cooking, not restaurant cooking. To me, the best food blogs are photos and stories about home cooking efforts. I'll put "eating out" stuff on the other blog: Gone to Carolina, where I'll be posting nearly every day.