Grilled Tofu

Grilled Tofu and Veggies. Learn more about the recipes in the ‘Ohana Grill Cookbook.
Grilled Tofu and Veggies. The ‘Ohana Grill Cookbook / Dawn Sakamoto.

Since last week’s post, I’ve been continuing to sample and enjoy recipes from The ‘Ohana Grill Cookbook. One of the first to catch my eye continues to be a favorite, so I was thrilled when author Adrienne Robillard and photographer Dawn Sakamoto Paiva allowed me to share it in a bonus grilling post this week.

The book’s 50 recipes put Hawaiian flavors on the grill, no matter where your grill is located. I had no trouble finding most of the ingredients listed, even in northwest Montana, and my homegrown vegetables had plenty of chances to play with pineapple, mango, and other tropical flavors. I tried many fish and shellfish recipes from the collection—and more than 20 recipes will satisfy meat lovers. But one I’m going to be making again and again should be on everyone’s list, from carnivores to vegans: Grilled Tofu and Veggies.
Learn to make Grilled Tofu and Veggies from The ‘Ohana Grill Cookbook

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Cookbook Review: Grilling, Hawaiian Style

To put it simply: making the recipes from The ‘Ohana Grill Cookbook has been such delicious fun. Learn more at TwiceasTasty.com.
Besides grilling and sharing my own recipes this month, the authors of the new ‘Ohana Grill Cookbook offered me a copy to check out. The Hawaiian-inspired recipes range from Pineapple Chicken to Curry Coconut Shrimp with a side of Sesame Eggplant and Grilled Bread Salad. Of the recipes I’ve tried, we’ve had wiped-clean plates after every meal. To put it simply: making the recipes from The ‘Ohana Grill Cookbook has been such delicious fun.
Read more about The ‘Ohana Grill Cookbook

Grilled Shrimp

Chipotles in adobo boost the smoky heat of a marinade or sauce. Get grilling recipes at TwiceasTasty.com.
In case you haven’t noticed, I love the flavor of smoky chilies. I buy cans of chipotle chilies for my favorite salsa. I also home-smoke homegrown chilies to dry or turn into paste and then use in everything from spiced nuts to cheese dip to fish cakes. In my pickling cookbook, I recommend Fresno chilies in many recipes because of their natural slightly smoky flavor.

Chipotle peppers are actually jalapenos; they’ve just been smoked and dried. When you buy them canned, they’ve been rehydrated and stored in a spicy tomato-based sauce. The sauce can be as flavorful as the peppers, and they boost the heat and smoky flavor of a marinade. You only need a little chipotle flavor for a marinade, but don’t let that stop you from opening a can. Scoop any leftover chilies and adobo into an ice cube tray, and then freeze and bag the cubes for future use. A standard ice-cube tray holds about 2 tablespoons per cube.

After I’ve used a marinade for grilling, I hate to toss what’s left. So I boil it into a sauce and mix it into a second meal.
Learn to make Chipotle-Marinated Grilled Shrimp and Spanish-Inspired Fried Rice

Grilled Fish

For an off-the-stovetop meal, I combine marinated fish with my favorite couscous trick. Get grilled fish recipes at TwiceasTasty.com.
Of all the foods I throw on the grill, fish is probably the easiest for other people to recognize. If you have a high-quality piece of freshly caught fish, a little lemon, salt, and pepper may be all you need to make it grill ready. But I find that approach works best if you’re following my dad’s mantra: “You catch it, you clean it, you cook it, you eat it.” These days, I apply that philosophy to homegrown and grilled veg. For store-bought fish, I tend to bring out the flavor with an easy marinade.

I’ve been making a North African-inspired marinade for years, modifying and tweaking it until it reminds me of the spicy olives I fell for while traveling in Morocco and blends in some of the runaway cilantro and mint from the garden. To pull together a meal off the stovetop, I turn to my favorite trick for couscous, often making a big enough batch to turn the leftovers into a separate, second meal.
Learn to make North African-Inspired Grilled Fish and Pour-Over Couscous