Grilled Vegetables with Dipping Sides

Yesterday, I posted the comment that I had depleted my fridge and cupboards to the extent that there appeared to be little to eat.

Nevertheless, I challenged myself to make several meals with what I had on hand.

I often try this because I like to test my resourcefulness. Can I prepare an appetizing meal from next-to-nothing? The answer is invariably yes.

Challenging yourself in this way is a great reminder that we can manage with less food, which is an awareness worth taking with you when next you grocery shop.

And now that the weather is warming, it's easier to cut back on our food consumption because we need fewer calories to keep us warm.

I keep hearing people around me talking about doing a liquid spring cleanse in the effort to detox after a long winter of rich, calorie-laden foods.

I admire that kind of challenge, the discipline of sticking to a liquid diet for as many as 10 days. I'm afraid I can barely go a day without biting into something solid.

Yet at the end of yesterday, a hot spring day, I really didn't feel like a big meal so I opted for something light and fresh. Periodically, eating just vegetables or salad is all one needs; it gives the liver and the digestive system a break.

Grilled Vegetables with Sides for Dipping
(If you have a skillet, use it to stove-top grill your veggies.)
1) Wash and snap off woody end of a bunch of asparagus.
2) Wash and chop a handful of radishes, and several mini sweet peppers.
3) Heat skillet. Pour in enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the skillet.
4) Once olive oil is hot, toss in veggies, leave heat on high and move skillet about often to keep veggies from burning. Cook for about 10 mins.

To Serve: Plate the grilled vegetables, drizzle with olive oil, grind fresh pepper and salt over the lot. Thin some hummus with oil and lemon juice and mash an avocado with oil, season, add lemon juice. Use thinned hummus and avocado for dipping grilled veggies. Crusty bread on the side would be a delicious addition too.