Everyday grillers

"I think it is weird that T and I are the only ones in our neighborhood that grill every night," I told my friend Tiffany. It seems to me, I told her, that there are two kinds of people: those who grill every day, and those who grill infrequently or not at all.

I knew Tiff would understand. She and her boyfriend are fellow grillers, although they use propane and we are charcoal and briquettes people. Recently Tiff's boyfriend acquired an egg-shaped smoker and he's busy drumming up recipes for the weekends when they've got hours to prep for dinner. We fellow grillers understand one another in a way that nongrillers just don't grasp. It is A Calling. We are drawn to warmth, the outdoors, and cooking with fire. In the summer, we've got a second kitchen and it is outside.

"Some people are special occasion grillers. Those are the people who say, 'Let's grill on Saturday!' As if grilling is an elaborate event to be saved for holidays and weekends," Tiffany said.

I'd never thought of it like the before. She's on to something. 

Sometimes, on beautiful warm nights when we've got plans to eat out I can't help but feel disappointment that there aren't backyard flames in my immediate future. I don't want to waste a single opportunity to light that fire. Our entire spring-summer-fall menu spins around what's fresh, and what can be grilled.

While special occasion grillers save their grills for big events and holidays, perhaps we everyday grillers actually think of everyday as a special event.

If you've got a rainy day on your calendar and zucchini spilling out of the garden, head over to Called to the Table for a chocolate zucchini bread recipe. I'm thinking it would be delicious sliced thick and grilled over hot coals and then topped with whipped cream and fresh berries...