I am finally beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to our yard. Prior to us purchasing our home it had been empty for a year, so needless to say, the garden was and has been in complete disarray. Where does one begin!? I have an exceptionally limited knowledge of gardening and have found the whole task of landscaping daunting. No, let me rephrase that, I found it mind numbingly overwhelming.

Fortunately for me and Barnaby, my mother and step-father are master gardeners. This last weekend they loaded their Euro Van with shrubs and plants, left their Sunset-magazine-perfect home and headed north to Seattle to improve the state of our garden. We arrived home from work on Friday greeted by the two of them wielding all sorts of garden tools and implements. I knew what I was in for and I knew I had to keep up – Mom and Greg are serious forces to be reckoned with in the garden.

Saturday morning I  donned the grubby jeans and the protective eye wear, and trimmed hedges like a burly man. Barnaby, on the other hand, steered clear of the gardening whirlwind and whipped up meal after meal for us. That evening, fresh and clean from our showers, we sat in our beautiful backyard and sipped chilled Rosé while Barnaby barbecued.

Along with his famous Caesar Salad he grilled up yogurt-marinated vegetable and shrimp skewers and served them with a Moroccan-style cumin yogurt sauce. That – and a handful of Tylenol for the sore muscles – fixed me right up for another days worth of gardening!

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Our poor barbecues. During the warmer months they barely have a chance to cool down before we’re firing them up again. Then, before you know it the weather changes and the grill sits cold and lonely outside wondering where in our whirlwind romance was the love lost (I have a strange habit of giving inanimate objects feelings). Many of us don’t think to barbecue in Winter – because, really, who likes to freeze their butt off while flipping steaks in the snow? – but grilling vegetables is quick, easy and requires only a couple of fast trips outside to check on their progress. And it’s so worth having beautifully colorful and delicious grilled veggies in February!

We sliced up a few zucchini lengthwise and quartered, top to bottom, some sweet onions. We tossed the onions with a bit of olive oil and placed them in a grilling basket. Then, we brushed both sides of the zucchini with olive oil and placed them in a row on the grill. Beside them we laid a few red and yellow peppers, closed the lid and let the trio do their thing.

After a few minutes we tossed the onions in their basket, flipped the zukes, and rotated the peppers. Once the zucchini and onions were nicely grilled we removed those and cranked up the flame to further roast the peppers. You want them black. Once sufficiently black remove the peppers from the grill and place in a paper bag. This cools them and allows the sugars to further caramelize. The skin will then slide off nicely. Quarter the peppers and place all your lovely vegetables on a platter.

Drizzle with a bit of reduced Balsamic vinegar and you have summer sooner than you thought!

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