Grab yer kebabs, it’s finally warm enough to fire up the grill. I’m always way psyched about grilling season because it means LESS WORK FOR ME:

The self-proclaimed King of the Grill. Also, Pittsburgh isn’t cloudy, it’s just a little sooty.

So, this meal happened on a Saturday afternoon, after we’d visited the previously mentioned Strip District and I bought all kinds of produce and fresh tofu. In retrospect, it was incredibly silly of me to use freshly made tofu for kebabs, as it was entirely too soft. Live and learn, and use the firmest tofu you’ve got.

You will need:
About 1/2 block tofu
One red pepper
One orange or yellow pepper
A good amount (how’s that for precision?) of pineapple

Marinade:
2 TBS Soy sauce
1 TBS Olive oil
1.5 tsp brown sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
Pinch dried ginger
Chopped Thai basil (optional–I’m addicted, okay??)

Normally I don’t have much of a sweet tooth. However, a strange thing has happened–after Easter, when our good friend Liz gave us 34 pounds of candy, so much so that I had to ask Rob to hide it from me and dole it out in reasonable portions, I’ve begun to develop sugar cravings. So when I wanted to make these kebabs, I decided to use sweet fruits and vegetables (the pineapple and peppers) and make a sweet marinade as well.

Okay, so begin by mixing the marinade in a bowl. Then chop everything into nice bite-size pieces. Dump them all in a Ziploc bag with the marinade, toss well to coat and refrigerate for at least an hour, turning the bag over if you think about it.

If you are using wooden BBQ skewers, soak them in water for about 30 minutes before you grill them so they don’t go up in flames.

When the tofu mixture is done marinading, skewer them up and dump the remaining marinade on them while the grill heats up:

See how the tofu is getting kinda crumbly? That’s what happens when you don’t use extra firm. Foolio!

Now throw ‘em on the grill. Yeah!

Close the lid and let them hang out for a bit. If you don’t have a grill, you could easily do this on a pan inside. Let them cook about 4-5 minutes and carefully flip them over using tongs. Cook another 4-5 minutes and take them off. You’ll be able to tell when they’re cooked to your liking.

While they were grilling, I wanted to make some kind of side dish. To go along with the Asian influence, I decided on these udon noodles.

See, they’re from Japan; they’re authentic–

Eh, nevermind.

Anyway, I cooked the noodles according to the package directions, tossed them with a little soy sauce and sprinkled them with sesame seeds. Then I put some on a plate with the kebabs and threw some more Thai basil over the whole thing.

I’m so glad it’s spring!