Someone get this woman a grill!

There is no better sign that Summer is upon us than the smell of food on a charcoal grill. It’s giving memories of family barbecues and friend meet-ups in the park. Grilling is no easy feat especially because I grew up without a backyard. It forced me to learn to get creative indoors when craving my barbecue favorites: sizzling vegetables with the perfect crunch, spiced mishaki from the local butchers & fishermen and the classic marinated barbecued chicken–brined and grilled Swahili style! 

While creating my barbecue favorites, a dance is formed between manning the grill and the smoke detector at the same time. The alarm acts as cooking music and moves my body into a state of urgency forcing me to move faster, stay alert and be prepared. The adrenaline craze I get from that while creating my grilled favorite is unmatched.

Why Grilling? 

Grilling food is one of the healthiest ways to prepare food. It dates back to the first human–you hunted, you put it on fire and you ate. Nowadays we spruce things up by adding oils, salt & pepper, acidics and herbs but the basic concept of cooking over fire still exists. 

It still exists because it’s simple, easy & healthy. For vegetables, I find that grilling keeps them crunchy longer as opposed to baking or sautéing. It also requires less oil or butter–not sure who is buttering their vegetables but, I just have to tell you to please stop! It is extremely unhealthy and unnecessary.  For meat, seafood and poultry the fire provides incredible flavors and causes excess fats to melt off.

Tips