a terrific dinner.

Tonight, we made a dinner out of side dishes, and it was wonderful, the perfect thing for a warm evening. Both of the recipes came from Williams-Sonoma's "Grilling: New Healthy Kitchen," which Mom gave Rob last summer. Nothing we've made from that book has disappointed. Here's what was on tap:

Mushroom Bruschetta
1 lb. portobello mushrooms, cleaned and stemmed and sliced into 1/4-in slices
tossed with a couple of cloves of garlic, crushed
olive oil
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
salt and pepper

2 slices of country wheat bread (per person), drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt

Marinate the mushrooms up to 1 hour before dinner. Grill over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes per side. Grill bread slices for about a minute per side.

Arrange grilled mushroom slices on grilled bread; top with crumbled Feta and slivered basil.


Chickpeas with Baby Spinach
In a baking dish, toss a can of chickpeas (drained and rinsed), 1 thinly sliced tomato, a good glug of olive oil and salt + pepper. Broil about 8-9 minutes until browned on top. Remove from the oven and immediately toss with a big handful of sliced fresh baby spinach and the juice of a lemon.

Plus, I made a quick lemon-olive oil salad dressing and tossed that with greens just picked from the garden. It all tasted fresh, light and healthy. Delish!