Dear Chef Kathleen,

My husband never cooks except when I fire up the grill. Even then, all he makes are hot dogs and hamburgers. What can I do to get him to help out with our family meals more without having to eat yet another hot dog? He doesn't eat enough vegetables.

Betsy


Dear Betsy,

Men love to grill, which is something you can easily take advantage of without compromising your tastes and need for more nutritionally balanced meals. Now, more than any other time of year, the men in my family seem to be willing to help out with the cooking. If it can be cooked on fire, they're up to the task. They aren't all-weather grillers or particularly fancy grillers, and when winter winds blow in, they'll be back to watching football while they wait for the pizza delivery guy. But for now, there's just something about cooking and eating outside that gets them inspired.

The best part of this obsession is that they'll eat more vegetables this time of year than any other. I've seen them pass on side dishes at any number of family gatherings, but when it comes to grilled food, they've all been seen venturing beyond T-bones. They seem to enjoy seeing what new things can be cooked with fire.

This doesn't mean they'll feast on vegetables instead of meat. Oh no. Meat is the centerpiece of all meals on the grill. Go ahead and toss on a peach if you want to, but it had better be sharing space with a steak. Your job is to make sure that you keep enough variety available to ensure a more balanced meal. If all you have around is hamburgers, that could be all you'll get.

Set an example
While your husband is firing up the grill, take over the job of prep cook. If you have different food choices ready for him so all he needs to do is drop them on the grill, he will cook them. Hand your man platters of things he can relate to first; meat, meat and more meat. And then sneak in platters of veggies. Try corn, eggplant, zucchini, squash and asparagus. In our house, if they can grill it, they will cook it. If they've cooked it, they eat it.

I've witnessed my brother-in-law cook salmon, steak, sausage and chicken on the grill for one meal. This variety of meats will share room with whatever seasonal vegetables my sister finds at the produce stand on her way home and hands him. His favorite meat market usually has some prepared vegetables on hand, too.

When my sister Carol, decided it was time to eat healthier, the whole family started eating healthier, too. "I do the shopping and I don't buy more meat than we need," she says. "No one can live on 5 ounces of meat alone, so we fill up on veggies now." The result? She's lost 30 pounds and the whole family is eating more vegetables than ever before.

My brother, much to the frustration of my mother, wouldn't eat vegetables at any point in his childhood. Today, I have in my possession photographic evidence of him not only preparing peppers and parsnip french fries on the grill but actually consuming them, too.

To prepare parsnip French fries; peel parsnips and cut lengthwise into French fry-size strips, about 1/4 -inch thick slices. Season with olive oil, salt and pepper. Pour onto tin foil placed directly on the hottest part of the grill. Do not overlap or crowd. Turn often and cook until golden on the outside, about 10-12 minutes.

Cook once, eat twice
With the next day's supper and bag lunches in mind, grill way too much stuff on purpose. Leftover chicken and steak are easy to work into vegetable and noodle salads and sandwiches. Leftover grilled veggies can be strategically worked into sandwiches, used as pizza toppings, as the base of a frittata or omelet or tossed with tomato sauce, fresh herbs and pasta.

One of my favorite summer salads is leftover grilled chopped vegetable salad. I combine tons of grilled and chopped zucchini, eggplant, green beans (yes, green beans), peppers, onions and corn cut off the cob tossed with a simple Dijon vinaigrette.

For more great grilling ideas, check out online resources such as www.weber.com. The site features everything from recipes and tips to grilling guides for nearly every type of meat or vegetable you can imagine. One commonly asked question, "All I've cooked on the grill is hamburgers—what else should I try to cook? Their answer, "Everything!"

kd@chefkathleen.com