43 - Grill Master

I got an electric grill.

Every year I watch some barbequing shows that get me excited about testing my culinary skills in the great outdoors. 

Things I have learned:

*Low and slow is better than hot and fast for chicken skin. But I don’t remember if you put it skin down or skin up.

*Tri-tip is hard because not only do you have to cook it right, you need to slice it correctly. I don’t buy tri-tip.

*I would never enter a barbeque competition because they have them do some crazy proteins and I can barely cook steak.

Back to the grill.

I have bought several gas grills ranging from super cheap to cheap-ish. I just can’t justify going above that price range when I can’t seem to produce delicious food.

Either the grill temperature is too low (it once took over an hour to cook chicken), keeps blowing out (because of the wind), or is so blazing hot that I am convinced I have opened a portal to hell (once again, the wind). The last one was a sad day because I had purchased some fresh seafood and was excited to try something new. I lost a lot of money with that particular experiment. I lost something else that day: my enthusiasm for cooking outdoors. I didn’t grill the rest of that season.

Or the next.

This year, when the weather finally started to be consistently nice, around June, I decided I wanted to try it again.

A friend, who also lives in a windy area, told me about her electric grill and how amazing it had been. 

Because the 4th of July was right around the corner, I found some amazing deals. Now, since the deals were amazing, I didn’t get my grill in time to have a big bash. But who am I kidding? I didn’t plan a big bash. 

Around the middle of July it finally arrived and I cooked some chicken. Delicious!

Because I had missed an entire year of grilling, I wanted to make sure I enjoyed it. Instead of putting the meat on, then going back inside to make the sides, I do everything inside first. I make the sides and put them in the fridge. Or, if it’s a last minute cook, I get everything ready and then go outside to grill. Lastly, while the meat is resting, I finish the sides. 

I ENJOY the process.

My lawn chair is stored next to the grill, ready to go when I am.

I ENJOY the process.

I don’t run inside, back and forth, getting things ready.  

I ENJOY the process.

I have a cold drink to sip while waiting for the food to be done. 

I ENJOY the process.

I close my eyes and feel the breeze (there is always a breeze!) on my face. 

I ENJOY the process.

I listen to the birds mixed with the sizzling of the food. 

The grill has not made me magically better at cooking outdoors. The grill doesn’t make the food better, it’s the person managing the grill that makes the food better. And I am not a grill master. At all. In any shape or form. 

So what?

The important thing is that I am getting outside. In the fresh air. Stopping for a moment to just be. 

I don’t constantly have to be doing something, despite everything my brain is telling me. 

Not only is it ok to just be, I need to just be. 

Every day.

For a little bit. 

And not sitting and trying to solve the world’s problems.

Or my problems.

Just sitting. Just breathing. Just listening to the world. 

What is your refreshing? 

If you know, do it today. Just a little bit. Do it every day.

If you don’t know, here are some places to start: natural elements. Sit in the sun. Sit on the ground. Let water pass over your skin. Let the breeze blow your hair. 

And next, what do you enjoy?

And before you get too far into that question, let me tell you, you don’t have to be good at it.

Do you like to do puzzles but it takes forever to finish? Who cares?

Do you like to paint, but your horses look like aliens? Who cares?

Do you like to crochet, but the only thing you can make is granny squares? Who cares??

Seriously! Who cares?

We are taught that the end product is the goal. And it is only worth it if it is profitable. Like, I can only crochet if I am making something in the process. I can only paint if it is worth hanging on the wall. I am wasting my time if there is nothing to show for the investment of time.

But what about joy?

What about calm?

What about serenity?

What is that worth?

What are you worth?