This summer has been full of some really great grilling escapades. Between S., my dad and my own deep, dark, desire for food cooked on an open flame, the amount of food I've eaten that has been barbequed has really skyrocketed over the past few months.

There is just something about how completely relaxing it is to cook dinner in this manner. Of course, part of the relaxation for me is that I don't actually do the grilling. I do all the prep work and S. heads out to the grill and does his job while I sit, sipping a glass of wine, eating nuts or crackers and cheese and watch. Quite different from the meals I cook indoors, let me tell you. It's more than just a method of cooking -- it's a method for life. Summer life anyway, when you live in a cooler climate as we do.

While S.'s parents and siblings took their summer vacation in Jordan recently (some summer vacation, hmmm?), we house sat for them. Heading out to the suburbs every weekend for a month is not a horrible way to live -- it's sort of like having a summer home in The Hampton's...I can certainly see the appeal of that sort of lifestyle. If only they had a pool I would be in heaven...oh well, one can't have everything, can one??

My cooking flavours have really changed since meeting S. Never before would I have thought to use ingredients like sumac or grenadine molasses. Not until he came along had I really eaten Middle Eastern food, to be honest. He has single-handedly both encouraged me to cook, more and better than I did before meeting him and has expanded my taste repertoire ten-fold. A rather bashful thank you goes to my loving fiance (I still can't get used to using that particular word...).

This really delicious Middle Eastern Inspired Marinade stemmed from our love of grilled food and as well from cooking in S.'s mother's kitchen - using her ingredients (lucky me!). The pomegranate molasses and sumac really made for a zingy but still slightly mellow-tasting beef steak.