Overnight sensations: dress your recipes for success with a marinade

Vegetarian Times, June, 2002 by Kathy Farrell-Kingsley

What determines whether a grilled dish is merely good or really great? In most cases, it's a marinade.

Marinating is an easy process. All it requires is soaking food in a seasoned liquid before tossing it onto the grill. Dishes can stew as briefly as 20 minutes or as long as overnight as the flavor of the marinade permeates and coats the food. If there is an acidic ingredient in the mixture, such as lemon juice or vinegar, it will tenderize as well. Marinades also add moisture to fat-free fare such as vegetables and tempeh, which tend to dry out on the grill.

An easy way to marinate food is to use a zippered, plastic storage bag. Slip the food inside the bag, add the marinade and seal the bag. Turn the bag to distribute the marinade, and then let it sit at room temperature, turning occasionally, and refrigerating after an hour. After the marinating is complete, use the leftover liquid to baste while grilling or as a sauce after heating it to the boiling point for five minutes. While the flavor variations of marinades are endless, their results are always the same--mouth-watering, memorable grilled fare.