Marinades and herbs are made for each other. They are both all about infusing flavor into food. And it can’t be a coincidence that the garden season and grilling season overlap. Fresh vegetables, enhanced with an herb marinade, and cooked on the grill are a summer delight.

For tonight’s kabob’s, the garden is providing cherry tomatoes, yellow squash and sweet peppers, with mushrooms and Vidalia onions we got at the store. Shrimp and scallops sound like and nice kabob addition, but will grill quickly, so they’ll get skewered with the cherry toms and added to the grill after the squash et al is almost done. They can all share a marinade of oregano, marjoram, thyme and just a bit of rosemary in a balsamic vinaigrette base. The seafood will get tossed with some Old Bay seasoning before its marinade bath.

Herb rice is always a nice companion to kabobs, so we’ll simmer that with a big load of chives and some flavorful stock. Gotta love the summertime.