While here in Seattle we are always willing to go out on the deck and grill regardless of the weather, I know  for many of you, the grill is something that comes out of the garage in the summer and goes back in at the first rain. You wimps. The grill is good for steaks and hot dogs, and increasingly people are using it for all sorts of goodies — pizza, dessert (try grilling pineapple rings and topping with ginger ice cream, or nectarine and plum halves and top it with blackberry sorbet). But still, a great burger off the grill is a fine thing. I found a recipe a couple years ago in Sunset Magazine, and over the years, have played with it a little — mostly in an effort to cut the fat.

Start with a pound of ground lamb and a pound of ground white meat chicken or turkey. You could also use leanest ground beef. The goal is to cut the fat and keep the flavor. If you are under doctor’s orders to gain wait and eat fat, we hate you, but you can have a pure lamb experience. Just don’t brag about it. Mix the meet with a teaspoon of salt, a tablespoon of fresh minced rosemary and a finely minced jalepeno. Mix well and pat into eight burgers. While they grill — about seven or eight minutes each side (because of the chicken/turkey involve,d make sure they hit 160 degrees before you take them off the grill. Then let them rest for five minutes to finish cooking) — combine a cup of thawed frozen peas (or blanched fresh ones; you can even use sugar snap peas complete with the pods), the juice of a lime, a handful of fresh mint, a handful of flat-leaf parsley, a tablespoon of canola oil or light olive oil (not a heavy flavored oil), a half teaspoon of salt, and a finely chopped jalapeno. Put it all in a food processor and process until kind of chunky but still all in pieces. Taste. Add salt or lime juice to taste. You can add more mint, less jalapeno or even substitute lemon juice as your taste buds like. Serve this with the burgers.

Now, if you, like me, have made the mistake of not looking at what kind of squash plant you bought and find yourself suddenly inundated with summer squash, I’m here to tell you that you can also put this on the grill.

Slice it fairly thick — about a quarter inch or so. Brush with a light olive or canola oil, sprinkle with salt and chili powder. Grill on a hot spot on the grill for about a minute each side — you want nice dark grill marks, but if you let it cook too long, you’re going to see your summer squash’s downside: a high water content that makes it turn to mush when you cook it too long. When you pull it from the grill, squeeze some lime juice on it and garnish with chopped cilantro. Leftovers? Put it in a quesadilla with some nice cheese and a little salsa. That was dinner tonight.

Let’s say you don’t want to grill it, though. Try slicing it into sticks and saute in olive oil with salt, pepper, and some pine nuts. Don’t put too much in the pan at a time, and only let it get hot through or you’ll have that mush problem. When you’re done, mix in some pesto — regular, artichoke/lemon (pictured) or tomato. You can use store bought, or if you have enough basil in your garden (which I don’t this year, despite the hot summer), make it. I’ll go over how another day. Or another year. Leftovers? Put it in an omelet.

I haven’t tried it yet, but given the amount of squash coming in, next week I may try some yellow squash pancakes — grate it up with some parmesan, add an egg and some flour and fry it up. And after that, yellow squash version of zucchini bread. And then I start leaving squash on people doorsteps, ringing the bell, and running away.

Next up: how to use all that damn rhubarb before you freezer contains anything else.