By Week 329. Summer 2022. I am 39 years old and standing in my kitchen — the Bench house kitchen, the one that held cancer and divorce and cinnamon rolls — and the stove is on and something is cooking and the house smells like grilled food and garden herbs and this is my life. This is the life I built.
The garden is producing wildly, tomatoes by the pound, and I stood in it this week and thought about dirt and time and the way both of them turn nothing into something if you're patient enough.
Mason is 11 and reading everything he can find and examining the world under a microscope with the intensity of a tenured researcher.
Lily is 9 and riding horses with the fearlessness of someone who has never considered the possibility of falling.
I made barbecue ribs this week. The food continues. The food always continues. It is the thread that connects every week to every other week, every year to every other year, every version of me to every other version — the woman on the kitchen floor, the woman at the chemo recliner, the woman at the grill, the woman at the outdoor table under the string lights. All of them, connected by the food they made with their hands. All of them, me.
We ate the ribs outside, under the string lights, with the garden right there and the kids loud and alive beside me — and when dinner was done I didn’t want the night to end. So I put the pineapple on the grill. It felt right: something sweet and a little caramelized, the kind of dessert that doesn’t ask much of you but still feels like a celebration. Week 329 deserved that. So did I.
Grilled Pineapple Dessert
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 8 minutes | Total Time: 18 minutes | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 fresh pineapple, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch rings or spears
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- Pinch of salt
- Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, for serving (optional)
- Fresh mint leaves, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the grill. Heat your outdoor grill or grill pan to medium-high heat. Lightly oil the grates to prevent sticking.
- Make the glaze. In a small bowl, whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and salt until the sugar is mostly dissolved.
- Coat the pineapple. Brush the pineapple rings or spears generously on both sides with the butter and brown sugar glaze.
- Grill the pineapple. Place the pineapple pieces directly on the grill. Cook for 3—4 minutes per side, until grill marks appear and the edges are caramelized and golden.
- Rest and serve. Remove from the grill and let rest for 1—2 minutes. Serve warm, topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream, and garnish with fresh mint if desired.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 148 | Protein: 1g | Fat: 6g | Carbs: 25g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 45mg