Blue skies, Beverages, and Quarter to Seven = BBQ time

You know summer's finally here when you can smell steaks sizzling around the neighbourhood, see smoke rising from grills, and hear laughter from everyone's backyard.

We all finally want to be outside and everyone is grilling.

Last summer I didn't have a BBQ and was forced to sadly cook indoors. Sometimes Luke and I would bring out indoor grill outside and pretend it was a real BBQ as we plugged it in and cooked on it, but it wasn't the same at all.

We relished every opportunity, pun intended, to head to a friend or family's house and taste the sweet taste of grill marks on our food. It brought smiles to our faces as much as seeing our friends did.

But now we can grill with the best of them at home. Our BBQ isn't one of those huge monsters that you could cook for an army in, but it's great for the two of us.

I love bringing a glass of wine out to the BBQ and enjoying the sunshine while I cook because everything is good when I'm barbecuing in the summer.

The food smells and looks good, the wine tastes good, the laughter outside sounds good and the sun feels good. What else is there?

But before I can get my grill on, I need to get my BBQ sauce ready.

I use to buy a bottled sauce, but it never tasted exactly how I wanted it to taste and I'd always seem to run out when I wanted more.

So I decided to ditch the bottled stuff and make up my own recipe. It's easy, quick, and spicy -- just what I wanted.

Spicy BBQ Sauce

1 can of chilies in Adobo sauce (I couldn't find this until I checked Walmart of all places)
1/2 cup ketchup
1 sweet onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon oil
1/4 cup mollasses
1/4 cup vinegar

1. Warm oil in a pot on your stove at medium heat. Add onions and garlic and cook them through.

2. Add all other ingredients and cook until it smells spicy with hints of sweetness coming through. It should only take a couple of minutes.

Cook covered because the chilies will make your eyes water if you're anything like me. And if you're not a fan of spicy things, either use a half can of the chilies or more ketchup. Just keep tasting to make sure the heat is right for you.

3. Take the pot off the heat and blend the sauce until it's smooth.

4. Get out to your grill and cook. Don't forget your beverage though.

I think this sauce is great on meat and veggies, but you'll have to try it to see what you like it best on.

And don't let foodie snobs trick you into thinking you can't make veggie kabobs anymore. Just use veggies that cook at a similar time and if you have something that cooks a bit faster, cut it into big chunks to slow the cooking time down.

My mushroom, onion, and big chunks of zucchini kabobs brushed with my spicy BBQ sauce turned out great.