Turn up the heat, really high

Apparently, the key to Chinese cooking is the smoke. Maybe that's why my stir-fry never tastes as good as Mom's! I'm scared to turn the temperature past medium-high, but the smokey flavor is where it's at. Mom shows you how it's done.

No, that's not steam, it's smoke that filled the whole house for about 15 minutes. And all she did was slice up a couple of tomatoes, sprinkle them with salt, then push them around in canola oil for a couple of minutes in a REALLY HOT cast-iron skillet. Too hot even for olive oil, she says. To top it off, she threw in a handful of fresh chives from her garden to absorb some of the tomatoes' juices for a tasty garnish.

Less scary are the veggies she grilled along with her much-loved Barbecue Chicken, which I should add she always serves boneless, because she cuts the meat off so she can use the bones to make homemade chicken broth. The woman is a nonstop cooking machine, I'm telling you!

Anyway, back to the veggies. Sick of your onions and peppers falling through the grill? Try Mom's trick: Cut sweet onions and bell peppers in half, making sure to leave the skin and ends on to keep them from falling apart. Sprinkle them with a little salt and olive oil, and put them on the grill for about 10 minutes on medium heat, but check often and turn when necessary. Mom turned the heat off and let them sit a little bit longer, so they weren't too charred, but were instead nice and mushy. Peel the skin off the onion and cut it in quarters, then cut off the membrane of the pepper and serve it in thick slices. Yummy goodness. A simple meal packed with flavor!