Hot Mozzarella Sandwich with Dipping Sauce

Oh what's that? You want the most delicious hot sandwich of your life? You want the sandwich to be simple to make? You want to eat like a former Beatle? Look no further. I finally bought the Meat Free Monday, the cookbook from, you guessed it, the Meat Free Monday campaign, headed by one of my all time favorite people, Sir Paul McCartney.

While browsing through what may be one of the best cookbooks I've ever read, I found a recipe called Hot Mozzarella Sandwich. And yes, it is exactly what it sounds like, and yes it is amazingly delicious. I made one alteration, I took out the slice of tomato that the recipe recommends and and instead spread the roll with pasta sauce with basil, oregano and of course, garlic. It was quite possibly one of the most delicious things I have ever had the joy of eating.

However. It MUST be served HOT.

Enjoy.


Ingredients

1 ciabatta roll
2 T pesto sauce
2-3 T tomato sauce OR 1 tomato, sliced
2-3 Slices of mozzarella cheese
3 t. olive oil
1 t. balsamic vinegar
a pinch of red pepper flakes

Directions
1. Preheat the broiler. Cut the ciabatta roll in half and lightly grill the roll. Spread one half of the roll with the pesto sauce. Layer the other with the tomato sauce (or tomato slices) and then lay the cheese on top.

2. Place the tomato + cheese half under the broiler until the desired level of melted cheesiness (I can't believe spell check didn't correct cheesiness, that it's a real word, but moving on). Then place the two halves of the sandwich together.

3. In a dipping dish, whisk together the balsamic vinegar, olive oil and red pepper flakes.

4. Dip the sandwich into the vinegar-olive oil-red pepper flake sauce and enjoy.


Katie's Notes: I used more balsamic vinegar than olive oil in the dipping sauce.

French Onion Soup

Having a rough day? Is it cold outside even though it’s April and it should be warm, like it was in March and it’s officially spring? Bitter about the weather like I am? How about some hearty and delicious French Onion Soup? This soup is my go-to soup on cold winter days, cold rainy days and bad days.  It’s warm, comforting and filled with broth, onions, and delicious bread and cheese. How could it not make you feel better?

Ingredients

1 yellow onion, sliced

4 cups vegetable broth

1-2 cloves garlic

1.5 t sugar

Salt and pepper

Bread, ripped into small bite size pieces

4 T Olive Oil

 Cheese: Whatever cheese you like, sliced how you like, and however much you like

Directions: 

1.    1. Heat 2 T of olive oil over medium high heat and add the onions. Cook them, stirring often for about 10 minutes, until the onions become soft.

2.     2. Next, add the sugar and season the onions with the salt and pepper. Check the seasoning, the onions should be fairly sweet. After about 15-20 minutes, when the onions turn a golden brown color, add the garlic and the broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and let the soup simmer for 15 minutes.

3.     3. Meanwhile, heat 2 T of olive oil in a sauce pan over medium heat. Put the crumbled bread in the oil and heat it until toasted.

4.     4. Preheat the broiler. Ladle the soup into a broiler-safe dish. Top it with the toasted bread and then put the cheese on top. Put the dish on a baking sheet and put it in the oven. Heat it until the cheese is melted and bubbling.

Teriyaki Tofu Red Pepper and Pineapple Kebobs with Pineapple-Ginger Elixir

I woke up this morning to the sun shining bright with clean fresh WARM air. It instantly filled me with happiness and I thought what better way to spend th day than by making some warm weather food! What's more summer-y than kebobs with a fresh rum drink. So after a slight setback in that I had forgotten my debit card at home, (whoops) I came home with the ingredients for my summer feast.

I opened the windows and put on some tunes and made the kebobs hassle and mistake-free (I know, I don't know how I   did it either.)

Then I made the elixir. I was a little hesitant looking at the ingredients list (cayenne pepper and cinnamon), but Vegetarian Times hasn't lead me astray yet, unlike the Food Network Magazine (Coffee in chili you say!) It took a lot of work, you have to strain the pulp from the juice. But man, was it a tasty beverage. especially with the nice dash of rum I added.

When it was all said and done, this was a delicious feast. The teriyaki glaze was delicious on the tofu and pineapple and my all time favorite: Red pepper. I took it outside with some extra crunchy chips, my elixir and a 312. Sophie Karen sat on the back porch with me stalking the squirrels as I ate with my lazy summer playlist on. It was an amazing afternoon.

Ingredients for Kebobs:

• 1 14-oz. pkg. extra-firm tofu, drained and cut into 18 cubes
• 1/2 large pineapple, peeled, cored, and cut into 12 3/4-inch cubes
• 1 large red bell pepper, cut into 12 pieces
• 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 cup mirin
• 1 Tbs. toasted sesame oil
• 1 Tbs. minced fresh ginger
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp.)
• 2 tsp. maple syrup
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes
• 2 tsp. arrowroot powder
• 
  

Directions for Kebobs:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Thread each of 6 bamboo skewers with 3 cubes tofu, 2 cubes pineapple, and 2 pieces bell pepper, and place in baking dish.

2. Simmer soy sauce, mirin, oil, ginger, garlic, maple syrup, and red pepper flakes 3 minutes in skillet over medium heat.

3. Combine arrowroot and 1/4 cup plus 1 Tbs. cold water in bowl. Add to skillet, and simmer 2 minutes, or until sauce begins to thicken. Pour sauce over kebabs, and bake 20 minutes, turning once to keep kebabs coated in sauce.


Katie's Notes: I cut this in half, but still kept the full T of ginger and both garlic cloves. I love garlic and ginger.




elixir Ingredients:

• 4 cups fresh pineapple cubes
• 2 Tbs. minced fresh ginger
• 1/4 cup light coconut milk, optional
• 2 1/2 Tbs. lime juice
• 2 Tbs. pure maple syrup
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. ground cardamom or allspice
• 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper, optional
• 4 1/2-inch-thick pineapple rings and/or lime wedges, for garnish

elixir Directions:


1. Purée pineapple cubes, ginger, and 1/2 cup water in blender until smooth. Strain through fine-meshed strainer into bowl, stirring with spoon to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard pulp, and return liquid to blender.

2. Add coconut milk (if using), lime juice, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, cardamom, and cayenne (if using) to blender; blend until smooth. Serve over ice, and garnish with pineapple rings and/or lime wedges
Katie's Notes: I for sure added a nice splash of rum. :)

Artichoke Soup with Fresh Mint

If you want a Kermit colored deliciously fresh soup, look no further. (Although Jim said it looked like mashed peas and baby Gerber food).  I always see the first 5 minutes of At Home with Giada after the Barefoot Contessa. The other day she started making artichoke soup. As a lover of Spinach Artichoke Dip, I thought this sounded perfect. And it was. Except that I couldn't find frozen artichoke hearts at Jewel. Then I couldn't find them at Fresh Market. But FM did have whole artichokes. So I went home and attempted to extract the hearts. How hard could it be right? Wrong. I don't know how the Evil Queen from Once Upon a Time does it, because I could NOT get the stupid hearts out. After I was covered in the fuzzy insides of the artichoke, I gave up. I did a quick google search of what artichoke hearts looked like, I saw a bag with a Trader Joe's label. I hopped in the car, rocked out to some Wings and headed out to Trader Joe's and there they were. Right in the frozen food section. FM, Jewel, you lose this round. All hail Trader Joe's!

As far as the nutritional value of this bright green soup, according to the ever reliable Wikipedia, artichokes are high in antioxidants and are excellent diuretics. Plus spinach is nutrition magic.  I decided to put eat sourdough bread with the soup. But the soup was so savory and lemony that the sourdough bread was too much. If you don't really like lemon, don't put the lemon juice on. And make sure you stir the lemon into the soup. The madre came up and stuck a spoon in the soup immediately after I squeezed the lemon. I wish I had the camera ready so I could have gotten a picture of that pucker face.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth, plus extra, as needed
• One 12-ounce package frozen artichoke hearts, thawed
• 1 packed cup fresh spinach (about 1 ounce)
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
• Lemon wedges

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the celery, onion, 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and the pepper. Cook the vegetables until just tender, about 4 minutes. 

2. Add 2 cups broth and the artichoke hearts and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the artichoke hearts are tender, about 12 minutes.

3. Put 1 cup of soup in blender, and blend until smooth. Keep adding 1 cup to the blender and blending until smooth. Add the spinach and chopped mint with the last cup. Return the puree to the same saucepan. Mix in the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Warm over low heat, thinning with the additional broth by 1/4 cupfuls if the soup is too thick. Ladle the soup into bowls. Squeeze a lemon wedge over each bowl of soup before serving.

Katie's Notes: This recipe is pretty straightforward. Serve with your favorite bread!

Pistachio Crusted Eggplant Cutlets with Homemade Fries

*UPDATE* I made this dish yesterday, and proposed some changes to make it better.  I made the changes I suggested today, it made ALL the difference in the world! With thicker steaks, and a thinner spread of sauce, the dish was perfectly balanced, not too savory, not too sweet. Just right as the golden haired girl of fairy tale legend would say.*


Too, any leftover sauce can be used to make a sweet sauce pizza. On French bread, pitas, or pizza dough, really any bread-type food, cover it with the sauce then put some of your favorite cheese (Dairy or soy) and put under the broiler or bake it. Yuuuuuuuuuuum.

I found this recipe in Vegetarian Times magazine. I decided to give it a try as a sort of meat-and-potatoes alternative, so I paired it with homemade fries.  You could really serve it with whatever you want, pasta, rice, quinoa, whatever your heart desires.

I really enjoy all the ingredients in the mixture. However, I think it was a little bit too sweet for my liking, or I needed to make the eggplant slices a little thicker to balance the sweet sauce. Also, the structural integrity of the eggplant wasn't great at that thickness. I recommend making them 1/2 inch thick. (I'm making it again tomorrow with the leftover eggplant and sauce, so hopefully making the cutlets thicker will work out better.)

The potatoes are delicious. It's a way to get your French fry fix without the risk of eating them at a restaurant and not knowing what kind of fatty oils (Or animal products.........) they put in. Use whatever cooking oil you like, I like Smart Balance or soybean oil. I got the recipe from an episode of Barefoot Contessa (Ina, I love you so much, please don't ever change). 

Serving size: 2-3 people

• Ingredients
• 1 cup shelled unsalted pistachios
• 6 oz. oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained
• 2 jarred roasted red peppers, drained
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 medium eggplant (1 lb.), peeled and cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices (6 to 8 slices each)
• 1 potoato
• cooking oil of choice

Directions


1. Preheat oven to 375°F, and coat baking sheet with cooking spray.

2. Blend pistachios in blender or food processor until finely chopped. Transfer to plate or shallow bowl.

3. Add sun-dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, and garlic to blender or food processor (no need to rinse),  and purée until smooth.

4. Spray 1 side of each eggplant slice with cooking spray, and place sprayed-side down on baking sheet. Spread 2 Tbs. sun-dried tomato mixture on each eggplant slice, and sprinkle with 1 Tbs. ground pistachios. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until eggplant is tender and pistachio topping is browned and crispy.


5. While the eggplant is baking, heat up whatever oil you choose in a pot on high heat. Peel and cut up the potato into "fry" shape (Or whatever shape you have your heart desires). Soak them in cold water for 30ish seconds. THEN THOROUGHLY DRY THEM. Hot oil + H2O= painful splattering of hot oil that WILL BURN YOUR SKIN. Put the DRY pototoes in the oil and fry them until desired brownness (I like a nice golden brown). Make sure you stir them occasionally so they don't stick to the bottom of the pot. When they're done cooking, pull them out, drain off the excess oil, and lightly salt them with fresh ground sea salt.


Katie's Notes: Other than making the cutlets thicker, no notes! This recipe is very straightforward.

Pineapple Fried Rice

Shawn Spencer would be proud of me.

This month, Vegetarian Times had pineapple as their 1 food 5 ways. I saw the pineapple fried rice and thought one word: Yes. Looked at the ingredient list and saw more of my favorite things: red pepper, red pepper flakes (really anything red pepper I love) green onion, soy sauce, garlic. I rushed out to Joseph's (which finally reopened a little big ago since that STUPID storm that caved its roof in this summer!!) and got a pineapple.

I love the mix of sweetness from the pineapple and the heat from the red peppers. I'm not the biggest fan of the texture of pineapple, but the flavor is so delicious. This recipe is reaaaaalllly good. Mahalo Vegetarian Times for this recipe!

Ingredients
2 1/4 cups low sodium vegetable broth, divided
1 cup long grain brown rice
1 1/4 cup diced fresh pineapple, divided.
1 T low sodium soy sauce or tamari
1/2 t red pepper flakes
2 T toasted sesame oil
1/2 cup diced yellow onion
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 small carrot, finely diced (1/2 cup)
1/2 cup finely diced red bell pepper
5 green onions, thinly sliced (1/3 cup)

Directions
1. Bring 2 cups broth and rice to a boil in medium saucepan over medium heat. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 40 minutes, or until all liquid is absorbed and rice is tender.

2. Blend 1/2 cup pineapple, remaining 1/4 cup broth, soy sauce and red pepper flakes in blender until smooth. Set aside

3. Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; saute 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, add carrot and bell pepper, and saute 3 minutes more. Add remaining 3/4 cup diced pineapple and cook 3 minutes more. Add cooked rice to skillet and cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add blended pineapple mixture and cook 3 minutes more, or until liquid is absorbed. Stir in green onions; season with salt and pepper if desired.


Katie's Notes: Make sure you use the low sodium versions of the products. If not, you're going to overload on sodium. Make sure you eat it HOT, it does NOT taste as good lukewarm.

Spinach Enchiladas

This recipe was brought to my attention by the Madre. It was featured on the Today Show by chef Christy Vega. Her specialty: Meatless Mexican.  I love Mexican, I love meatless food, and now I love spinach enchiladas.


Spinach is very nutritious, as are most leafy green veggies. Cilantro is very high in antioxidants. Many people don't like cilantro, the taste or smell. Fortunately for those, the cilantro is cooked in this recipe and then blended in with over flavors, so it isn't overpowering in taste or smell. If you really hate it, you can leave it out. This recipe makes it easy to remove or add any flavor you want. If I were making these for just me, I'd probably put some Sriracha into the tomatillo sauce. But the Padre and the Madre are not fans of spicy food. You could easily veganize it by substituting your veg cheese of choice and omitting the sour cream.

I served mine with Spanish Rice. I wasn't super hungry, so I didn't want too many sides. But a nice glass of iced tea was perfect on this 55°F January day in NE Illinois.

Ingredients
Spanish rice
1 package corn tortillas
12 oz fresh spinach
1/2 sliced onion
1 T chopped onion
8 large green tomatillos
2 cups water
1 bunch cilantro
1 T cilantro
1 t. granulated garlic
1 t. salt
1/2 avocado, plus more for serving
1 oz. sour cream
6 oz shredded cheese (I used Monterey Jack)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Then cook Spanish rice according to package directions.

2. In a deep pan, add water, tomatillos,  sliced onion, bunch cilantro, salt and garlic. Cook until it boils for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let it cool for 5 minutes. Pour everything from the pan into a blender and blend well.

3. Next, add the avocado, sour cream and T of cilantro. Blend until creamy.

4. IN a separate flat pan, add oil, T chopped onion, shredded cheese and 2 oz of tomatillo sauce from blender. Cook 2-3 minutes. Then add spinach, continuous stir until it's dark green. Set aside

5. Warm the tortillas how you prefer (With or without oil). Lay the tortilla flat and add 3 oz of spinach mixture down the middle. Roll the tortilla, place in a baking pan. Repeat until all tortillas are rolled and placed in the baking pan.

6.  Cover with the tomatillo sauce. Add a little cheese down the center on top of each tortilla. Bake in oven for several minutes until the cheese is melted. Serve with Spanish rice, slices of avocado and a touch of sour cream.


Katie's Notes: When boiling the tomatillos, they will start to lose their color. I recommend turning them once during the boiling, so they discolor evenly. I used minced garlic, since I don't know what granulated garlic is, and I think fresh is always better. Also, this recipe kept calling for ounces. I used 2 T for 1 oz. But, you can play it by ear. I think the filling needs a little bit more tomatillo sauce than I put in. Finally, the chef highly recommends using corn tortillas instead of flour. She says that flour ones get really soggy and fall apart more than corn tortillas.