V is for Vegetables: Grilled Vegetable Sandwich

Hello readers!

On the eve of another one of our April showers, I want to share with you a simple dinner I shared with the hubs on Monday night of this week, before the showers rolled in and ended the garden party. My secret ingredient this week was vegetables. Pretty open-ended, with scores of possibilities. My goal with the secret ingredient was to keep it simple. So, I started with the most simple of cooking methods: grilling. With the help of the hubs, who built an awesome fire, and my mandoline, which I used to slice (fairly) even pieces of carrots, zucchini and asparagus, we made a quick and healthy dinner that I'm certain you'll enjoy!

Grilled Vegetable Sandwiches
No recipe, just wing it!

Ingredients:

Your choice of vegetables: I used carrots, asparagus, zucchini and green onions
Bread or rolls: I used two torta sandwich rolls from La Brea Bakery, purchased at Costco!
8 ounces goat cheese
Handful of cilantro, roughly chopped
Few handfuls of baby spinach leaves
Salt and Pepper

Directions:

Start your grill using charcoal or wood and a match. Let the coals get nice and hot, and then spread them evenly across the bottom of your grill.

Slice your vegetables using a mandoline or knife. Make sure they are an even thickness so they cook evenly on the grill. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.

Arrange the first batch of vegetables on your hot grill. Try to spread them evenly across the top, placing any thicker pieces in the middle where the grill is the hottest and the thinnest pieces toward the outside.

After your vegetables have cooked for a few minutes, lay the green onions across the top. The green onions will give your vegetables a subtle onion flavor. If I had actually had real onions, I would have just grilled these, but I didn't and I needed to use my green onions, so this was "making it work"! : )

Once the vegetables are done (depends on the temp of your grill and the thickness of your veggies, so just keep an eye on them), set them aside to keep warm until you've finished your second batch of vegetables.

While your vegetables are grilling, mix together the goat cheese and chopped cilantro. Once vegetables are done, drizzle both sides of your bread with olive oil and grill for a few minutes until toasty warm and slightly browned. After pulling your bread off the grill, rub each side with half a garlic clove to give your bread a delicious subtle garlic taste.

Put your sandwich together by spreading your garlic bread with the goat cheese spread, piling on as many vegetables as you'd like, topping with a handful of baby spinach, a sprinkle of salt and pepper and enjoy!

Special thanks to this guy for setting up the grill and starting the coals! The reward? A yummy sandwich and a glass of wine--my kind of meal!

Jessica's secret ingredient next week is White Chocolate!!