Versatile Veggies

I put the onions on first, then the pepper, then the mushrooms, and finally the eggplant.

Before this year, I used to buy grilled peppers at a local farm stand. They were expensive and utterly delicious. Then I learned that I could make them myself. So now, whenever I see red bell peppers on sale, I buy a batch and cook them all up at once. Last week, I also cooked an eggplant, some mushrooms, and a large sweet onion. It takes about an hour from start to finish but provides me with a lot of good eating. I used to marinate the vegetables before cooking, but now I just brush them with oil and add the seasonings afterwards.

After the veggies are grilled, I usually slice everything up and combine them with a bit of olive oil seasoned with minced garlic. I get at least three meals from a platter like this. The first day, I made a warm sandwich. I toasted some french bread, smeared it with goat choose, and piled on the vegetables. It's a slightly messy sandwich to eat, but a wonderful combination of flavors and textures.

The next day, I spread garlic hummus on a whole wheat wrap, covered this with cold roasted veggies, added chopped lettuce and spinach, and rolled it up. Another great sandwich, and very different from the first.

The final meal was pizza. I sliced plum tomatoes to the other vegetables, as well as a few chopped kalamata olives. Then I spread them over a pesto-coated pizza crust and sprinkled everything with Parmesan cheese. Finally, I added a bit of shredded mozzarella and baked the pizza for about 20 minutes.

I do eat meat, but not at every meal; these vegetables have the mouthfeel of meat: chewy, rich, and tasty. Investing a little cooking time to grill them made for very fast food later on. Furthermore, each dish had a very different taste and feel from the others, so I never got bored.

Scrumptious Sandwiches

A good sandwich is a thing of beauty; a bad one is a waste of calories. I'm not a huge fan of sandwiches in general. Often, they are too bready, too chewy, too meaty, or too bland. A few, however, really delight me. These usually provide a variety of rich flavors.

One, shown here, is not only a favorite of mine, but also a regular lunch or light dinner. It has lots of ingredients, but most are usually in my refrigerator.  This sandwich starts with a whole wheat wrap that is brushed with mayonnaise and mashed avocado. Then I add one slice of crisp bacon, some sliced turkey, lettuce, tomato and fixings. The sandwich pictured has a bit of blue cheese sprinkled on it, as well as chopped olives and scallions. The combination of the bland turkey and wrap with the crunchy lettuce, juicy tomato, and tangy fixings is truly satisfying.


 I have found several different ways to keep sandwiches interesting. One is to have numerous fixings on hand that don't spoil quickly. My favorites include crumbled blue cheese, anchovies, kalamata olives, feta, hummus, various mustards, and horseradish. In addition, I usually have some bacon (separated into strips on wax paper and then rolled up raw and frozen inside a plastic bag), and lately I have also kept an assortment of grilled veggies, including peppers and onions. 

By combining various textures, tastes, and colors, I can make a good sandwich in a few minutes. Furthermore, it's usually far tastier than one I could buy elsewhere—cheaper, too.