Linguine with Spinach Pesto and Shrimp

Another crazy long day at work, and my family was off at water polo scrimmages and would not be home until late.  If my solo dinner was going to happen at all, it had to be super simple and tastey enough to make it worth even that much effort.  Mmmmmm, spinach pesto was in the fridge and some shrimp were in the freezer.  Add a little pasta for comfort.  Perfecto!

Sometimes we buy those bags of frozen shrimp and just make them all up in one perfect low country boil kinds of meals, but lately, we’ve just kept frozen shrimp in the freezer to use a small handful in this or that.  Makes us feel pampered and like we’re “all that.”

The pesto made with just barely enough oil had me a bit worried about whether or not it would properly coat the pasta.  The resolution was a to spoon some spinach pesto into a mixing bowl, add a bit of pasta water before dumping the pasta in the colander, and voila, success!

Linguine

Spinach Pesto

Handful of Shrimp

oil

Parmesan, grated

Directions:

1.  Boil water for linguine and cook according to package instructions.

2.  Thaw a handful of shrimp.  Heat a saute pan over medium heat, add a bit of oil to coat the bottom.  Dry the shrimp and add to the pan when it is hot.  Flip over each shrimp after 1 minute, cook for another minute, and turn off heat.

3. Place 3 TBS spinach pesto per serving into a mixing bowl, and add 1 TBS pasta water as pasta finishes cooking, and mix.

4.  Drain pasta and place in bowl with pesto.  Gently mix to coat the pasta.

5.  Plate the pasta, top with shrimp and parmesan.

Snapper with Spinach Pesto and Corn Salad

Greetings once again!  Do know, you have not been forgotten in any way, but amazing projects at work have me coming home late every evening, followed by research and writing papers for a set of classes I’m taking.  Currently I’m in survival mode, which means … time to cook!

Spinach pesto has been on my mind since I read it in someone’s blog awhile back.  In looking for a balanced, light meal, some spinach pesto over whatever fish looked good that day sounded like a good plan.  Has anyone seen the Ask Aida show on FN?  While the format is a bit odd for my preference, she is someone who comes across as trustworthy and the calmness of the show is welcome these days.  Turns out she has a corn salad recipe, so I gave it a go.  Good decision making on this meal all around!

Spinach pesto

5 oz pkg baby spinach

2 handfuls pine nuts

2 limes, juiced

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/3 cup olive oil

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1.  Put the spinach, lime juice, pine nuts and garlic in a food process or and pulse until smooth.  Add olive oil and parmesan cheese and process a few seconds.  Taste.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Corn Salad

For the dressing:

• 1 1/2 cups packed fresh cilantro
• 1/2 cup  extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

For the salad:

• 4 ears cooked corn, kernels removed (about 3 cups)
• 1 1/2 pounds grape tomatoes, halved (about 3 cups)
• 1 pound fresh mozzarella, diced
• 2 medium avocados, diced

Directions:

Whisk together the dressing ingredients in a large bowl, using 2 teaspoons salt, and pepper to taste. Combine the salad ingredients in a large bowl and toss with the dressing. Let sit at least 15 minutes before serving, or cover and refrigerate for up to 4 hours.

Pan fried snapper:

Heat a pan over medium heat until nice and hot.  Add 1 TBS oil, and let warm.  Add snapper.  Flip after one minute, or when fish is opaque a bit on the bottom edges.  Cook for one minute.  Turn off the heat and allow fish to finish cooking with the residual heat for about 4 more minutes.

Notes:

* The pesto is meant to be very spinachy and not very garlicky.  If you just can’t handle that notion, just double the garlic as you always do.  (You know who you are!)

* It was a warm day meaning that the pesto likely required less oil, so I stopped adding olive oil just when the first little puddle of oil gathered on top of the spinach.  Lately, I’m just not into pesto that is crazy oily.

*  I cut the snapper into potion sizes before cooking to make the flipping part easier.

* Corn salad of various sorts is a common dish around here during corn season, but the addition of fresh mozzerella was a new twist for me.  Yummy!

Essential Pantry Items

The Food section in this morning’s San Francisco Chronicle highlighted 10 essential pantry items. These are the things you always want on hand so that when you peruse the meats, fruits, and veggies in your kitchen, you always have these essentials on hand to whip up something delicious (although simply satisfying will do on most evenings) with what you have on hand. “The pantry list goes beyond basics like kosher salt and panko breadcrumbs; instead we chose ingredients that are distinctive yet adaptable and add spark to a range of preparations.” Their list, which I imagine was heavily discussed within their department, simply demonstrates to me how differently we each approach cooking. What is essential to them could just as easily be an oddity to me.

Listed below are 2 lists: the SF Chronicle list with my comments in italics, followed by my 10 essentials.  Feel free to post your own pantry essentials list.

San Francisco Chronicle list:

1. Mirin – I have never ever purchased Mirin, but the uses listed sound a bit interesting.

2. Dark chocolate – these people must have the mother of all hiding places because the “mice” in our house always find where I hide mine, hence very few chocolate chip cookies ever get made around here. I am the only family member who sees this as a problem at all.

3. Fish Sauce – my secret ingredient! I love a dash in savory soups and stews, and it is essential in many dipping sauces.

4. Quinoa – never bought this either, although we do usually have bulgur or cous cous which they list as possible substitutes. Never underestimate the power of a grain with a nice texture.

5. Chipolte peppers in adobo – oh yes, this is a must. But, only using a pepper or two at a time, even when I save them properly in the fridge, I tend to toss more than I use. There really is no substitute for this deep flavor.

6. Fancy tuna in olive oil – Nope. Never even purchased any yet. I do try to keep some cheap tuna around for snacks, but it more often goes to the cats when I run out of cat food and don’t want to make an extra trip to the store.

7. Salted capers – they prefer salted to brined. I only know brined capers, but gosh I love ‘em!

8. High quality honey – nice to have, but not essential in my cooking. Oh, wait, they mention using it to create a simple syrup for cocktails. Cocktails? Hmmmmm!

9. Garbanzo beans – I’ve tried several times to like these babies, but nope, not yet.

10. Whole grain mustard – I am of the belief that one simply cannot have enough varieties of mustard at hand.

Louise’s List

(Assuming that kosher salt, black pepper, basic herbs and spices, milk, butter, etc are already accounted for.)

1. Rice vinegar – Perfect for salad dressings, marinades, and lightly splashing on grilled veggies.

2. Chicken stock – some years I’m all into making it at home, and others I’m just not. Either way, I’ve always got some on hand.

3. Fish sauce – once you’ve used this a few times, you’ll be hooked.

4. Dried pasta – with some of this around I can always build something as basic as mac and cheese or a main dish with a light sauce, veggies, and a bit of sausage.

5. Chipolte peppers- even though I rarely use the whole tin, nothing can take their place.

6. Coconut milk – when I have this, I always find a use for it in curries, rice, so many things. When it isn’t handy, I always notice.

7. Crystal hot sauce – ’nuff said.

8. Vanilla sugar – For a few years now we’ve kept a jar of white sugar with a few vanilla beans inside. What a treat!

9. Black beans – I use these in appetizers, main dishes, side dishes … a pantry essential for me.

10. Horseradish – on sandwiches or in dips, the head rush from some earth shaking horseradish is the best!

Jalapeno Cheese Soup

OK all you hot heads, this is the post for you! Jalapeño Cheese Soup is the perfect combination of healthy vegetables and artery clogging “cheese product” that will keep you warm on a cold night. I’ve been making this for yeeeeeeeeeears. It is a cinch to locate the recipe in our Santa Fe Recipe cookbook for two reasons: 1) the book just flops open to that recipe, and 2) the page is covered with spatters from one of the several times I put too much hot soup into the blender and it exploded out the top and all over the kitchen. I bet you’ve got a recipe book like that, too.

This does call for a lot of jalapeños, but don’t shy away cuz I’ve got a few hints for you as we go along. The jalapeños and onions in the soup are both from Smith Family Farm which thankfully stays open through October. Yipee!

On a side note, when shopping there yesterday I took the liberty of introducing myself to the wonderful gals working the counter and told them about this blog. “Oh! Someone told us about your blog just last Friday.” they told me. What? Really?! Be still my little heart … I was thrilled beyond words.

Jalapeño Cheese Soup

Ingredients:

6 cups chicken broth

1 bunch celery, chopped in 1/2 inch pieces (select the celery with the most leaves for the best flavor)

2 cups onion, chopped in 1/2 inch pieces

3/4 tsp garlic salt

1/2 tsp white pepper

2 pounds Velveeta cheese, cubed

1 cup diced jalapeño peppers (cut in half, remove seeds, then toss in a food processor)

sour cream

Directions:

1. In a soup pot, place the chicken broth, celery, onions, garlic salt and white pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook for 10 minutes, or until the mixture reduces and thickens slightly.

2. Working in batches, place some broth mixture and some cheese and puree together until the mixture is smooth. Pour into a bowl and continue with the batches of broth and cheese until all of it has been pureed.

3. Return pureed mixture to soup pot and simmer for 5 minutes.

4. Add diced peppers, simmer 3 minutes. Serve with a dollop of sour cream.

Notes:

* When selecting the jalapeños, choose peppers with a tight shiny skin. These are the sweetest peppers and have a lovely crunch to them.

* Remember to either wear gloves or use a food processor when working with the jalapeños. If you have yet to learn this lesson for yourself, please, trust me here.

* Since the jalapenos don’t cook too long in the soup, you can always start with less than the full cup and have more diced jalapenos at the table for people to add to their own personal liking.

* A mixture of red and green jalapeños makes for a fun Christmasy presentation.

* When chopping the vegetables, remember that they are all going to be tossed into a blender, so don’t worry about getting them all the exact same size. No one is going to see your ninja knife skills in this dish.

* If you are a cilantro lover, go ahead and mix 1 TBS of chopped cilantro into your bowl of soup.

* Some toasted sourdough bread makes a great tool for dipping while you eat.

Popcorn with Parmesan and Pepper

Last night, we needed a decidedly adult snack for watching “The Show” aka the Veep debates. Popcorn is always good during a show, so I whipped up a batch of my favorite salty treat. This is definitely not your childhood popcorn, and while it may sound a bit odd, be assured that the bowl will always end up empty! I find this best enjoyed with a nice, frosty brew.

As for the debate, it wasn’t the laugh-fest we expected, but was certainly riveting! What did you think?

2 TBS corn oil

1/3 cup popcorn kernels

2 TBS extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan

1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper (or more to taste)

1/2 tsp kosher salt (or more to taste)

1. Make fresh popcorn by heating olive oil in a tall pot over medium – high heat. Add one popcorn kernel, and when it pops, add the remainder. Put the lid on the pot and gently slide the pot back and forth over the heat. When the popping stops for 15 seconds, remove from heat.

2. Drizzle olive oil over popcorn while stirring.

3. Add cheese, salt, pepper and toss gently. Serve.

Note: Yes, you really do want to make your own popcorn and not just do the prepackaged microwave thing. (Have you ever opened one of those bags before popping? Eek!) If you have a popcorn maker, of course that will do just fine.

When Life Gives You Rosemary, Make Focaccia

It is odd not having even an herb garden this year, but that is the story for another day (hint: a puppy is involved, and lucky for her she’s a cutie). My neighbor T doesn’t technically have an herb garden, but there are several large rosemary bushes in his back yard. “Help yourself, anytime!” he’d tell me. So, I started small. Just a snip here and there from the bush next to our low, shared fence. When that started to flower, I welcomed myself into his yard one day while he was out doing some pruning. “Help yourself, anytime!” he repeated. This weekend he showed up at our door with a handful of aromatic rosemary trimmings. “The bush on the far side of the yard is the best now, help yourself!” I tell ya, neighbors like this are gold.

So here I was holding a handful of rosemary and the desire to try something new. Focaccia! Yes, I know that this bread is not exactly a new item on the world’s menu, but it involved yeast, and yeast is not generally my friend. But I had LOTS of rosemary, so if the first batch didn’t work, I could try again. And, even if the bread didn’t turn out beautifully, the house would smell divine!

Knowing that working with yeast require a decent thermometer, and only finding a meat / roast type, I jerry – rigged up a little doo-dad with bit of painters’ tape that did the trick nicely. There is a story behind the lack of a glass thermometer also, but there is nothing cute involved, so I will spare you those details. After a bit of a recipe search, I found one that used honey, and since I still have some of that yummy local honey, I went for that.

So, here we go. And remember, even if this doesn’t work out perfectly for you the first time, the aroma in your house alone is worth it!

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups boiling water
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary, divided
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
• 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 1/4 cup olive oil, divided
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Cooking spray
• 1 teaspoon water
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt

Directions

Combine boiling water, 1 teaspoon rosemary, and honey in a large bowl; cool to 100° to 110°. Sprinkle yeast over honey mixture; let stand 5 minutes. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add 3 1/4 cups flour, 2 tablespoons oil, and 1 teaspoon salt to honey mixture, stirring to form a soft dough. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes); add enough of remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands (dough will feel sticky).

Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 45 minutes or until doubled in size. (Gently press two fingers into dough. If indentation remains, dough has risen enough.) Punch dough down. Pat dough into a 14 x 12-inch rectangle on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Cover and let rise 20 minutes or until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 350º.

Uncover dough. Make indentations in top of dough using handle of a wooden spoon or your fingertips. Combine 1 tablespoon oil, 1 teaspoon water, and egg yolk; brush over dough. Drizzle with remaining 1 tablespoon oil; sprinkle with remaining rosemary and sea salt.

Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from pan; cool on a wire rack.

Peach Pancake

Once again, this recipe comes from a harmonic convergence of events. For one, Cooking Light featured a lovely Apple Pancake baked in a cast iron skillet on the cover of their magazine. Apple? Huh? Now? We’re still in full peach, pluot, and nectarine season ’round here. But the picture was soooooooo beautiful, and I’m a firm believer that anything cooked in a cast iron skillet is worthy of my time and attention.

Then, I was stopping by Lon’s Organic on my way home from work for my daily fix of whatever he was featuring this week, and there I saw them: 2 boxes of peaches from his neighbor Frog Hollow Farm. For those of you unfamiliar with this famous farm, just note that they have one of the most popular stands in the highly touted San Francisco Ferry Building market. But, they don’t sell them locally. Until Lon. Until now. Mind you, they are a bit pricey, but they are like slurping up a bit of heaven. Yes, these are the Eat Over the Sink or Eat Over the Lawn kinds of peaches that make you smile from ear to ear while sweet juices drip down your chin.

You see? It was clearly a harmonic convergence of the most lovely peaches you have ever tasted and a beautiful cover picture on Cooking Light.

Note: in the past I have attempted other fruit desserts that visually depended on the perfect spiral of fruit for full effect, and let’s just say that there are no pictures of those dishes. But this? Again I tell you, this was meant to be.

Ingredients

Batter:

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (about 2 1/4 ounces)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon grated whole nutmeg
• 2 eggs
• 3 egg whites
• 1 cup fat-free milk
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Peach mixture:

• Cooking spray
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon grated whole nutmeg
• 1 cup thinly sliced peach

Preparation

1. To prepare batter, lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, salt, and 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Lightly whisk eggs in a small bowl. Add milk, butter, and vanilla and whisk lightly again. Add egg mixture to flour mixture, gently combine with a whisk. Let stand 30 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 425°.

3. To prepare peach mixture, coat bottom and sides of a 10-inch ovenproof skillet with cooking spray. Combine 1/4 cup granulated sugar, cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg; sprinkle evenly over bottom and sides of pan. Arrange peach in an even spokelike layer in pan. Sprinkle peach with remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar. Cook on the stove top over medium heat 8 minutes or until mixture bubbles. (It looks simply delectable at this point!) Slowly pour batter over apple mixture.

4. Bake at 425° for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375° (do not remove pancake from oven); bake an additional 13 minutes or until center is set. Carefully loosen pancake with a spatula. Gently slide pancake onto a serving platter. (We served it straight out of the pan for that rustic charm.) Cut into 6 wedges; serve immediately.

Notes:

• This was truly as delicious as it looks!
• The original recipe called for egg substitute. I came up with the listed egg combination after a quick online search and was quite pleased with the result.
• The next time I make this with peaches or another sweet fruit, I will cut waaaaaaaaaaaaay back on the sugar. This bordered on being too sweet. Just bordered mind you, because nothing so delectable can be Too Sweet, eh?
• The recipe called for a 10 inch pan. I had a 9 inch pan and a 12 inch pan and went with the smaller one. Making everything else according to the recipe, I just held off on a bit of the sugar mixture and batter.
• This is a really simple little dessert to whip up, makes the home smell divine, and comes with a lovely rustic presentation from the pan.

Sweet Corn and Potato Soup

I finally made the jump from pure summer grilling bliss to an actual almost Fall food. It has been weeks since I’ve turned on the stove, something I state with great pride. Dining al fresco lakeside every evening on fresh veggies from the local farm stands has been divine. Knowing it will slowly come to an end for this year has been just painful. Serious ouch.

This was one of those I Want Comfort Food, Soup Sounds Good, What Can I Make Without Going Shopping kinds of nights. You certainly know what I mean.

Smith Farms was the source of a recent procurement of Brentwood Sweet Corn, red potatoes, red bell pepper, tomatoes, and a few onions. That’s a strong start! From there, I browsed my favorite recipe browsing sites, AllRecipes and Epicurious, zoning in on the corn chowders and perusing those all important comments. It seems that canned cream corn is a pantry staple in some areas, but I had the real deal right here. Another recipe used fresh corn, but added 3 cups of heavy cream. Oh holy hips and thighs! No way I was going there for a simple meal!

With the cooling of seasons, I also delighted in being able to further explore my inner Potato Ho – ness! Sweet, local summer veggies and red potatoes …. be still my heart! A big ol’ PH thanks to Asthma Girl for hosting the event this month!

In the end, this is how I put the chowder together, and I sure hope you can smell the luscious sweet corn through the photo!

Ingredients:

6 cobs of sweet corn, kernels removed (hint, if you cut really slowly, those kernels won’t jump all over your kitchen)

4 red potatoes, cut into 1/2 in dice

3 slices bacon, chopped fine

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

1 15 oz can chicken broth

2 to 3 cups lowfat milk (I used 1% with success)

2 tsp thyme (this totally made the dish!)

Directions:

1. Heat pot over medium heat, and cook the bacon just until the edges start to brown. Add onion and cook until if softens, about another 4 minutes. Add potatoes and cook another 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Add corn, red bell pepper, thyme, chicken broth and 2 cups of milk. Cook for 10 minutes or until potatoes are just cooked though. (Taste testing is important here! You have my permission.)

3. Using an immersion blender, give the soup about 4 pulses. Check to see if the soup has moved from a brothy consistency to a thicker consistency. If not, give it a few more pulses. You want a nice mixture of thick chowder, with a good amount of corn kernels and potato pieces still intact. Alternately, you could move half of the soup to a blender and give it a few pulses then return that to the pot.

4. Heat to a low simmer, adding more milk as needed for your desired consistency.

Notes:

• this whole soup took 20 minutes tops to make, which qualifies it for future meals in our house.
• I wouldn’t buy bacon just for this recipe, as a bit of diced carrots or celery could easily add that extra layer of flavor.
• corn kernels from fresh cobs really do fly like crazy when you try to cut them off quickly. Slow down. It will actually save you time in the end.
• We had this with the best grilled cheese sandwich ever and delighted in our delicious dinner: sliced sourdough bread from a small bakery, provolone cheese, sliced heirloom tomatoes.
• In the dead of winter, I’m sure to dream of this simple, yet fantastic, meal!

Grilled Pork Chops and Peaches Deconstructed

All set to go with my brined pork chops, it was time to recreate the pork chops and peaches by Food Blogga. In that recipe, everything was cooked in one skillet. Mmmmmm, what a great one “pot” dish this would make, and I’m sure to give it a go eventually. But there were two dilemmas: its still waaaaaaaaaaay too hot here to turn on the stove, and brining and pan juices just do not go together.

If you have never brined any meat, this is your time to give it a go. Really, it is just so incredibly simple and the flavor it brings out in the meat is beyond compare! You do need to plan ahead, but it is easy to fit into your daily routine. Here’s how it goes:

1. Just before pouring your coffee, put your spaghetti pot on the stove filled with water just as if you were going to toss in some pasta. Add 2 cups kosher salt, 6 crushed garlic cloves (don’t bother to chop them, just give them a good ol’ whack with the side of your chef’s knife), about 2 TBS pepper corns that you’ve slightly squished with a mortar and pestle, and a few sprigs of rosemary, or 2 TBS of dried rosemary or oregano or basil.  While that heats until just boiling, grab your coffee, make sure the kids packed their lunches, and read the comics.  Make sure all that salt dissolved into the water, and put it in the fridge for the day to cool.

2. That night, when you’re getting out the ingredients to cook dinner, grab the chicken, turkey or pork for tomorrow’s dinner. Rinse the meat, add it to the brine, cover with the lid and return the pot to the fridge. See you can do this, right?

3. The next night, remove the meat from the brine, pat dry, and grill or roast as you would normally.

Honestly, you will be so impressed with the juicy, flavorful meat! The one draw back is that since the meat does release salty juices during the cooking process, you cannot make any pan sauce or gravy from those juices. But you weren’t really into that tonight anyways, were you?

For my deconstructed dish, I simply:

• grilled the pork chops as usual on the gas grill
• cut one peach in half, and grilled each side for about 3 minutes, removed from the grill and sliced
• arranged on a plate and drizzled with a bit of balsamic vinegar

You can’t go wrong with this simple summer delight!

Grilled Vegetable Sandwich

Grilled Vegetable Sandwiches have been a “go to” recipe in our family for years now. The basics of it originate from the book In the Kitchen With Rosie published back in 1994. Rosie is the spa chef that Oprah hired to cook for her at home several diets ago. This is one of those books that I use sometimes for specific recipes, sometimes for lower fat cooking methods in general, and sometimes for a good laugh. I firmly believe that there are some foods that just need to be enjoyed in their full fat version, then we just adapt from there with other light meals during the week or enjoying smaller portions. Somehow many people find those concepts way out there, hence the spa cuisine. Ha!

Below is my adaptation, based on what I tend to have in the fridge and the veggies currently available during the summer. The tomato and lettuce can be omitted, and I just include them when the mood strikes me right. But the basil … that is a must!

Don’t let the long list of ingredients frighten you away. This is a really simple meal! Just toss the dressing ingredients in a blender, and that is done. Slice and grill veggies with a bit of spice, and that is done. Just assemble the sandwiches from there and enjoy! Warning: these are gooey, veggies smooshing out of the sides, drippy sandwiches! Mmmmmmmmmmm.

Dressing:

1/4 cup mayo

1/2 cup light sour cream

3 TBS dijon mustard

1/8 tsp Crystal sauce (or Tobasco)

2 green onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 tsp lemon juice

Sandwich:

1 small eggplant, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds

1 yellow squash, sliced lenthwise into 1/4 inch strips

1 zucchini, sliced lenthwise into 1/4 inch strips

1 red onion, trimmed and cut into 1/4 inch rounds

3 tsp Italian seasoning (or just some basil / oregano if that is what’s handy)

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

cooking spray

2 bell peppers, roasted and skins removed, sliced into strips

1 french bread baguette

1 tomato, cored and sliced (optional)

8 fresh basil leaves

8 arugula leaves, or other mixed green leaves

2 TBS jalapeño, sliced

black pepper to taste

Dressing instructions:

1. Put all ingredients in a blender or food processor, and mix at low speed until smooth. The dressing will be a bit thin, but don’t worry.

Sandwich instructions:

1. To each of the eggplant, squash, zucchini, and onion slices, add a bit of oil to each side and dust lightly with Italian seasonings and cayenne pepper. Grill on a hot grill, about 3 minutes per side. These veggies should look a little black around the edges. Trust me, this is good.

2. Cut 1 inch off each end of the baguette. Slice it lengthwise so that the sides remain connected, then cut into 4 portions. Open the baguette and use your fingers to scoop out most of the bread. Grill lightly.

3. Assemble sandwiches by pouring dressing on the top and bottom of each baguette, they layering on the roasted vegetables, tomato, basil, arugula and jalapeño.