Grilled Cheese, Roasted Pepper, Tomato and Pesto Sandwich

I like to cook, but there are days when I don't want to deal with making an entire meal because  a) it's too hot to cook b) I've been busy and just want to chill and/or c) we've eaten something giant and delicious for breakfast or lunch, like a burrito from our local restaurant, The Mad Cow Calf-A, and we just don't need to eat another big meal.

That's when it's perfectly okay to assemble dinner, use one pan and that's it. Grilled cheese is one of those perfect quickie meals, and this one is not only cheesy, but juicy and savory as well. I used some shredded cheese I found in the fridge, but slices are just fine. Add some flavor punch with some purchased pesto and moistness with some jarred, roasted red peppers and a homegrown or farmers' market tomato. I used a yellow Jubilee tomato for this sandwich.

Butter or olive oil the outside of the sandwich, so when you grill it, the bread is lightly browned.

If you feel the fam needs veggies, make this salad in the morning (pictured below) so all you have to do is set it on the table along with the grilled cheese sandwiches.

Grilled Cheese, Roasted Red Pepper, Tomato and Pesto Sandwiches

Ingredients (makes 1 sandwich)

2 slices bread

1 T prepared pesto

1 or 2 tomato slices

1 oz. cheese, your choice, sliced or shredded

2 or 3 pieces jarred roasted red peppers

butter, margarine, or olive oil

Directions

1. Heat a grill pan, griddle, or skillet over medium-low heat

2. Butter or brush some olive oil on one side of the bread slices.These will be the outside of the sandwich.

3. Assemble sandwich: pesto on the bread, then cheese, tomato, and peppers.

4. I like to add a little cheese on both sides of the juicy ingredients so when I grill the sandwich, it all sticks together.

5.  Carefully place the sandwich on the hot griddle. If you want to make it panini-style, place a piece of aluminum foil on top of the sandwich and then put an iron skillet on the foil to smash it all down. Let the bottom of the sandwich grill. Check that it isn't burning and that the cheese is melting.

6. Flip the sandwich over, replace the foil and the iron skillet if you are making a panino, and keep an eye on it. 

7. Once the cheese is melted and the bread is brown, you are finished! Enjoy!

 

End of June: Growing Dome Update

Ahhh! Summer is here and the garden is growing like a 12 year old boy and almost as unruly. Bring out the nets and the twine!

When I say garden, I am talking about the stuff I grow in the Growing Dome. So far we have picked yellow zucchini, green beans, six cherry tomatoes, kale, basil, rosemary, and lemon thyme. We have had some warm days here, in the upper 80's, so my work in the dome must be done early or late because it gets hot in there when the sun is overhead. We do have shade cloth over half the dome, because high altitude sun is fierce.

Here are my cucumbers, the Poona Kheera variety I wrote about here.

I just couldn't wait, so did a little internet perusing and many growers of this cucumber, which is native to India, said it was okay to pick when they had  turned from green to yellow. So I took a couple yellow cukes and one that was turning from yellow to brown.

These cukes were sweet with no bitterness or astringency at all,  white inside and at the yellow stage, small seeds. As the skin gets brown, they will continue to be sweet, but the seeds will be larger.

When I am in the dome I like to wear an apron to keep my clothes clean. (My childhood nickname was Susie Slop A** because let me loose and I would be dirty in a minute!) An apron is handy, too, to carry the stuff you picked into the house if you forgot a container.

Below is a pic of the green bean harvest yesterday morning. They were a tight squeeze in my apron's pocket.

This is just enough for the two of us for dinner, steamed for 5 minutes, finished with a little salt, pepper, and butter. As summer goes on, we will get fancier, but the first green beans get the simple treatment. Here's another green bean recipe for later, if you are ready to move beyond basic.

Yesterday, though, there was a surprise in the dome, and not a good one. Check out this kale plant!

Since I am not familiar with kale and how it looks when it's growing, I missed this at first, but realized yesterday that even kale called Dinosaur Kale shouldn't look like this. This was Lacy Kale, which sounds like a great name for a country singer, but not for the stuff I am growing!

Upon closer inspection on the undersides of the leaves, I found the problem: Little wormy fellows having a feast. Eww!

 

This is when I wish I had chickens, because they would be standing nearby in their pen, pacing back and forth, ready for me to share some of these rare and tasty delicacies. Instead, I moved the green wormsters down to the creek for the birds to find. Bon appetit!

Then I cut the damaged leaves off and we will see what happens. I'm giving the kale about a week to start growing anew. If it doesn't recover, I have some nice bell pepper plants looking for a home.

Green Bean, Tomato and Zucchini Salad

Who wants to cook when it's 100 degrees outside? If you're raising your hand and saying, "I do! I do!" then go back to the Trident gum commercial you escaped from. Summer is when my mom used to make a gigantic tub of macaroni salad in the morning which she served with cold sliced ham for dinnertime. Maybe we'd get a wedge of iceberg lettuce if she was feeling particularly health conscious, but it was about keeping it simple on a hot evening. 

Even though the temps here are more moderate in the summertime than in Southern California, I still like to make side dishes early in the day to reserve my afternoons for important stuff like sitting on the veranda, drinking wine and reading mysteries.

I picked a load of green beans from the growing dome a couple weeks ago along with some ripe, juicy tomatoes. At the farmers' market I bought some zucchini, both large and small, from a couple ladies who really know how to sell veggies.

Several days later I happened upon the green beans and zucchini in the produce drawer and since I didn't have any lettuce and wanted a salad, decided it was green bean salad time. I wanted the salad to be my main dish, so hunted around the internet and found a green bean and chayote salad recipe which was the inspiration for this one.
It tasted so good the first time that when we were invited to dinner at the neighbors' yurt I made it again. After we came home that evening I realized I had forgotten the cheese, but people happily ate it cheeseless, so it's a keeper, cheese or not.

Green Bean, Tomato and Zucchini Salad with Queso Fresco 


Ingredients:

2 medium zucchinis, diced into 1/2″ pieces
8 oz.  green beans, chopped into about 2” pieces (about 2 heaping cups)
2 ripe tomatoes chopped (I used a mixture of yellow and red tomatoes)
A handful of chopped cilantro or 2 T cilantro pesto
1/4 cup crumbled Queso Fresco or feta cheese


Vinaigrette (This is optional)
3 T. apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 t agave sweetener, honey, or sugar (taste the dressing and if it needs more, add another squirt)
3 T. olive oil (use only 2 T if you are using cilantro pesto)

Directions 


1. Fill a medium saucepan with water and set it over high heat to boil. While the water is fixing to boil, fill a large bowl with water and ice cubes. This is to blanch the green beans and zucchini.

2. When the water in the saucepan is boiling, add the green beans and a teaspoon or more of salt.

3. Once green beans have boiled for three minutes, add the diced zucchini and cook for another minute or two. Taste a green bean. It should be tender-crisp and still bright green. Remove the veggies with a slotted spoon, and place them in the bowl of ice water. Let sit for at least five minutes to stop them from cooking further. This will make those greenie beanies nice and crisp. Drain the veggies.

4. Place drained green beans and zucchini into a serving bowl. Add the diced tomatoes, cilantro (or cilantro pesto) and cheese. Mix until well combined. Add salt to taste.

5. If making the vinaigrette, combine all ingredients and add the oil last. Whisk quickly until the oil and vinegar look fully mixed. Pour vinaigrette over the salad, a little at a time. Don't let it swim in dressing like I did the first time. A little goes a long way. You may have extra dressing which makes an excellent steak marinade.

Enjoy your veggies, peeps!