Did I Mention Our New Panini Grill?

Yes indeed.

Our kitchen is home to a shiny, new panini sandwich grill and we couldn't be more excited!

Loads of thanks to our friend, Shaun.

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I think we were actually his tester Guinea-pigs, because after sampling only 37363536 amazing and tasty things we'd grilled, he went and bought himself one too!

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The grill was actually a Christmas present specifically for my Middle Sprout. She'd had it on her wish list for over a year. No Ipod, no cell phone requests like most 15-yr-olds; this girl is truly the kitchen appliance queen and loves cooking, experimenting and playing with food as much as I do. We're fortunate that she's willing to share all the grilled goodness with the rest of us family members.
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Now everything on our plates has those delicious toasty stripes. Even slabs of pineapple. (Without a doubt my FAVORITE!!)

Mr. Panini gets used frequently for quesadillas.

I've been having a lot of luck with vegan Tofutti slices; super-yummy with some cilantro, onions and tomatoes!

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Avocado slices are good too, but my kids aren't fans of green goo oozing from their quesadillas. How sad. More for me.

Slices of potato turn out great! These had a little olive oil, pepper, sea salt and rosemary. I don't remember how long they took, but it was a while; do them on med-low so they cook through before browning to a crisp.

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I didn't get a picture of the some of the tempeh - it was Shaun's favorite. Turned out pretty amazing too!! I simmered it in apple cider, let it marinate over night and grilled with a little soy sauce.

Grilled peanut-butter and sliced strawberries on thick whole-grain bread. Better than it looks!!

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So decadent, but certain nine-year-olds like it better than junk food, that's always a plus.

And it actually makes AWESOME panini-type sandwiches too - who knew? Currently, I'm really liking grilled eggplant and portabello mushrooms on sourdough, or a tempeh-rueben.

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If you've been considering yet another counter-hogging appliance, it's definitely a great multi-tasker. Lots of fun, super easy, get's dinner done FAST, hardly any clean-up, you don't need any oil for grilling most things.

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Even vegans can get plenty of use out of these babies as our pictures show... Have a great week!!!!

Burgers and Potato Wedgies

So I thought I was trying something new today when I shopped, but I got home and realized it's the same Southwest Style Sunshine Burgers I always buy, the packaging has just changed - quite a bit in fact!

I love these things - all organic, vegan (of course) gluten free - made with ground raw sun-flower seeds, brown rice, bell peppers, jalapenos and a couple other things... a little spicy but SO yummy! (I like 'em with a LOT of ketchup, can you tell?) The buns are wonderful puffy things from a neighborhood bakery - vegan, organic (and yes, obviously white flour, so shoot me!).

The potato wedges are inspired (sorta) by those horrid, dried out, greasy "Jo-Jo" wedges you can get at 7-11 sitting next to the rotisserie hot dogs ( ewww), only, of course, these are quite delicious; NOT dried out, greasy or horrid at all!

"Shake and Bake" Potato Wedgies

4 Russet potatoes, cut into thin lengthwise wedges
1 tsp. salt

1/2 c. flour

1/2 tsp. garlic salt

1 tsp. black pepper

1/2 tsp. onion salt

1/2 tsp. sage

1/2 tsp paprika (mainly for color)

pinch cayenne

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

1/4 c. finely ground dry breadcrumbs

1 Tb. oil

Toss potato wedges with oil (use your hands if you want) until thoroughly coated.
Mix all dry ingredients and put in a large plastic bag.

Put potatoes in bag with mixture and shake.

Place wedges in single layer on cookie sheet.

Spray lightly with an oil based cooking spray (like Pam) - I use an all-natural olive-oil spray from Whole Foods).

Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until done and starting to brown. You can cover with foil if you want but they're less crispy that way.