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!!!!

Bumper Stickers and BBQ Tofu for Supper

First news of the day: I added a new bumper sticker to my Mom-van and just have to show it off. (The Vegetarian one..).
This event is impressive in itself because I'm actually not a 'bumper sticker' fan... but someone gave me "Who Are These Kids..." a year or two back and EVERYONE said it was so "me" that I just had to put on the van's pristine, unadorned backside. It gets great comments absolutely all the time (which I find weird since I never notice, much less comment on, other people's adesivo com frases humorísticas... but I digress).
Anyway, my kids found and LOVED the new "Vegetarian" bumper sticker especially for it's 'sprouting' reference, ('cause I always refer to them as my "Sprouts" of course). I figure a little PR for a vegetarian lifestyle is a good thing, but that's the last one - no more humorous adhesive on my hiney!

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Next, a simple but most excellent supper made by myself, and my friend Froggy-boy. We both thought it was worthy of a passing mention here just for it's simplicity and delicious-ness alone.

• Kale with roasted red peppers and sesame seeds. (No recipe, that's all there was to it.)
• Baked Tofu with BBQ sauce. (Again, no recipe, just slabs of tofu, baked with sauce - sooo yummy!)
• Garlic and Herb Oven-Roasted Potatoes (Recipe below)

Garlic and Herb Roasted Potatoes

6 Yukon Gold Potatoes
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 tsp. finely grated lemon peel
2 garlic cloves (You KNOW I used more than this!)
large handful fresh basil leaves
2 - 3 sprigs fresh thyme and sage
1 tsp. onion salt
Seasoning Salt (I use Johnny's 'cause it's made nearby in Tacoma, no MSG and way cheap) and pepper to taste

Cube potatoes. Place in roasting pan or shallow rectangular baking dish.
Put all other ingredients in food processor and blend until liquefied. It will be thick and green and garlick-y.
Pour about 3/4 of the mixture over the potatoes and mix well. (I use my hands).
Bake at 450 degrees for 45 min. or until starting to brown and crisp. Stir several times.
Pour remaining seasoning mixture over potatoes, toss well and serve. Yummmmmm.

There were no leftovers.