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!!!!

Purslane and Garbanzo Salad

If you read my blog much, well - I'm amazed that you keep coming back.
No, I'm glad you're here. So have you noticed my frequent references to purslane?

I promise I'm not quite a weed-growing hippie farmer, but I've been fascinated with purslane for several years and finally this summer I'm growing my own. Safely in a large pot so it doesn't escape and take over my back yard which I guess it CAN do, though I've never seen it around here. (That's the only weeds I grow, promise!)

Here is the best use of my little purslane leaves so far!! I don't usually rave about nutrition, I'm all about "Does it TASTE good?"... but this salad tastes good AND it's loaded!

Wonderfully refreshing, packed with protein, good fats in the avocado, iron and calcium in the arugula, and as I've reminded everyone repeatedly, LOADS of Omega 3's from our lovely purslane!

Due to the evil Blogger-demons refusing to upload my pictures at the moment, I'll just leave you lovelies with this recipe and strictest instructions to rush out and raid your neighbors purslane-patch and make this salad tonight! You don't need no picture!

Purslane Salad with Garbanzos
(Chick-Peas) and Arugula

1 cup drained cooked or canned garbanzos/chickpeas
1 - 2 teaspoons capers (Please use these. Don't say you don't like them.)
1 avocado, cubed
3 cloves garlic or to taste, pressed or minced
2 green onions, thinly sliced
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
Salt
3 cups baby arugula leaves
1 cup purslane leaves

1. In a bowl, combine garbanzos, capers, garlic and scallion. Add olive oil, lemon juice, and salt to taste. Gently toss in avocado cubes.
2. Mix arugula and purslane leaves. Top with garbanzo mixture. Oh, and if you're not vegan? Some crumbled feta cheese (*gasp*!!) would be awesome here I imagine!!