This recipe to me is summer in a sandwich. We hit the farmers market almost every weekend and bring home whatever beautiful, fresh vegetables that catch our eye. When summer is in full swing, it's almost a challenge to edit and not bring home an entire car full of squashes, eggplants, corn, peppers, tomatoes, etc. Plus you add in all the bunches of herbs, and I am in heaven. There is also an organic baker that often comes with his artisan vegan baguettes and breads. We always end up buying too much though... So what to do with all of this? Make a freaking amazing vegan sandwich silly! This sandwich has truly become a family staple in the summer. It can vary week-to-week on what vegetables it contains, but the premise is always the same: the freshest veggies, marinated and grilled, piled on top of a baguette that has been smothered with garlicky goodness. Even the bread gets a brief stint on the grill to make it warm and crunchy... are you drooling yet? FYI You can't really go wrong with the veggies in this, just use what you love, what you have on hand, or use it as an excuse to go to the farmers market Peace!

Ingredients:

Vegetable Marinade:

• 2 tsp garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp agave syrup, I used light
• 1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Garlic Bread:

• 1 baguette loaf, sliced in half lengthwise
• 2 tsp garlic, minced
• 2 TBS Earth Balance Spread, melted
• 1/4 tsp Italian seasoning

Vegetables (Feel free to use whatever you like or have on hand):

• 1 or 2 baby eggplants, sliced lengthwise 1/4" thick
• 1 or 2 zucchini or summer squash, sliced lengthwise 1/4" thick
• 2 to 3 small sweet or spicy peppers, such as Hungarian, long hots, etc
• 1 or 2 small onions, peeled and ends removed
• 2 small tomatoes, sliced 1/4" thick
• 12 leaves of fresh basil
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat grill to medium heat. While grill is preheating combine all marinade ingredients except the olive oil in a food processor. Pulse a few times, scraping down as needed, then turn processor on and drizzle in the olive oil until the marinade is emulsified or thickened slightly. Transfer to a bowl. Using a brush (I use a silicone one), coat all the vegetables you are using, except the tomatoes and basil, with the marinade.

For garlic bread, combine the garlic and Earth Balance, brush onto the cut sides of the loaf. Then, using your fingers, sprinkle the Italian seasoning over the cut sides making sure to evenly distribute. Set aside.

Once grill is hot, place vegetables (except tomatoes and basil) on a single layer on the grill and grill a couple minutes each side, flipping to grill both sides. You want the vegetables to be slightly softened with good grill marks. We grill the onions and peppers whole, so they can take a bit longer than everything else. Transfer the veggies as they get done to a platter or cookie sheet. Once they are all grilled, set aside. Next add the garlic bread, cut sides down and grill for a couple minutes until they get nice grill marks, flip and grill other side for another minute or two. Remove from heat.

Next peel the skins off the peppers, remove stems and seeds and cut into 2-3 pieces lengthwise. Slice the grilled onions into 1/4" thick rounds. Now it's time to assemble the sandwich. I usually put the flattest veggies on the bottom, so that would be the eggplant strips, zucchini or squash. Create a single layer to cover the whole base of baguette. Keep layering the grilled veggies onto the sandwich. Then top with the tomatoes, fresh basil leaves, and salt and pepper. Put the top of the baguette on the sandwich and carefully slice into 3-4 large sections, I usually involve my elbows to help keep the sandwich together while cutting. Serves 3-4 people.

We have this great produce market pretty close by that not only sells amazing fruits and vegetables by the armful, they also sell huge bags of dried chiles for a steal. This my friends, is an ideal situation for my hubs and I to add happiness to our marriage. What?!?!? Just hear me out... I love a bargain. I mean, I really, really love a bargain. My hubs likes anything spicy and anything he can experiment with. So together it ticks all the boxes for marital bliss, hey after almost 12 years of marriage you have to appreciate even the little things. So we bought 2 huge bags brimming with dried chiles. Anchos and Guajillos to be exact. The hubs took it as his mission to make some glorious spicy sauces that we could pair with almost anything. This one is a huge success. I love it because it has really good kick, but also real depth and richness of flavor. Oregano and garlic is magic when paired with chiles, and if you have Mexican oregano where you live, by all means please use that instead. This sauce is also incredibly easy to make, so it can be whipped up easily on a weeknight. We use this sauce to smother our burritos, bake our enchiladas, pour onto our tacos, dip our fried tofu into, and scoop up with tortilla chips. It would even be fabulous spooned onto pasta, polenta, or corn bread. Oh the possibilities! Just had to post this one... it truly was created out of love and harmony, and those are the very best recipes to share. Peace!

Ingredients:

Directions:

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil, remove from heat, add dried peppers and let sit with lid on for at least 30 minutes. Ideally you want to keep the peppers submerged in the water, so add a heavy bowl or even a plate on top of the peppers if needed. After peppers have soaked for 30 minutes, remove stems and place into a food processor (you may want to remove the seeds too if you want a little less heat). Add tomatoes, garlic, reserved juice, oregano, and salt. Process until everything has been pureed into a smooth sauce. Taste and add more salt if needed. This can be used as is at room temperature or heated, either way it's bliss. Makes about 2-1/2 to 3 cups of sauce.

Many of you know by now how passionate I am about my Mexican flavors. I am always dumbfounded by the people I meet who don't like Mexican food. When I dig deeper, turns out most of their experiences come from that taco fast food joint, that now mashes Doritos into their food, obviously to make it more authentic. Please note the dripping sarcasm. Well no wonder they don't like Mexican! Mexican food is packed full of flavor punches, it doesn't have to be hot, and mostly I find it simple and honest... just my kind of food. Now onto Guacamole. We eat guacamole in our house at least 2-3 times a week. I buy avocados in bulk and we feel lost when we don't have some sitting on the counter ripening. But alas, it wasn't always this way. I used to despise guacamole because the only ones I had ever tried were loaded with sour cream and lacked flavor. It was on a trip to Maine one summer that we sat in a Mexican-Italian restaurant (yes I know that sounds scary, but in remote Maine you can often find dual cuisine restaurants) and decided, upon recommendation of the waitress, to try their guacamole. My life has never been the same. It just goes to show you that you can be anywhere on this great earth to find inspiration. I eat guacamole pretty much everywhere I go and consider myself an aficionado at this point. My guacamole has a good garlicky base, a mini-kick of heat from jalapenos, the crunch of fresh onions, the herbacious wonderfulness of cilantro, and enough salt to elevate all those flavors. As a family, some of us like our guac creamy, and others like big chunks of avocado. So I usually try to meet in the middle so we are all happy. I hope this one will make you and yours happy too

Ingredients:

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, mash with either a fork and spoon, or use a potato masher (that's what I use). Mash to the consistency you like. Taste and add more salt if needed. Enjoy right away. If you are planning on eating it later on, press plastic wrap directly on top of the guacamole to keep the air out and keep it from browning. Put it in the fridge until ready to enjoy. Best served with warm tortilla chips. Makes enough for about 6 servings.