Grilled Summer Vegetable Sandwich

Sometimes when I'm working out at the gym and Law and Order is over and I need something else to watch, I flip the mini flat-screen in front of my usual treadmill to the Food Network.  Last week Bobby Flay made an incredible looking Italian-inspired grilled vegetable sandwich, and I thought--such a simple idea, and something I haven't done all summer!

This recipe is simple in technique, but it's time consuming to grill everything properly.  I suppose you could take a short-cut by purchasing plain grilled veggies from the prepared foods section of the grocery store, but that's almost too easy.

--K, happy to be back in Pittsburgh

Here are some tips and the alterations I made to Bobby's recipe:

-The garlic mayo is totally key here.  I used Veganaise instead, but don't skimp on the garlic.
-I also spread some tears of fresh basil on top of the two mayo applications.
-I added a layer of grilled zucchini in addition to the grilled eggplant.
-Another key to a successful sandwhich is that you season every component very well with salt and pepper--lube them up with some olive oil and sprinkle seasonings generously before grilling.  Then everything will come together well at the end.
-I skipped the arugula because I didn't have any, but I added thin slices of tomato.
-I roasted a yellow pepper instead of red, which added a nice sweetness and also brightened the sandwich layers with a silky pop of color.
-Use a whole ciabatta as instructed and then once the sandwich is composed, slice it to make individual servings for your lucky friends.

Delicioso.

Sesame-Soy Quinoa Salad with Tomatoes and Green Beans

Wowies...there's lots of summer catch-up posting to be done in friendly foodie land!  After my small-ish posting binge in July, I went to New York for a few weeks to do some research and visit with my fam.  And as soon as Emily got back from Peru, she started a new job here in the 'burgh, yay roomie!  Needless to say, we haven't been so great about keeping up with a posting rhythm.  That doesn't mean we haven't been making lots of tasty meals with fabulous summer produce, we just haven't translated them to digital space.

In these precious last few days of August, I will attempt to remedy the recent lag, focusing especially on delicious and simple ways to use some produce that's in tip-top shape these days: tomatoes, peaches, eggplant, zucchini, corn, green beans, etc.