Dreaming of Grilled Vegetables

March 23, 2010

For two whole summers I enviously read blog post after blog post about grilled vegetables from around the food blogging world. At that point we were in an apartment in Brazil with no grill of our own. Not to mention, while grills of Brazil and the foods they produce are quite nice, it’s just not the same as our version in the U.S. I’m also not sure a vegetable has ever touched a grill where we were living. Red meat, yes, veggies not so much.
My anticipation of creating my own grilled produce has been building all winter. Now, that we are finally in a house, there is a spot being held for a new grill. However, it has turned out to be the last thing on our shopping list. While we have filled the house with couches, chairs and desks, the yard is still looking a bit bare.

That will change soon enough, but today I just couldn’t wait. After finding some zucchini and mushrooms in the fridge I decided to grab the grill pan and make an indoor version of a grilled vegetable sandwich for lunch.

I sliced up the vegetables, drizzled them with olive oil, and then sprinkled them with this herb rub.

A friend of mine gave me this and it is from Herb ‘n Renewal, a Kentucky company that sells herb products. You may not have access to this exact combo, but you can see the ingredient list here if you want to mimic it.
I cooked everything for a few minutes on each side, layered everything on the bread (Flax Oat Bran from Great Harvest) and then grilled the sandwich itself to make it more of a Panini. It hit the spot, but unfortunately it has made my longing for grilled foods even stronger!

There really isn’t an exact recipe here, but I will list out what I added to my sandwich. You can add whatever veggies you like.

Grilled Vegetable Sandwich

2 slices of whole grain bread
4 slices of zucchini
10 rings of Anaheim pepper
2 white mushrooms, sliced
Sprinkle of olive oil and herb seasoning
1 ½ tbsp cream cheese
1 green onion, sliced
1 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
¼ tsp garlic powder
Handful of fresh spinach

Place the veggies on the grill and sprinkle with olive oil and herb seasoning. Cook 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until tender. In a small bowl, mix the cream cheese, green onion, cilantro and garlic powder. Spread on one slice of the bread. Stack the grilled veggies on the second slice and top it with the spinach. Place the first slice on top, cream cheese side down. Return to the grill pan and grill for 1 minute on each side.

This post is being submitted to Souper Sundays at the Kahakai Kitchen.

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  • Feeling Fit With Dana March 23, 2010 at 5:45 pm

    Your sandwich looks amazing! Great job on grilling without the grill!

  • Joy March 23, 2010 at 7:32 pm

    Utterly yum! Grilling is a special kind of magic!

  • cathy March 23, 2010 at 8:28 pm

    YUM! I can’t remember…do you like goat cheese? The tang of goat cheese is fantastic with grilled veggies.

  • Fresh Local and Best March 23, 2010 at 9:24 pm

    This sandwich looks phenomenal! I adore grilled chilis, and I’m imagining how wonderful it must have been with melted cheese over crisp bread.

  • Debinhawaii March 24, 2010 at 12:11 am

    A perfect sandwich! I love my grill pan–so much easier than firing up the big grill. 😉

  • Ricki March 24, 2010 at 5:09 am

    But what did you cook it on if not a grill?–look at those grill marks! The veggie mix sounds like it would be delicious in combination with the bread. And I love the name, “Herb n Renewal”! 😉

  • Lori March 24, 2010 at 7:09 am

    Dana – Welcome and thank you!

    Joy – Thanks. I completely agree the flavor grilling adds is like magic!

    cathy – Yes, I have evolved into a lover of goat cheese. And what a great idea, less processed too.

    FLandB – Thanks! It was just what I was craving!

    Deb – I am using mine more and more. Fish, sandwiches, it works out great.

    Ricki – I used a grill pan on the stove. Yeah, it is a cool name. They have great products.

  • kat March 24, 2010 at 7:14 am

    Doesn’t it seem like grilling & roasting just bring out the best in vegetables?! You definitely need to get an outdoor grill soon, we are using ours this week even up here in the North

  • Andrea (Off Her Cork) March 24, 2010 at 7:38 am

    Grilled veggies! I love grilled veggies so much, brussel sprouts being my fave I think. Next to onions and peppers.

    That is a great looking sandwich and I love the use of cream cheese to hold everything in place. Awesome! 🙂

  • ABowlOfMush March 24, 2010 at 8:18 am

    Sounds delicious! Will have to try this sandwich! 🙂

  • Emily (A Nutritionist Eats) March 24, 2010 at 12:24 pm

    Wonderful idea! I haven’t grilled anything yet this spring!
    I have a grilled veggie recipe coming next week – I think you will like it!

  • Maria March 24, 2010 at 12:40 pm

    Love this sandwich. I am looking forward to summer grilled veggies too!

  • MelindaRD March 24, 2010 at 2:44 pm

    Yum! Grilled vegetables are awesome and delicious. It is nice when you don’t need to be outside to get the job done.

  • Cinnamon-Girl March 24, 2010 at 4:37 pm

    A grilled veggie sandwich panini-style sounds just delicious! Grilling brings out such a lovely, smoky flavor.

  • Joanne March 25, 2010 at 4:14 am

    Grilled veggies are definitely the best. I crave them way more than I ever crave grilled meat…especially eggplant. This sandwich looks awesome!

  • The Food Hunter March 25, 2010 at 10:58 am

    This is the perfect sandwich.

  • 5 Star Foodie March 25, 2010 at 12:22 pm

    An excellent healthy sandwich and definitely makes me think of summer!

  • The Healthy Hostess March 25, 2010 at 3:39 pm

    That sandwich looks amazing! Veggie sandwiches are one of my favorite meals! 🙂

  • herbfolks March 26, 2010 at 4:10 am

    Thanks so much for the thumbs up on one of our seasoning blends. You used our Herb’n All and it is a great all round blend. For those of you watching your salt intake (even though we only use sea salt) try the All Herb’n No Salt or the Cheese’n Season, which by the way has no cheese in it…we named it that because it started out as a blend to make your own “boursin” type cheese.

    Again, thank you,
    Karin Rasmussen
    http://www.herbnrenewal.com

  • Aileen March 26, 2010 at 5:04 am

    Great idea – I’m going to ‘grill ‘ up some for lunch … maybe add a quick splash of no fat balsamic dressing for an extra bit of flavor 🙂

  • Amanda (Two Boos Who Eat) March 28, 2010 at 12:14 pm

    oh yum! I love grilled veggie sandwiches. Especially with zucchini, red pepper, eggplant and portobello mushrooms. Now I am craving them! haha

  • Lori March 28, 2010 at 2:02 pm

    So glad everyone liked the sandwich! I’m looking forward to more grilled veggies this summer and this time on the outdoor grill. 🙂

    herbfolks – You are welcome. I really enjoy the product.

  • Erica March 28, 2010 at 3:37 pm

    YUMMMMMMMMM! I love grilled veggie sammys. I usually go with goat cheese or hummus (instead of the cream cheese)- but I bet cream cheese is awesome too. Hope you’re njoying your Sunday

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