A few weeks ago, I happened to notice a request on Facebook from Slate Magazine for people to submit personal stories about how they have come to some sort of turning point in their lives and reinvented themselves, for a piece they were calling Second Acts. On a whim, I decided to submit my own story. I had pretty much forgotten about it until I got an email yesterday. Someone had seen my story on a video on Slate and she wanted to thank me for inspiring her to basically follow her own dreams. I was floored. It is so flattering, and humbling, to think that my life could inspire someone else. I sat there for awhile, reading and re-reading, thinking she couldn’t have been talking about my story. There must be some kind of mistake. Then I realized, she mentioned a video. All I had done was post my story to the site; there was no video involved. I had to go searching to figure out what she was talking about. Sure enough, I found it. David Plotz (editor of Slate) talking about my life. A bit surreal to say the least, but also pretty cool.
And, in honor of this wonderfully warm day (said with all the sarcasm I can muster), I am posting one of my favorite new recipes. It won’t heat up your kitchen and the only prep work is slicing some vegetables.
Grilled Vegetable Sandwich
[from Allrecipes]
1/4 cup mayonnaise
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/8 cup olive oil
1 cup sliced red bell peppers
1 small zucchini, sliced
1 sweet onion, sliced
1 small yellow squash, sliced
1 loaf focaccia, split horizontally and into quarters
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
Mix together the mayonnaise, garlic, and lemon juice. Put in the refrigerator until needed.
Preheat the grill on high.
Coat the vegetables with olive oil on each side, as well as the grill. Place the bell peppers and zucchini on the hottest part of the grill and put the onion and yellow squash pieces around them. Cook until nicely browned on each side. Remove from the grill and set aside.
Spread the mayonnaise mixture on the cut sides of the bread and sprinkle with feta cheese. Place the bread on the grill, cheese side up. Put the lid on the grill for about 2 to 3 minutes to melt the cheese.
Layer the bread with the vegetables. You can either eat them open faced or as full sandwiches.
