Woohoo it finally feels like Fall!!! Don’t get me wrong, I love summer, but I can’t stand this hot, muggy weather anymore! Having a classroom without air conditioning makes it infinitely worse. Honestly, I feel a lot more physically and mentally drained by the end of the day when my classroom is above 80 degrees. Do any of you work or live without air conditioning? I’m sure you know how I feel!

Today, it was in the 50s/60s and it was glorious! I just love the Fall – crisp weather, beautiful colors, everything apple and pumpkin spice, and fun Fall activities! I get giddy just thinking about it!

In other classroom news, I currently have an ant infestation. Ew. We keep spraying them but they just keep coming back. They’re everywhere! I do, however, find it funny that my English class just began reading “Leiningen Versus the Ants” at the same time as my own war against the ants invading my room. It was not planned at all but is highly appropriate considering the circumstances. Hopefully the ants will be gone soon!

Now that I’m sure I’ve completely made you lose any sort of appetite you may have had with my talk of ant infestations (sorry!), I have an awesome sandwich recipe for you: Grilled Vegetable, Herb, and Goat Cheese Sandwich!

Along with my last recipe (Crispy Chicken Tenders), this recipe also comes from Giada at Home (I may have binge-watched her show a wee bit over summer break…). I love this sandwich because I tend to get a little bored of sandwiches but this one felt really new and different from the usual sandwiches I eat. This garlicky sandwich has grilled veggies, tangy goat cheese, sun dried tomatoes, and crunchy spinach. I devoured it!

Here’s how to make it:

First heat up a grill or a grill pan to medium-high heat. Also take 1 cup of goat cheese out of the fridge to get it to room temperature.

While the grill is heating up, start making the herb mixture that you’ll use to coat the veggies and spread on the sandwich bread. Mix together 1/2 cup olive oil, 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 cup of oil-packed sun dried tomatoes that you drained and chopped finely, 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon leaves, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.

Next, slice 2 (small-ish) zucchinis and 2 Japanese eggplants into 1/4 inch thick pieces. My grocery store didn’t have Japanese eggplants so I used 1 baby eggplant and 1 graffiti eggplant because that’s what I found and they were cheap. The original recipes says to cut them lengthwise, but I didn’t read that and cut them into rounds and that worked out great too.

Place 2 tablespoons of the olive oil-herb mixture into a medium bowl, add in the zucchini and eggplant slices, and toss until well-coated.

Grill the vegetables for about 3-4 minutes per side, or until tender.

While the veggies are cooking, take your 12 1/2 ounce baguette and slice it in half lengthwise.

Spread each half with the remaining olive oil mixture. I love how it soaked into the bread!

Take your 1 cup of room temperature goat cheese and use a spatula to spread it over the olive oil mixture on both baguette halves.

When the vegetables are cooked, spread them out on top of the bottom half of the baguette.

Finally, arrange 1 1/2 cups of baby spinach on top of the vegetables. I left spinach off 1/3 of the sandwich because I shared this with my parents and my dad can’t eat spinach.

Place the top half of the baguette over the bottom to close the sandwich, then cut into 4 sandwiches.

Mmmmm. I love everything about this sandwich! Look at all that delicious goat cheese.

Grilled Vegetable, Herb, and Goat Cheese Sandwiches 
Recipe from Giada at Home

Serves 4

Ingredients: 

1/2 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 small-ish zucchinis, sliced into 1/4-inch-thick pieces
2 Japanese eggplants, sliced into 1/4-inch-thick pieces
1 (12 1/2-ounce) baguette, sliced in 1/2 lengthwise
1 cup (6 1/2 ounces) goat cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups baby spinach

Directions: 

1. Heat a grill or a grill pan to medium-high heat.
2. While the grill is heating up, make the olive oil spread. Mix together olive oil,  garlic, sun dried tomatoes, basil, tarragon, thyme, kosher salt, and ground black pepper.
3. Slice 2 (small-ish) zucchinis and 2 Japanese eggplants into 1/4 inch thick pieces. Place 2 tablespoons of the olive oil-herb mixture into a medium bowl, add in the zucchini and eggplant slices, and toss until well-coated. Grill the vegetables for about 3-4 minutes per side, or until tender.
4. While the vegetables are cooking, slice the baguette in half lengthwise. Spread each half with the remaining olive oil mixture. Use a spatula to spread the goat cheese over the olive oil mixture on both baguette halves.
5. When the vegetables are cooked, spread them out on top of the bottom half of the baguette. Arrange the baby spinach on top of the vegetables. Place the top half of the baguette over the bottom to close the sandwich, then cut into 4 sandwiches.

This is definitely not your average sandwich! There’s so much flavor and eating it really feels like a treat.