Spiced Moroccan Chicken Wrap with Eggplant Tomato Jam

I know, I know... long time, no cook.  But it's not that I haven't been cooking, it's just that what I have been cooking hasn't been new or particularly blog-worthy.  And, yes, since moving to Bangkok I have definitely been cooking a little bit less frequently.  Food is so delicious and cheap here, whether on the street, in a restaurant or at the market!

Anyway, this spiced Moroccan chicken wrap is a recipe from The Cozy Apron that I have cooked twice now, once in Jakarta and once in Bangkok, and both times I failed to get a good photo because it was dark and also because the dish was so tasty we snarfed it down immediately.  But please do check out The Cozy Apron for some mouthwatering pics.

The dish is full of spices and garlic and pretty healthy: awesome.  It consists of 3 parts (hummus, spiced and grilled chicken, eggplant and tomato "jam"), which seems like a lot, but none of the steps is particularly taxing or time-consuming.  You can make the hummus in advance (although we liked it to be room temp on the sandwiches, not cold), which helps the flavors meld and the chicken can be marinated overnight (I started marinating mine in the morning and that was sufficient, too).  We thought the sandwiches were good with a little lettuce for crunch, too.  Mmmm.

Lettuce, Avocado, Tomato and Tempeh Sandwich

I want to preface this blog post by assuring my loyal readers that we have in no way turned our backs on bacon.  Delicious, delicious bacon.

With that said, this week Tim and I tried a new, healthier version of the BLT sandwich made using ingredients easier to find in Indonesia.  Specifically, this sandwich substitutes tempeh for bacon.  I am sure that statement will elicit many eyebrow raises, but this sandwich is actually pretty damn good (despite my weak photo).  You can't really think of it as a BLT substitute, but a new and interesting sandwich in its own right (Heidi from 101 Cookbooks calls it a TLT sandwich, but I think it's more accurate to call it a LATT, don't you?).

The tempeh is marinated such that it has a slightly sweet, salty, smokey flavor, and is then pan fried so it's crisp on the outside.  Layer it in the sandwich with creamy avocado, crunchy lettuce and flavor-concentrated roasted tomatoes... not bad, not bad at all. Good enough that I plan to make it again soon.

I followed the recipe for the most part, although I skipped the brown sugar when roasting the tomatoes, as I thought the tempeh had enough sweetness.  Give it a try!

Bacon Weaved BLT

BLT Night!

Made BLTs tonight, decided to try another Pinterest post where bacon pieces are weaved to make sure there is  delicious bacon in every bite! Three pieces of bacon cut in half and weaved together.  Added some Sriracha mayo to it, yum.

500th Post! Evolution of a Sandwich

To celebrate the 500th post on this blog (500!! Whoa.), I am going to lead you through my mind's convoluted process for weeknight meal development... in tonight's case, the end result was this turkey and bacon club sandwich with chipotle and green onion mayonnaise, heirloom tomatoes, and Bibb lettuce.

You'd think that for my 500th post perhaps I would iron the place mat for the photo shoot.
You would be wrong.

Step 1: I peruse my favorite food blogs, and hopefully am inspired by (or drooling over) a particular recipe.
In today's case it was this amazing looking avocado BLT with fried egg and chipotle mayo at Closet Cooking.

Step 2: I obsess over recipe discovered in Step 1 and wipe drool from my chin.

Step 3: I consider whether I can make said recipe exclusively using ingredients I already have at home; determine that I cannot.
I didn't have avocado... boo.

Step 5: I ponder whether it's worth following the recipe exactly, and thus whether I must brave a trip to the grocery store.
The lines at my local grocery store leave much to be desired...

Step 6: I decide that the grocery store is too daunting, re-evaluate whether I need to be a slave to the recipe, or if I can just riff off of it and make my own creation.
Yes, riffing is good.

Step 7: I utilize the Google machine to search similar recipes that might be more in line with
the ingredients I have in stock and develop a dinner plan based on this.
Today, using the search term, "chipotle mayo," I found this recipe and the sandwich took a turn into club sandwich land.

Step 8: I finish out my day at work in excruciating anticipation of the sandwich that evolved in steps 1-8.
Today was a long day...

Step 9: I implement the plan!
Rejoice over bacon, spicy mayo, and amazingly juicy tomato!

Eggplant, Tomato and Goat Cheese Sandwiches

I got some eggplants, Roma tomatoes, garlic, and goat cheese at the farmers market this week. Along with some basil from the Aerogarden, we threw together these easy grilled veggie sandwiches. They were pretty good- not the most amazing sandwich ever, but easy and good enough for government work!

Please excuse the terrible photo- it's a camera phone shot. I was too lazy and hungry to go upstairs to retrieve my camera.

Goat Cheese, Watercress, Apricot and Walnut Sandwich

This is a complete Frankenrecipe... I got a small bag of watercress from my CSA this week, and, as with the horseradish, wasn't sure what to do with it. It's not something I would ever think to buy, but this is why I like the CSA. It makes us try new things. Did you know watercress actually grows in flowing streams? I didn't. But now I know. And knowing is half the battle.

Anyway, back to the cobbling together of this Frankensandwich. Randy, the farmer from Star Hollow farms, suggested the watercress could be used in a little tea sandwich with cream cheese and lemon. Well, I didn't have any cream cheese. But I did have goat cheese! An Epicurious search returned this recipe for goat cheese and watercress sandwiches... I messed with the recipe a little: instead of raisin bread, I used the croissants we had lying around, but added diced dried apricots to make up for the missing raisins. I also put toasted walnuts in the sandwich, rather than on it (to simplify taking it to work for lunch).

We'll see how the sandwiches go over... Tim, Chuck and I are taking them to work tomorrow.

Chicken Samiches

Made these grilled chicken sandwiches with apples and sage pesto today to use up some sage and apples from the CSA. Pretty good! Put it on ciabatta from the bread book.