Hello, fellow Medis!

Today I have a deliciously interesting take on a grilled sandwich! My original inspiration came from Iowa Girl Eats who made an Apple Orchard panini. I, to my great dismay, do not own a panini maker… Yet. So I modified the recipe just a bit to fit my personal tastes! You'll love the crunch of the apples and the mixes of sweet and savory flavors! I can't wait for you to get your hands on one of these!

You'll first need to gather your ingredients! I bought myself ciabatta rolls, turkey slices, mozzarella slices, apple butter, and any type of apple you'd prefer. I chose elstar apples from when I visited our local orchard, which I blogged about here! You'll also need just a small pad of butter to butter up the outside of your rolls for when you grill them.

First, get your bread and evenly butter the outside of each piece. 

Next, get about a tablespoon of apple butter for each slice of roll and lather it on! 

Next, layer your turkey, thinly sliced apples, and mozzarella cheese. I like to add on two pieces of the cheese to soften out the crunch of the apples. Top with the other slice of roll. 

Grab your skillet or griddle, spray some Pam inside it, and lay your prepared sandwich in the middle! Turn your stove on low to medium, and heat each side for about three to four minutes. 

When finished, slide your amazingly scrumptious apple orchard sandwich onto your plate and get to eating! You won't regret it!

Apple Orchard Sandwich 

Ingredients: 

-1 ciabatta roll 

-2 Tablespoons of apple butter

-1 small apple of your choice, cored and sliced thinly

-2-3 turkey slices

-2 slices of mozzarella cheese

Directions: 

Butter the outside of your ciabatta roll. Spread each slice of roll with 1 tablespoon of apple butter. Layer one side of your roll with turkey, thinly sliced apples, and mozzarella cheese. Top with remaining roll and place in skillet or griddle sprayed with Pam. Turn stovetop between low and medium and grill each side for 3 to 4 minutes. Slide off onto a plate and enjoy!! 

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Hello! 

So if you know me at all, you would know without a doubt that I love sweets. LOVE them. When I started traversing the Mediterranean diet coast, I immediately began to think about dessert recipes. I am both excited and disappointed with the outcome. I have yet to find any "triple chocolate cake" or "chocolate chip cookie" recipes BUT it is a challenge I'm up to try and make on my own, Mediterranean (or as I like to say "Medi") style!

Until then, I did find a dessert of sorts made with apples to fill in that sweet tooth gap! Because if you were close enough to me to know I love desserts, you would know that I also love apples! So much so, I am planning for an orchard business on down the road!

So this little gem I'm going to share with you is called "Baked Apple Dessert" but with the Medi twist (AKA: no processed food). I snooped it out from here but the directions were a little hard to work with. I altered my recipe ever so slightly, but please feel free to revert to the original!

You first want to find yourself three medium sized baking apples. I actually picked up Jazz apples to see how well they would do with baking, and surprisingly it went well! But if you don't feel that adventurous, go with the known Granny Smith, Jonagold, Jonathan type apples. Wash them well, cut them in half, and core. Simply do this by sliding your knife on one side of the core, then the other, until you've wiggled out the hard middle. Make sure you haven't left any of it behind!

                           

Place the cored apples into a glass baking dish, then pre-heat your oven to 350 F. 

While your oven is heating, whip up your glaze which is 4 TBSP of honey, 1/2 TSP ground cinnamon (I used a pinch more… I love cinnamon!), 1/4 TSP nutmeg, 1/4 TSP allspice, 1/2 Cup chopped almonds or walnuts or pecans (or all three!), and about 1/2 a TBSP of lemon juice. Do the lemon juice last and depending on your love of lemon juice (I personally dislike it!), you can taste test to see how much you really want in your glaze! Stir well, then drizzle into your cored apples. A lot of glaze slides out, but as long as there is a little to flavor up your apples, you'll be fine!

Put about 1/2 an inch of water in your baking dish, and when your oven is ready, pop them in for 40-45 minutes and you'll be ready to go! Immediately serve after they're finished, and top off with remaining glaze in the bottom of baking dish (or a scoop of vanilla ice-cream like my family did, if you're willing to cheat a bit!)

I was taking them out of the oven just as soon as my sister came home from work and she dramatically exclaimed: "It smells like fall in here!"And my goodness, it certainly did! Being near the end of summer, the comforting smells of cinnamon and nutmeg made me extremely anxious for fall time!

Mediterranean Baked Apple Dessert:

Serving Size: 6 apple halves

Ingredients: 

- 3 baking apples

- 4 tablespoons of honey

-1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

-1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg

-1/4 teaspoon of allspice

-1/2 cup chopped almonds, pecans, or walnuts

-1/2 tablespoon of lemon juice (to taste)

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350 F. Wash, cut (in half), and core your apples. Set face up into glass baking dish. Mix together your remaining ingredients to make glaze for apples. Evenly spoon the glaze into cored apples. Fill your glass dish with about 1/2 an inch of water, then bake for 40-45 minutes. Serve immediately (and most delicious with ice-cream, to all the cheaters out there!). 

Bonjour! And welcome to my Mediterranean food blog! 

A few weeks ago, I was encouraged to eat clean, healthy foods. Up for the challenge, I happened to stumble upon the Mediterranean diet. The Mediterranean diet is a reflection of clean eating from long ago (you know, when the word "processed" wasn't around) and promotes natural foods such as fruits, vegetables, healthy fats and hearty breads. Although I am not exclusively on the Mediterranean diet (I love all that "processed" food too much, too!), I always enjoy experimenting with these Mediterranean recipes!

My first recipe I would like to share is a Mediterranean grilled turkey and cheese sandwich with a hummus spread. 

This recipe idea was first originated by Picky Palate, but I dropped a few of the ingredients to make the cheese and hummus flavorfully shine. 

                                   

For one sandwich, you will need two slices of sourdough bread (1 side of each piece buttered), a tablespoon or a smidgen less of hummus, a couple of slices of turkey, about an 1/8th of a cup of feta cheese, two slices of provolone cheese, and roasted red pepper. 

Start with buttering up your slices of bread (only one side of each slice). You can use salted or unsalted butter. Don't make the same mistake I did by heating up your skillet ahead of time. I thought this would be a quick assembly of the sandwich, but I wasn't fast enough! The kitchen started smoking up pretty quick and my first sandwich got pretty blackened! 

 Next, flip your bread slices over to the un-buttered sides. Liberally spread on as much hummus as your tastebuds care for to both slices of bread! Hummus has a subtle flavor, so I was perfectly happy to add on about half a tablespoon to each slice. Next, fold on your slices of turkey and provolone cheese to one slice of bread. On top of that, sprinkle the feta cheese and roasted red pepper. Sometimes there can be too much of a good thing, and I find the feta and pepper to be a little strong. Be cautious, then, with how much flavor of each you want in your sandwich.

Set the other slice of bread on top (butter side up!) and turn on your stovetop to low heat. Spray a griddle or skillet with Pam so your sandwich doesn't stick! Carefully lay your sandwich on the griddle or skillet and wait around three to four minutes for that particular side to become toasted. If you want it a little more well done than that, adjust heat or wait just a little longer. Check the bottom side of the sandwich with a spatula to see if it is ready to be flipped. When it is, flip over to toast the opposite side, waiting for another three to four minutes. 

Once your sandwich is toasted to your liking, be sure to turn the heat off your stove, and slide your Mediterranean sandwich onto a plate! I'm sure you're ready to dive into it by now! Be prepared for the delicious, gooey-ness that follows! The roasted red pepper mixed with the mellow hummus is simply perfection!

Mediterranean Grilled Turkey and Cheese Sandwich with Hummus Spread Recipe: 

Serving Size: 1 Sandwich 

Ingredients: 

-Tablespoon of salted (or unsalted) butter

-2 slices of sourdough bread

-1 Tablespoon hummus (or to taste)

-2 sandwich slices of turkey

-2 slices of provolone cheese

-1/8th cup of feta cheese

-2-3 slices roasted red pepper, to taste

Directions: 

Butter up your slices of bread (only one side of each slice). Then flip your bread slices over to the un-buttered sides. Liberally spread on as much hummus as your tastebuds care for to both slices of bread! Next, fold on your slices of turkey and provolone cheese to one slice of bread. On top of that, sprinkle the feta cheese and roasted red pepper. Place other slice of bread on top (butter side up!) and toast on stove top on low heat for about 3 to 4 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve immediately and enjoy!