Picnic season is here! We’re enjoying a lovely spring here in Kansas City. Our homegrown tomatoes won’t be ready for a while, but I’m sharing my favorite picnic sandwich with you since I can find great tomatoes at the store now.

This Caprese sandwich recipe is inspired by the classic Caprese salad. It features ripe red tomatoes and sliced fresh mozzarella with the most irresistible creamy basil sauce. For extra flavor, I also added a little drizzle of balsamic vinegar and a small handful of arugula.

Sandwich all of that inside a crusty loaf of French baguette, and you will have a perfectly portable sandwich for picnics or road trips. Or, enjoy it at home for a quick meal from now through the end of tomato season this fall.

This tomato and mozzarella sandwich is a terrific vegetarian sandwich that offers a surprising amount of protein, thanks to the cheese. This recipe is my homemade rendition of my go-to sandwich at our local French café. They’ve just added it back to the menu, so I’m excited that I can order it there or make one at home. Now you can, too.

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Have you met my favorite veggie burgers? If not, it’s about time! I have high standards for veggie burgers, and these put all the rest to shame. I have a feeling they’ll become your favorite veggie burgers, too.

These veggie burgers are hearty and satisfying, and feature an irresistible combination of flavors. They start with a base of quinoa, black beans and oats. Then we amp up the volume with sweet potatoes, fresh herbs, and some carefully chosen seasonings. They’re a little sweet and a little spicy, in the best of ways.

You may recognize this recipe as the “Sweet Potato and Black Bean Veggie Burgers” that have been hidden in the archives for quite some time. There’s a chance you’ve enjoyed these burgers in my cookbook, Love Real Food, sandwiched between buns with a crisp lime-cilantro cabbage slaw and guacamole (page 177).

Or maybe you’re seeing these burgers for the first time right now! If so, I’ll share why this veggie burger recipe is my favorite:

1. These burgers are absolutely delicious. In fact, these are the best veggie burgers I’ve ever had. They’re better than any restaurant’s, and far better than store-bought frozen veggie burgers.
2. These burgers retain their shape before, during and after cooking. Many veggie burgers are a chore to make or to eat, but these are totally fuss-free.
3. You can cook these burgers in the oven, on the stove, or yes, even on the grill. They also freeze well, so you can make a full batch and enjoy them over time.
4. These veggie burgers are perfect for serving to friends who follow special diets. These burgers are vegetarian, of course. They’re also conveniently vegan, gluten free, nut free, egg free and soy free.

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Here’s a vegetarian spin on a classic BLT sandwich! We should probably call it an “HLT” since we’re using halloumi cheese in place of bacon. Halloumi is a magical cheese from Cyprus that retains its shape when heated, rather than melting.

Pan-fried halloumi cheese turns deliciously crisp and golden on the outside, and leans more savory in flavor. It’s a little chewy and somewhat salty. In other words, pan-fried halloumi makes a fine bacon replacement, especially if you shower it with freshly ground black pepper while hot.

This sandwich is closer to an authentic BLT than my more abstract vegan BLT, which is made with coconut bacon and avocado instead of mayo. Make your preferred variation before tomato season ends!

Serve these sandwiches with a simple side salad—perhaps Gaby’s Cucumber Salad or a green salad with balsamic vinaigrette.

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Sometimes only a grilled cheese sandwich will do. You know what I mean? Likewise, sometimes a grilled cheese sandwich is the only vegetarian option I can find.

I’ve been disappointed by some grilled cheese sandwiches in my life, so I set out to create my ultimate grilled cheese recipe. I aimed for a favorite grilled cheese sandwich that I could make any time the craving strikes. I wanted gourmet flavor without any complicated ingredients or methods. Grilled cheese now, or bust!

I should also confess that I want to be famous for my grilled cheese sandwiches someday. Not internet-famous, but neighborhood-famous as the mom who makes the best grilled cheese. I want my future children to brag about my grilled cheese sandwich skills. Is that too much to ask?

So, here we are, and here is my favorite grilled cheese recipe. It is truly epic, as far as I’m concerned. Keep on reading for my tips and tricks, because I have a few!

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Can I tell you a secret? These veggie “breakfast” sandwiches are a nice, simple meal for any time of day. This is a great back-pocket recipe for busy days.

Most breakfast sandwiches are rich and heavy, with lots of butter, cheese and bacon. This meatless breakfast sandwich is on the more healthy side. It features a modest amount of melted cheese and some fresh veggies to balance it out.

This egg cooking technique is so quick, your egg will be ready by the time your muffin pops out of the toaster. Feel free to add any crisp, raw vegetables in your drawer.

I’m a big fan of the onion and hot sauce components, which are bold on their own but balance out the richness of the eggs and cheese. Feta, raw spinach and roasted red pepper would be a nice alternative combo. You also can’t go wrong with goat cheese when eggs are involved.

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One of my friends swears she’s happier when it’s cloudy and gray outside, but I couldn’t be more the opposite. June has brought longer days and an abundance of sunshine. I feel so energized by all the light that I have to remind myself to pause and soak up the summer vibes. Cookie is pretty jazzed, too, since it means that we can go for a quick walk at 9 pm and watch fireflies blink along our path.

Now that warm weather is here, I’m craving more light and refreshing meals, and this sandwich is one of them. Ripe tomatoes, fresh lettuce, avocado instead of mayonnaise, and homemade coconut bacon collide in this vegan BLT recipe.

Bacon was the one meat I really missed after becoming a vegetarian, and coconut bacon is a surprisingly satisfying alternative. It’s savory with a sweet edge, a little salty, and crisp, just like the real thing. It’s the one and only meat substitute that I can get behind.

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What day is it? What time is it? I’m in a tornado of last-minute cookbook details. Imagine a vortex of words, vegetables and papers with notes on them, swirling around a very frizzy-haired me in the middle. Then add Cookie running in circles around my feet, catching the crumbs and stray kale leaves. That’s about right.

With all the recipe testing, I’ve hardly been eating proper meals. Don’t worry, I’m not going hungry. I’m just eating bites here and there, all day long. I don’t remember the last time I ate a real sandwich, or a pita sandwich for that matter, so this recipe was a refreshing change of pace.

Basically, it’s a fresh, lemony broccoli and chickpea salad (lots of texture!) with Greek flavors, folded into a warm pita bread, with mashed avocado to keep it interesting. It’s fresh, delicious, and hearty.

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Here’s a fun seasonal project for those of you who have a surplus of cherry tomatoes. Or for people like me, who just can’t get enough cherry tomatoes while they’re here. Tomato jam! It’s sort of like peppery, jammy ketchup and I’m really into it.

Fair warning; tomato jam requires a lot of tomatoes (one and a half pounds yields a scant cup of jam). If you’re so willing, I can offer you a delicious tomato jam, basil and mozzarella-Parmesan panini, which can also be made as a grilled cheese sandwich. I used my electric grill to make panini because that sounded like more fun at the moment.

This is more of a flexible recipe than most, so use your best judgment when it comes to cooking the jam down and grilling those sandwiches!

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What’s a girl to do when she’s working on freelance projects all weekend and has a big bowl of green hummus in the refrigerator? Hummus sandwiches, that’s what! I’m not big on sandwiches in general. It just seems like most vegetarian sandwiches are more bread than anything else. This healthy, hearty, fresh hummus sandwich gets one enthusiastic stamp of approval from your resident sandwich skeptic, though.

We start with some lightly toasted, sturdy whole grain bread. Spread both sides generously with herby green goddess hummus, which is flavored with the same herbs as green goddess dressing (or, use your favorite store-bought hummus). Top with crisp cucumber, some fresh green lettuce and tangy pickles. Place the second piece of bread on top. Lunch is served.

I couldn’t resist complicating the pickles part of the equation. (I’m particular about my pickles like I’m particular about my sandwiches, which is to say that I’m pretty particular in general.) Most pickles are far too salty. I think they’re trying to make up for all the flavor lost while those pickles sit on the shelf, waiting for us to take their said pickled selves home only to be forgotten in the shadowy nether regions of the refrigerator.

This sad pickle conundrum is easily solved with homemade quick pickles. Man, they’re good! You can quick pickle all kinds of vegetables. Think radishes, cabbage, fennel, shallots, beets, onions and carrots. The thinner you slice the vegetables, the quicker they soak up the brine.

These onion and carrot quick pickles are ready in under thirty minutes. They go great on sandwiches, tacos, salads, toasts—basically on anything that could benefit from a salty, crispy, vinegary punch.

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I drove to northern Iowa for a wedding and back over the weekend. My brother and I zoomed past endless rows of tightly packed corn and soy, punctuated by classic white farm houses and red barns that looked like they had popped right out of our childhood story books.

Our cousin got married in a small farming community on a lake. It was quaint and beautiful and the sunny weather could not have been more lovely.

Ironically, however, the restaurant menus in this farm town were lacking in fresh food. I mean that as an observation, not a complaint—it was a good reminder that the farm-to-table movements still have a long way to go. In my daily life, I surround myself with people, restaurants and websites that also appreciate fresh cooking, so travel experiences always provide requisite jolts of reality.

In town with my parents for lunch, I skimmed past an iceberg ranch dressing salad on an otherwise meaty menu. I was relieved to find a grilled cheese sandwich listed under the kids menu on the backside. I welcome an excuse to eat a classic grilled cheese sandwich with fries, but I just can’t imagine feeling well if I ate from those menus every day. My dad related the experience to the small Oklahoma town where I was born. (He always comes back home craving fresh food.)

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