Vegan Grilled Cheese

I woke up this morning craving a grilled cheese. A vegan grilled cheese, of course. But when I started to take out the bread and cheese it suddenly seemed very plain, so I took a few extra minutes to indulge creativity. It was worth it. :)

2 pieces of Ezekiel bread

splash of olive oil

1 mushroom, chopped

1 leaf of kale, chopped

2 shoots of chive, finely chopped

dash of parsley garlic salt

dash of Penzey's Pasta Sprinkle (sweet basil, Turkish oregano, thyme, and garlic)

dash of black pepper

between 1/4 and 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

between 1/4 and 1/2 teaspoon agave nectar

Earth Balance butter

vegan french onion dip

Daiya mozzarella cheese

Lightly toast Ezekial bread to thaw and set aside.

Place the listed ingredients from the splash of olive oil to the agave nectar in a frying pan and saute until mushrooms cooked and kale sufficiently wilted. Remove from pan and set aside.

Lightly butter one side of each slice of toast and put a thin layer of the vegan french onion dip (or substitute with Vegenaise sprinkled with toasted onion) on the other side. Place in the pan used for the sauteed veggies (don't wash it out in between- added flavor to the toast) butter side down. Sprinkle desired amount of Daiya cheese on each piece of toast on top of the french onion dip. Put the sauteed mushrooms and kale on one piece of toast. (This would also be good with a couple slices of tomato and a sprinkle of sunflower seeds added here!)

After a few minutes (for the cheese to start to set), flip the non-veggie toast side on top of the veggie toast side. Let cook a few minutes per side until cheese starts to melt. Turn off pan and let it sit for a minute before slicing.

I served mine with a little cup of left over Rustic Three Squash Soup (recipe here: http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2010/10/three-squash-soup-easy-vegan-recipe.html) topped with another finely chopped shoot of chive and the little odds and ends that fell out of the grilled cheese into the pan while flipping it. Yummy! :)