Fresh Vegan Veggie and Basil Pesto Sandwich:

Looking for a fresh and healthy meal option? Look no further than this basil pesto and vegetable sandwich. I had it when I was visiting Disney with my family, and it was so good that I figured I'd recreate it here. Pesto is so good for you, and it lends a nice and summery flavor to the dish, as do the fresh vegetables. Just look at how colorful this sandwich is! Whip these up for lunch or dinner any day. They're also perfect for a beach day or hiking trip.

Anyways, I hope that you are all having a wonderful Monday. I had a pretty busy and crazy weekend, so I'm struggling a bit, but I guess that's the price you pay for having too much fun. I had to take the MPRE (an ethics test for attorneys), so I decided to take it in South Florida and visit some good friends at the same time.

After the exam, we got all prettied-up and went to my friends' law prom. It was a lot of fun. Their prom also had a lot of good veggie options. The starter was a fancy and decadent pear, walnut, and spring mix salad. My entree consisted of carrots and asparagus in some sort of glaze (I had a few too many dirty martinis at that point, so I can't remember the exact flavors all that well, but I do know that the chef did a great  job and actually made an effort to put flavor in my dish). The vegetables also came with a delicious polenta, which took me all of ten seconds to scarf down.

Along with my yummy entree, I had a hefty serving of bread dipped in oil and vinegar. I'm pretty sure that I ate at least seven pieces. (Fatty). They brought cheesecake out for dessert, and though it looked delicious, I obviously declined. But when I got the munchies at the end of the night, they had huge bowls of hummus, chips, and salsa out for everyone. Unfortunately, some of that ended up on my white dress, and I just paid a ridiculous sum of money to have it dry cleaned last week. It was worth it though. I guess I'll be heading back to the dry cleaners again this week, and I'm sure they'll shake their heads.

Getting back to the food, here's the recipe!

Ingredients:

4 slices of focaccia bread

1 tomato, sliced

1/4 to 1/2 white onion, sliced

1/2  medium cucumber, sliced

1 roasted red pepper, cut in half

A few pieces of lettuce

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 tbsp. roasted pine nuts

1/3 cup hummus 

1/4 tsp. salt

Makes 2 sandwiches.

Total Cook Time: 10 minutes. 

Instructions:

1. Add the basil, pine nuts, salt, and olive oil to your food processor. Process the mixture until it's smooth and creamy.
2. Next, spread 1/6 cup of the hummus on two slices of focaccia. Top each with a few slices of tomato, cucumbers, onions, roasted red pepper, and lettuce.
3. Spread the basil pesto mixture on the remaining two pieces of focaccia, and place on top of the sandwich. Cut each sandwich in half, and enjoy!

At the ball with Monsignor, who, by the way, is one of the most interesting people in the world. He is also the amazing person who puts our Spain study abroad trip together.