Grilled 'Goat Cheese' Sandwiches with Fig and 'Honey'

In place of a soft goat cheese, I used vegan cream cheese from Tofutti for the delicious spread in these sandwiches. The result was amazing! For the honey, of course, substitute agave nectar.

In a bowl, combine 2 teaspoons agave nectar, 1/4 tsp. grated lemon rind and 1/4 cup vegan cream cheese. Stir until combined.

Place 4 slices of cinnamon-raisin bread on a work surface and spread 1 tablespoon of the 'goat cheese' mixture over each. Cinnamon-raisin bread proved a bit of a poser when I went shopping. Common brands - Pepperidge Farm etc. - are full of things a vegan can't eat (honey, sugar, yadda yadda). Even the Vermont Bread company, which is one of my go-to bread brands, has honey in their cinnamon-raisin variety. Rudi's Organic Bakery makes a delicious cinnamon-raisin bread, but the slices are large and of much higher calorie count than other brands, which would have significantly altered the nutritional profile of this recipe.

Online, I read about the Ezekiel brand of bread from Food for Life sold at Trader Joe's (and other organic markets). Their cinnamon-raisin bread is indeed vegan and 80 calories a slice, so even though I felt vaguely odd buying a food product with a Bible verse on the packaging... well, it worked for the recipe!

Now, over each of those 4 slices spread 1 and 1/ teaspoons fig jam (such as St. Dalfour) and 1/2 tsp. thinly sliced basil. Top each with another slice of cinnamon-raisin bread (so you now have 4 sandwiches total). Lightly coat the outsides of the bread with cooking spray.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and place 2 of the sandwiches in it. Place a heavy cast-iron skillet on top of the sandwiches to press down on them while the cook; cook for 3 minutes on each side. Repeat with the remaining 2 sandwiches.

Dust evenly with 1 teaspoon organic powdered sugar. All I can say is yum! Each sandwich is 250 calories.

Cost:
lemon $0.82
cinnamon-raisin bread $3.99
fig jam $4.79
basil $3.29