| Did a friend forward this to you? Sign up here. Glimmers It’s Tuesday! I am feeling uncharacteristically pumped. Today’s recipe, for Jalapeño Popper Grilled Cheese sandwiches from the mind of Kim-Julie Hansen, is here to pump you up. (Note: It’s vegan. Like most Eat Voraciously recipes, you can tweak it to suit your tastes.) Even better: I’m sharing a few of the many glimmers you sent to my inbox over the past week. After I wrote about feeling low on hope, you all filled my cup. (Notes are edited for length and clarity.) “All is well as long as you look to the goodness of your own heart, always remembering who you are, and then take that out into the world.” — Julie W. “Listening to slow, very beautiful music… the middle movement of the Beethoven Triple Concerto, or the Sarabande from Bach’s 6th Cello Suite, or the ‘Four Last Songs’ by Richard Strauss. Music takes you beyond words.” — Mary O. “We must take comfort in the forces of nature that will always be there to remind us that what we do as humans is transitory and that, given enough time, whatever upsets us will fade and change. My other source of hope is the eagle that appears in our backyard regularly. Its majesty is breathtaking and shows that hope can appear in many ways. After all, how can you remain sad when nature shows us such magnificent creatures that just appear when you need a sign that everything will be okay?” — Carl M. “We can’t do much good for anyone else unless we take care of ourselves.” — Amy C. “Fellow humans often fail us, so I’ve been turning more to animals and nature. Spend extra time with pets and go outside if you can! My little pony Macaroni and his companion Cheese, the goat, are getting more attention these days. As are our three dogs.” — Lisa F. “The way forward, as always, will be done in small steps. It’s almost impossible to change people’s minds with facts and statistics. It will be ‘small acts of kindness and love’ that will.” — Linda K. “I get a little burst of hope every day when I pick my son up at daycare. They’re usually out in the playground when I get there, and what are they doing? Playing with shovels. This seems to be his favorite part of the day, because when I ask him what he did at daycare, he almost always tells me that he and his best friend played with shovels outside (he’s just over two, so we don’t quite expect a full accounting of his day, but still!). Those kids and their shovels convince me every day, yet again, that there’s some hope for the future.” — Lani H. “My hope is that women can be a force in strengthening democracy.” — Carolyn W. “My mother once told me that you are only ever given the challenges you can manage. We can manage this. I believe there is more good in the world than bad. I chose belief and hope over despair and apathy.” — Allana R. “Nature, always nature.” —Susan D. “Many awful things happen, with or without our control. But there are more wondrous things, existing every minute. Pay attention to those things.” — Carolina S. “An introvert at heart, the first place I turn for comfort is my home. So I’ve been spending some time lately ‘feathering my nest,’ making it more of a sanctuary than it already is. As for hope, I turn to nature. Wild animals don’t get discouraged, they persevere despite the odds. They don’t give up, they keep going.” — Kori P. “Watching my community come together to stand strong in what is good, right and true.” — Kay S. “Faith in the overall goodness of people and the arc of history.” — Noel J.  | Today’s recipe |  Photos by Tom McCorkle; food styling by Gina Nistico, both for The Washington Post | Jalapeño Popper Grilled Cheese SandwichesFind substitution suggestions and other tips below the recipe. Servings: 2
Total time: 15 mins Ingredients - 1/2 cup vegan cream cheese, such as Miyoko’s
- 1 to 2 fresh jalapeños, stemmed, seeded and thinly sliced (may substitute 10 sliced pickled jalapeños)
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- Pinch ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon unsalted vegan butter, such as Miyoko’s, divided
- 1 cup vegan cheese shreds, such as cheddar- or mozzarella-style
- 4 slices sourdough bread
Steps1. In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese, jalapeño, chives, garlic powder, onion powder and pepper. 2. In a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat, melt half the butter. Add the vegan cheese shreds to the pan in two piles roughly in the shape of the bread slices. 3. While the cheese is melting, spread the cream cheese mixture onto each of the four bread slices (about 2 tablespoons per slice). 4. Once the cheese is melted, top each pile with a slice of bread, cream cheese side facing down, and gently press down. 5. Using a spatula, carefully flip the bread and cheese, add the rest of the butter to the pan, and place the remaining bread slices on top of the sandwiches, cream cheese side facing down. Cook on each side until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Adapted from “Best of Vegan” by Kim-Julie Hansen (Harper Design, 2022). Tested by Joe Yonan. Nutrition information per serving (1 sandwich using fresh jalapenos): Calories: 597; Total Fat: 34 g; Saturated Fat: 13 g; Carbohydrates: 63 g; Sodium: 1117 mg; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Protein: 15 g; Dietary Fiber: 7 g; Sugar: 2 g.
Substitution suggestions + other tips and ideas: - Sourdough bread >> other hearty bread.
- Not vegan? >> Use regular cream cheese, butter and cheese. No need to melt dairy cheese in the pan; you can build these sandwiches as you would a regular grilled cheese.
- Gluten-free? >> Use gluten-free bread.
- Chives >> your favorite tender fresh herb.
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