Balsamic Blueberry Grilled Cheese {Week 5 of the Grilled Cheese Transformation}

Are you shaking your head? Have you not discovered the miracle of balsamic vinegar and fruit yet? Read on my sweet, your life is about to be changed forever.

The first time I saw the list of 31 Grilled Cheeses that are better than a boyfriend I was besotted by the Balsamic blueberry Grilled Cheese. It may be the most luscious looking grilled cheese ever with the purple-red berry compote, bright green spinach and molten cheese. Amanda K. by the Bay is the creator of the masterpiece- a stunning blog with gorgeous photographs and some seriously drool-worthy recipes. Do a search on her blog for 'ice cream', go on, I dare you......

I decided to try my hand at kale chips too after my success with superfood last week

You will need:

For the sandwich
Bread of your choice
1/2 cup blueberries per sandwich (I used frozen ones)
Balsamic vinegar- about 2 tsp per 1/2 cup of blueberries
Baby spinach

Cheese- I used mozzarella but some kind of nutty flavoured white cheese would be superb

Butter or margarine for spreading on the outside of the bread

Oil for the pan

For the kale chips

1 bunch of kale washed and dried

1 tablespoon olive oil

Sea salt

Smoked paprika

First make sure your kale is very well dried. I washed it, then patted it dry on paper towels then let it air dry for a bit as well.

Superfood Grilled Cheese {Week 4 of the Grilled Cheese Transformation}

We all know kale is a superfood- able to kill off cancer cells and leap tall buildings in a single bound. Well, it better be super because I have been drinking sludgy, brown, gritty and sometimes chewy smoothies for breakfast for two weeks now and if kale isn't going to make me live forever then I'm going to be mighty pissed off.

While I'm on the subject of superfoods, don't you think it is strange how every list of "The foods you absolutely must eat" has different foods listed on it. Hmmmm.

Ok, we all know 'superfood' is just one of those phrases that everyone is going to look back on, roll their guys and talk about the teenies (like the eighties and the nineties) but at the end of the day 'superfoods' are so named because they have a higher than usual concentration of nutrients. And nutrients are good. So who wants sludge for breakfast?

I am not a fan of kale. I know it is nutrient-dense but it is tough, rubbery and bitter and makes my smoothies grey. I have tried massaging it (this website even has a video), because it's hard work being a superfood and maybe the kale is just a bit stressed. But I lack patience, after 30 seconds it still tastes like kale.

Then I saw #29 grilled cheese with mozzarella, kale and prosciutto from 31 grilled cheeses that are better than a boyfriend and I decided to give the little fella another chance. The recipe comes from
Last Call for Corn, a lovely blog with a focus on shopping locally and eating seasonally (although she doesn't seem to be updating anymore which is a bit sad).

The beauty of this sandwich is that the bad cancels out the good. Superfood kale knocks the delicious salty fattiness out of the prosciutto and grain and seed sourdough smothers the mozzarella (WWF style). Plus, cheese has calcium and minerals so it might even qualify as a superfood on the next list, or in the 2020s we might discover it is the cure for global warming- who knows.....