Hiking is one of my favorite pastimes.  Growing up, my family did a fair bit of hiking, but we didn’t consider it a hobby, per se.  Hiking was more of a way to get where we wanted to go.  You see, we often wanted to go to places that were a bit out of the way.  Like mountaintops in the Adirondacks.  Hiking is really the best way to get around the Adirondacks in the summer.  When I started dating my hubby, naturally, I needed to know that he was outdoorsy – otherwise, it would never work.  On our third date, we went hiking at Buttermilk Falls, and I knew then that we saw eye-to-eye.  Since we’ve moved to the Mid-Atlantic region, we have done a great deal of hiking – it’s a truly beautiful part of the country, my home, and I love to trek up and down the Potomac river experiencing it.  If you haven’t hiked along the Potomac, trust me, you’re missing out.

Of course, if you spend as much time in the fresh air as the hubs and I do, you’re going to get hungry eventually.  If you take my advice, you’ll have these sandwiches on hand.  They travel well and keep in a backpack.  Add an apple and you’ll be able to fuel a six-mile hike.

Roasted Red Pepper and Goat Cheese Sandwiches

2 large red bell peppers
1 loaf ciabatta bread
4 ounces goat cheese
1 scallion

• Preheat your broiler on high.  On a baking sheet lined with foil, arrange bell peppers.  Roast directly under the broiler until blistered and black, turning once.
• Transfer peppers to a plastic zip-loc bag and tightly seal.  Let stand for 10-15 minutes.
• Run peppers under water and peel off skins.  Pull out core and tear – as neatly as possible – in half.  Wash off as much of the ribs and seeds as possible, but don’t get too precious about it.
• Slice the ciabatta in half lengthwise and rip out the soft core.  (Go ahead and eat that part; I won’t tell on you.)  Slather the bottom half with goat cheese.
• Lay the peppers as neatly and evenly as you can atop the goat cheese.  Try to cover as much area as possible.  Using kitchen shears, snip the scallion over the peppers – white, light green, and dark green all.  If you have any leftover goat cheese, spread it over the top half – that will prevent the bread from becoming soggy.  But don’t freak out if you don’t have any left.  Ciabatta’s pretty crusty.  ‘S all good.
• Top the peppers with the crust and slice into 4 equal pieces.  Devour immediately… or wrap the sandwiches up for the trail.

Yield: Serves 4 hikers.

Source: Adapted from Barefoot Contessa at Home, by Ina Garten

Bonus pic: A shot from our hike at Great Falls – powered by a picnic of these sandwiches.  Yum.