Meet Melissa

Melissa Tuck is our Chief Operating Officer and is also a licensed therapist. We’ve got a few questions for her, check it out, and get to know her better…

Q: What’s your favorite family recipe? Will you share it?

M: I’ve never been much in the kitchen. Luckily for me, my husband is a great chef, and I love anything he’s cooking. We’ve been experimenting with vegetarian recipes lately. The last awesome thing he made me was a Caprese Pesto Grilled Cheese. Yum!

Q: What is your favorite thing to do in your spare time?

M: I love reading and riding bikes.

Q: Favorite quote-book-journal or favorite thing to do for self-care.

M: My favorite quote is a line from one of Wendell Berry’s poems… ‘be joyful, though you have considered all the facts’

I am a total bookworm. It would be hard for me to pick an all-time favorite book. Just recently though, I finished Glennon Doyle’s memoir, Untamed, which I would totally recommend to anyone.

Q: What do you like to do for self-care?

M: My favorite thing to do for self-care is either practice yoga or watch reruns of The Office.

Q: What is LIV to you?

M: LIV is about a common mission. It’s about people coming together to re-envision what healthcare can look like in our community.

This may not be the exact grilled cheese that Melissa’s husband made, but we’re guessing it’s pretty close…plus we thought it looked like a delicious recipe to share, and with all this food talk you’re probably hungry!

Recipe is from apinchofhealthy.com

Pesto Caprese Grilled Cheese

This pesto Caprese grilled cheese is an Italian twist on a classic grilled cheese.

Prep Time 3 minutes Cook Time 5 minutes

Total Time 8 minutes Servings 1 Calories 263 kcal Author Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy

Ingredients

• 2 slices whole-grain bread of your choice
• 1 to 2 tablespoons basil pesto sauce (enough to coat one slice of the bread. I am using my own lightened up pesto sauce)
• 2 to 3 slices thin tomato
• 1 slice mozzarella cheese deli style
• 1 teaspoon to 2 olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Place the grill pan on the stovetop, and preheat over medium heat.
2. Spread pesto sauce on one slice of the bread.
3. Add tomato slice next. I like to salt and pepper my tomatoes.
4. Add a slice of deli style mozzarella cheese, and top with the second piece of bread.
5. Brush on some olive oil on the top piece of bread, and place it (olive oil side down) on the preheated grill pan.
6. Brush olive oil on the other side (that is now facing up).
7. Cook the first side until toasty, about 2 to 3 minutes.
8. Flip the sandwich over carefully, using the pancake flipper, and cook the other side. (Note: the 2nd side will cook much quicker! Careful not to burn it.)
9. Serve immediately

Recipe Notes

Nutrition will vary based on what type of bread, cheese, and pesto sauce are used. Tip: You can lighten it up by using part-skim mozzarella, light whole grain bread, and my lightened up pesto sauce.