Savor the Summer Sandwich – Part 1

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Never underestimate the power of a sandwich.  Chances are, you already have.  A sandwich is such a simple thing – a piece of bread, meat, cheese – it’s easy to underestimate its potential and take its mealtime possibility for granted.  For the past few months, you have been so busy making salads and side dishes and thinking about grilling everything under the sun, the simple sandwich has been mostly forgotten.  Unless of course, you find yourself out and about needing to eat something and end up at Subway…   August is National Sandwich Month and it’s a perfect time to start thinking about what you can do with 2 pieces of bread.

Take a good look at this picture.  What you see is fresh and local, and captures the flavor of the summer in the Northwest.  A slice of Dave’s Organic Killer Bread, a hearty piece of Olympia Provisions bacon, slices of some ripe, juicy local heirloom tomato, rings of sweet Walla Walla onion, and oh, a slice of cheese.  It’s just plain old Kraft American Cheese, because that is what I had on hand, but it could have been Tillamook.

Giving credit where it’s due, this is something my Mom used to make.  She used white bread, American cheese, tomato, and onion.  Sometimes there was bacon, and sometimes there wasn’t.  It was always open faced and always warm.  I asked her about a recipe, and she couldn’t remember one, which makes me think she thought this up when she was trying to feed everybody lunch and discovered no lunch meat.  Nice save, Mom!  It is something so fast, simple, and just plain good that I remember it well and make this often for my family.

Next time you find yourself thinking there’s nothing to eat, take a quick look in your fridge and see what you can get creative with.  Chances are, you have some bread, cheese and a few other things you can pull together and make something with.  Give it a quick melt under the broiler and you have made a delicious, quick meal.  Think of this when you are wondering what to make for breakfast, lunch, a snack, or dinner.  If you happen to have some local ingredients you can savor some of the Northwest and enjoy every last bite of the summer.

Stay tuned for Part 2…