No Fiddlehead Ferns Here

This post was going to be all about the tasty fiddlehead ferns I foraged yesterday afternoon. I was going to talk about tromping through the birch forests around my cabin, and then eating the reward. But it was rainy, and the wind was blowing 70 miles an hour down in Bird, and thanks to a very early morning airport run, I was pooped.

So this post is about a sandwich. Not just any sandwich, an alliterative one: Tony's Terrific Toasted Tofu Sandwich. And so, in honor of my little sister (who is going vegetarian for one whole month), and my enduring laziness, I whipped up this tasty treat for one.

Chives from my garden- the first (and only) thing growing

Look! It's my chives! They're up, and I hear very tasty this time of year. The recipe also called for steamed tofu. Short a steamer, I decided to pan fry it in a little olive oil instead. I managed to pick up a nice looking tomato and then... mushrooms.

::sigh::

I suppose my first post is a good time to get this out of the way, but Internet? I do not like mushrooms. Not one bit. I try them every few months to see if I've changed my mind... and nope. So no mushrooms for me, or this recipe.

In search of something else meaty but veggie, I decided to roast a red pepper, mostly because I like to watch thing burn.

My mise en place- all ready to go!

It was at this point that I realized this sandwich was coming together far too quickly. Where was my dallying time? I hadn't even poured myself a glass of wine - though I quickly remedied that- and it was almost done! So, I took a little break. An hour later or so, I came back to my cutting board, assembled my (HUGE) sandwich and threw it onto my trusty cast iron frying pan.

Ready to go!

 So about that trusty frying pan...

 

Yeek- Blurry AND Burned!

Um, no problem, nothing to see here. Or rather, nothing that a new piece of bread can't fix!

All finished!

With a little side salad, and a glass of tempranillo, this sandwich made a lovely- and filling-dinner, and I'd definitely make it again. It'd be pretty easy to make the separate components earlier and then make a bunch for a crowd, or assemble at work the next day. The recipe really lends itself to improvisation. I almost threw on the avocado you see on the salad. It could be open-faced rather than closed, or thrown on a grill pan.  Next time I might use a sharp cheddar instead of mild, or take it in a different direction with feta or goat cheese. Regardless, I'll definitely turn down the heat on the frying pan so that the cheese has a little more time to melt before the bread burns.