Sandwich festival

Continuing the theme of summer food and easy cooking, I thought I'd describe a recent sandwich dinner. It needs no particular accompaniment. If you find a vegetable sandwich insufficiently filling, have another.

Summer sandwiches (serves 2-4)

Filling:
6-8 small tomatoes, cut in half
2-4 medium onions, cut in half or in quarters
2-4 medium zucchini, cut into sticks (the size of sticks of gum)
10 oz. button mushrooms, cleaned, dried and halved
[other options: fennel, eggplant slices, sweet potatoes, peppers, whole garlic cloves]
toss the vegetables with olive oil to coat
sprinkle with salt and pepper
spread on 2 baking sheets or roasting pans
Roast in 375 degree oven for 30-35 minutes.

Sandwich composition:
Take a slice of hearty bread of your choice. Arrange on it your choice of roasted vegetables.
Top with fresh basil or cilantro sprigs.
Other toppings: muffaletta mix (chopped green olives & peppers in oil and vinegar), wasabi paste or horseradish, roasted red pepper strips or spread, pitted black olives, hot sauce

For hot sandwiches:
Top your roasted vegetables and herbs with slices of mozzarella, havarti or another mild cheese. Place under the broiler until the cheese is melted and the sandwich is toasted.

To cook or not to cook, that is one question.

Now that summer is nearly here, we're changing our menu a little bit each week. This item you see here is an end-of-winter fruit salad, so it relies less on fresh fruit from local farmers and more on decoration. The key: star fruit may not always taste great (this one tasted like tough, watery grapefruit), but it puts on a good show.

The past few weeks, we've done a better job of trying out new restaurants in the area than we have of trying out lots of new dishes. Just last night, we took a healthful walk over to the nearest frozen custard stand (the chef recommends: la glace à la vanille avec du fudge chaud et d'ananas).

However, I am planning to buy lots of nice things from the farmers market very soon. Do you hear that, vegetables? I'm coming for you. Soon. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But someday. And then we'll see who gets wrapped in a crepe and covered with cheese sauce!