Peanut Butter, Strawberry and Honey Sandwich

Senior prom. Diego took Hayley. The photos again. The driveway again. The same gold tie, different gold dress. They have streamlined the operation. Diego, who last year wore the formality awkwardly, this year wore it like he had been wearing it forever. He is six-foot-two now. He has the build of a college receiver. The boy I taught how to tie a tie at twelve walked out of the house Saturday night looking like a man.

The night went smoothly. Dinner with the same group of friends. Dance from eight to eleven. After-party at a teammate's house. He came home at twelve-oh-eight. He texted at eleven-fifty. Same protocol as last year. Same green chile cheeseburger. He ate it standing at the kitchen counter. Lisa and I sat at the table. He told us about the night. He said, "Dad. I think this is the last big high school thing." I said, "What do you mean." He said, "I mean — the rest is mechanical. Finals, graduation, leaving for school. This was the last thing that was just for me and my friends. The last thing that was the experience of being a senior in high school." He went up to bed.

I sat at the table after he had gone up. Lisa held my hand. She said, "He is right." I said, "Yeah." She said, "It goes fast." I said, "Yeah." We sat for a while. The road bends. Feed your people. The game is won at the table.

Diego’s green chile cheeseburger is his thing — his standing-at-the-counter, tell-us-about-the-night thing — but the sandwich I keep coming back to when I need something simple and grounding is this one. Peanut butter, fresh strawberries, a drizzle of honey. It’s not a celebration dish and it’s not a meal. It’s the kind of food you make when the night has already been everything it needed to be and you just want something quiet in your hands. After he went up to bed and Lisa and I sat at that table, this is what I would have made for myself — small, honest, exactly enough.

Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 5 minutes | Servings: 1

Ingredients

2 slices sandwich bread (white, wheat, or sourdough)
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
4–5 fresh strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced
1 teaspoon honey
Pinch of flaky sea salt (optional)

Instructions

Prep the strawberries. Wash, hull, and slice the strawberries as thin as you can manage — about 1/8-inch. Thin slices stay in the sandwich and distribute the flavor evenly.
Spread the peanut butter. Spread the peanut butter in an even layer across one side of each slice of bread, going close to the edges so every bite is covered.
Layer the strawberries. Arrange the strawberry slices in a single layer over the peanut butter on one slice of bread, covering the surface.
Drizzle with honey. Drizzle the honey evenly over the strawberries. Add a pinch of flaky sea salt over the top if using — it sharpens everything.
Close and cut. Press the second slice of bread down gently. Cut diagonally from corner to corner and serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Peanut Butter, Strawberry and Honey Sandwich — The Last Big High School Thing