Vegetarian Sandwiches — The Lunch Roundup for the Sonic-Shift Week

Mother’s Day is Sunday May fourteenth and I have been planning Mama’s second Mother’s Day dinner with her for a month and a half. The plan this year is different than last year’s sheet-pan stir-fry: this year is a cooking class. Mama is going to teach me how to make Grandma Carol’s chicken and dumplings, the recipe she has not made in the twelve years since Grandma Carol died because the dish is too tied to her mother’s kitchen for her to face it on her own.

I asked her three weeks ago if she would consider teaching me. She was at the kitchen table with a coffee. She looked at me for a long second. She said, baby, I think it is time. She did not say anything else for a minute. Then she said, I am going to need you to bake the biscuits and roll out the dumplings while I do the chicken broth, because if I do all of it I am not going to be able to. I said, okay, Mama. And we have been planning since.

The fifteenth Saturday visit. Cody’s creative writing workshop volunteer, a woman named Mrs. Davis from the Tulsa Library, has been encouraging Cody to apply for a six-week writing intensive that the library funds inside the unit each summer. The intensive ends with a small chapbook of inmate writing distributed to libraries in three Oklahoma counties. Cody told me at the visiting table that he is going to apply. He has the application form in his cell. He is filling it out tonight.

And the recipe Sunday was a vegetarian sandwich roundup, because the schedule for the week was tight and I wanted a lunch that did not weigh me down before the four-to-eight Sonic shifts. The recipe was a Couple Cooks one with hummus, sliced cucumber, sliced tomato, alfalfa sprouts, sliced avocado, and crumbled feta on whole wheat bread.

The math: a small tub of hummus from Aldi $1.99, a cucumber $0.79, two tomatoes $1.50, a small clamshell of alfalfa sprouts $1.99, an avocado $0.99, a small block of feta $1.99 (used about a quarter), a loaf of whole wheat bread $1.49. Total: about $4.80 for four sandwiches across two lunches.

The technique is the layering. Spread hummus on both slices of bread (the hummus is the binder; mayo is not necessary). Layer cucumber, tomato, sprouts, avocado, feta. The cucumber slices go first because they have the most water and the bread will absorb it last. The avocado goes near the top because it does not need to be pressed. The feta crumbles get sprinkled in pockets, not spread evenly, so each bite gets a different intensity.

Mama, when I packed two of these for our Tuesday Sonic-shift lunches, said, baby, this is health food. I said, Mama, all food is health food if you know how to cook. She laughed. The laugh has been the constant return.

The recipe is below. The trick is the hummus instead of mayo as the binder. The cucumber goes first to wick the water; the avocado goes near the top so it does not get pressed. Make four for the work week.

Vegetarian Sandwiches (Grandma Carol’s Pimento Cheese)

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 10 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, finely shredded
• 1 jar (4 oz) diced pimentos, drained well
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce (such as Tabasco or Louisiana-style)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 8 slices soft white or whole wheat sandwich bread

Instructions

1. Shred the cheese. Use the fine side of a box grater to shred the sharp cheddar. Pre-shredded cheese works in a pinch, but freshly shredded melts together more smoothly into the spread.
2. Drain the pimentos. Empty the jar of diced pimentos into a fine mesh strainer and press gently with a paper towel to remove as much liquid as possible. This keeps your spread from getting watery.
3. Mix the spread. In a medium bowl, combine the shredded cheddar, drained pimentos, mayonnaise, hot sauce, salt, and pepper. Stir together until fully combined. Taste and adjust seasoning — add more hot sauce for heat or more mayo for a creamier texture.
4. Chill if time allows. For best flavor, cover and refrigerate the pimento cheese for at least 30 minutes before serving. It keeps well in the fridge for up to five days.
5. Assemble the sandwiches. Spread a generous layer of pimento cheese on one slice of bread and top with a second slice. Cut diagonally. Serve immediately or wrap tightly in parchment for packing.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 390 | Protein: 15g | Fat: 24g | Carbs: 28g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 620mg