“There is an art to the business of making sandwiches which it is given to few ever to find the time to explore in depth. It is a simple task, but the opportunities for satisfaction are many and profound.”
~Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
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| Our inspiration |
When we found ourselves without easy (and affordable) access
to basic things like fresh baked bread, healthy farm-raised local meats, and an
excess of condiments, sandwiches end up being edged out of the weekly menu.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m far from complaining about the food we’ve been eating
here, no need to feel sorry for us or anything, but Dylan and I have a
passionate love of sandwiches and the lack of good ones in Seattle left us
craving sandwiches like no other. We sought out mouthwateringly savory Italian
grinders while visiting Libby and Mike in Brooklyn in January, followed by
tangy Ruebens at Rein’s Deli in Vernon, CT with his parents, and then my
childhood favorite veggies and humus on a works bagel at Bagel Works when we were
visiting my family in Vermont. We got our hands on as many sandwiches as we
could in the month between Seattle and Hawaii in hopes that it would tide us
over until our return. Of course it did not.
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| Dylan rolls out the dough for wraps |
Until yesterday, we had managed to survive just fine without
our hearts and stomachs yearning for a loaded sandwich. That turkey pesto
beauty on farmer’s market fresh sourdough, along with Dylan’s epic kimchi
burger and the veggie burgers that we made the other week (which we made again
Sunday), and all the amazing food here served as adequate distraction from the
lack of sandwiches in our lives. But then Pinterest had to interfere and remind
us of our undying, unsatisfied love for sandwiches. Save for the one day we had
access to Heather and Paul’s kitchen while they were out of town, we have been
without an oven, meaning no bread baking for us. We do have a stovetop however,
and we’ve put it to good use making pancakes, tortillas, English muffins, and
various other bread-like items, but we’ve yet to make anything that would yield
sandwiches (Dylan has a thing against English muffins with anything but butter
and jam, I think he’s crazy but whatever, I love the guy anyway).
Today, everything changed. Back when we first started making
tortillas, I kept saying that I wanted to try making wraps, but we never had
anything to put in them so we didn’t bother. Then we made Mushu pancakes for a
Chinese food themed farm potluck and again I pestered Dylan about making wraps.
He hadn’t been in the mood, as bread making does require a bit of time and
effort, until today when the reality set in that the egg salad and avocado wrap
presented the perfect cure for our cravings. This sandwich is something we
could actually make without needing anything more than what we already had on
hand. We woke up already thinking about our sandwich-filled future, drooling
and eager to start the day.
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| What a pro, huh? |
After we finished up our farm work Dylan threw the simple
dough together, just flour water and salt. I peeled the eggs we had hard-boiled
earlier, just a few minutes after collecting them from the chicken coops. After
the dough had a chance to rest for a while, he divided it into small rounds
about the size of a golf ball and rolled them out using a Kombucha bottle since
we don’t have a rolling pin. I headed out to the garden to collect some garlic
greens for the salad and arugula to fill out the sandwiches. When I came back,
also with a banana pepper that was begging to be picked, Dylan was tossing a
thin round of dough like it was destined to become pizza while another one
toasted up on the griddle. I forgot how much fun it is to watch Dylan throw
dough. He is a true professional, making it look like the easiest thing in the
world. I used to love going down to Ballard Pizza Co. to watch him work and sip
on a cold pint of Spire Cider and chat with Dan and Brian.
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| A few of the finished products |
Anyway, while Dylan worked his magic transforming the doughy
rounds into fresh, beautiful, handmade wraps right before my eyes, I set to
work getting the salad ready. We didn’t have any mayonnaise and so I
substituted some sour cream that we had left over from last night’s chili
(thanks for the recommendation Libby!), which we brought to game night up at
the Pole house with the rest of the farm families. Luckily, I had convinced
Dylan to pick up some mustard last week, an essential ingredient in my egg
salad recipe to add tang and cut down on the amount of mayo needed to keep the
mixture moist. Because Dylan brought home mustard powder assuring me that it
was cheaper and lacked all the weird chemical-sounding ingredients of the other
mustards they had, I needed to add in some extra liquid and find a way to give
this salad the tang it was lacking from all the substitutions. A tablespoon or
three of white vinegar did just the trick.
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| The green stuff in the mix is chopped pepper for some crunch |
I continued to mix the mustard and chopped garlic greens and
banana pepper into the mashed hard-boiled eggs along with some salt and black
pepper, while Dylan finished up the wraps, covering the steaming finished ones
with a clean towel so they wouldn’t dry out. They needed a few minutes to cool
so Dylan poured himself a club soda and cut up one of the limes we got for 25
cents a piece at the market this weekend to flavor it with. Six-packs of club
soda have been on sale this week for $3.50 and so we stocked up on what we are
considering a “luxury item” while we’re in financial hibernation. It’s amazing
what you come to view as special when you’re trying to get by on as little
money as possible. If you had
asked me a few months ago when we were back in Seattle if I ever thought I
could comfortably live off of so little, I’d have surely said no. But after almost two
months of farm life, it hardly feels like a chore to stay within our budget and it
certainly hasn’t lessened our quality of life in the least. Living with a chef
though certainly makes eating at home every night just as appealing as going
out to all the restaurants we used to frequent in Seattle.
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| It's not everyone's cup of tea but I love egg salad |
While Dylan retreated into our cabin to have a sit, I made
up our sandwiches. Dylan might be the chef in our little family but sandwiches
are my territory. Sandwiches are about the only culinary task that I excel in
but I take great pride in my abilities and so Dylan happily hands over this
duty. I love being able to make food for him, since it happens so infrequently
at dinnertime. I tend to be in charge of breakfast sometimes too, and I usually
make us salads and snacks, but sandwiches are where I really shine. So Dylan
relaxed with his soda and I scooped the egg salad onto the open wrap, carefully
added a layer of sliced avocado sprinkled with salt and drizzled in our
homemade hot sauce, put down a bed of shredded arugula and rolled up three
dazzling wraps. Poor Dylan has been feeling under the weather lately and still
worked out in the hot sun all morning and then went back out for another hour
or two of planting starts and feeding the chickens, so he got an extra wrap.
Plus he’s a guy and very hungry.
So how did they turn out? To say that they hit the spot
doesn’t quite express how satisfying these soft little sandwiches actually
were. This was my first time using the eggs from our chickens to make egg salad
and despite all the substitutions these eggs once again reminded me of their
superiority over any store-bought eggs I’ve ever eaten. Perhaps it’s because we
are the ones feeding and overseeing the diet of these chickens, but I have
never had eggs this delicious, not even the ones we used to get for 7$ a carton
at the Ballard Farmer’s Market. The yolks are bright orange, creamy, and
bursting with flavor and richness. It will be very difficult to go back to
store-bought eggs after this, let’s hope I can find a farm near my mom’s house
in southern VT this summer where we can get all of our egg needs met. As for
Dylan’s flour wraps, they were thin, soft, chewy perfection, with just a touch
of grilled goodness. Dylan might make fun of me often for my Pinterest
addiction, and he might not be the only one, but this time even he will tell
you he is thankful for it, the sandwiches were that good.
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| ahh... delicious sandwiches at last |
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