Cooks Corner

THE NEW TOWN PRESS presents: The Cook's Corner Featured Article by Jean Redstone

One day when she was about eight, my youngest daughter trounced into the kitchen and insisted she was old enough to make her own lunch and I should get out of her way and let her at it.

Kids are great experimenters, so I let her take whatever in the fridge she could safely reach and I got to use the knives, if necessary, but the rest was up to her. She could reach the peanut butter, some pickles, a head of lettuce, a carrot – mostly vegetable matter.

She stuffed all of it into a hotdog roll, added mustard or mayo, and proudly ate her lunch. It was actually sort of tasty in a daredevil kind of way.

Experimenting is what cooking is all about. And it’s what spurs my kitchen when summer’s produce, fresh, cheap and healthy, arrives each year.

One of the more popular “discoveries” was the salad sandwich. I mean a salad AS a sandwich. The trick is fresh vegetables and inventive spreads. Easy to make and with little cleanup, try these ideas and mix/match freshly cut veggies to your family’s taste.

ASPARAGUS AND PEPPER
SALAD SANDWICH

3 fresh asparagus spears

3 ¼-inch slices of fresh red pepper

6 ¼-inch slices fresh cucumber, rind left on

4 to 6 Tbs cream cheese and onion mix (can be low-fat kind)

8 slices bread

Salt and pepper to taste

Wash the asparagus and cut off the thicker pale ends. Chop all vegetables into small pieces and mix together in a bowl. Spread 4 pieces of bread or toast with the cream cheese and onion. Top with several teaspoons of the veggie mix. Season. Place a slice of bread on top to make 4 sandwiches.

COLESLAW SALAD SANDWICH

½ C chopped green cabbage

½ C chopped red cabbage

2 Tbs chopped red onion

½ C shredded carrots

2 Tbs sugar

1 tsp. freshly ground pepper, white or black

1 tsp. EACH dill weed powder and celery seed

3 Tbs. mayonnaise plus 1 Tbs milk

4 tsp. prepared yellow mustard (or Dijon)

In a large bowl, mix the milk, mayonnaise and mustard with the dry seasonings. Add the sugar and mix again. Add all the vegetables to the dressing and fold in to fully coat the mix. Taste and add sugar or more seasonings to your preference. Spoon mix onto your choice of bread or rolls – whole grain breads are good with this. Makes 4 sandwiches.

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Cooks Corner
The New Town Press
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Woolwich Twp., NJ 08085

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