TWO Triple-Decker Toasted Cheese, Tomato and Herb Sandwiches

So few tomato plants, yet so many tomatoes. I’m overwhelmed with tomatoes. Even knowing that I’m competing with a greedy squirrel (or could it be the skunk I smell several nights each week), there seems to be a plethora of tomatoes in my little garden.

I made a tomato vegetable pie and I’ve given some tomatoes away, but still I pick tomatoes. Because of the previously-mentioned creature, the moment I see as much as a glimpse of color other than green, I pick a tomato and place it on the windowsill.

Thank heavens, the supply is finally winding down. But, this past week the sill was getting crowded, so I decided to have a simple sandwich supper, two nights in a row.

Thus was born TWO TRIPLE-DECKER TOASTED CHEESE, TOMATO AND HERB SANDWICHES!


Ingredients for four sandwiches...

12 slices whole grain bread
butter and/or extra virgin olive oil

Sandwich #1 ~
4 oz. cream cheese (half an 8-oz. box)
grated cheddar cheese (I grated sharp white cheddar)
fresh tomato slices, enough to cover 8 slices of bread
fresh basil leaves, cut in thin strips
fresh sage leaves, cut in thin strips
freshly ground black pepper
raw, shredded carrots

Sandwich #2 ~
4 oz. cream cheese (half an 8-oz. box)
shredded cheddar cheese (I bought this yellow cheddar already shredded)
fresh tomato slices, enough to cover 8 slices of bread
fresh basil leaves, cut in thin strips
fresh sage leaves, cut in thin strips
freshly ground black pepper
raw, shredded carrots
small cooking onion, cut in thin strips


Directions...

1. To prepare tomatoes: slice tomatoes, place on plate and sprinkle with basil strips and freshly ground black pepper. Loosely cover and set aside.

2. To prepare cheddar cheese: grate cheese, cut fresh sage leaves in strips, mix in small bowl. Loosely cover and set aside.

3. Spread a thin layer of butter on both sides of all twelve (12) slices of bread (or brush with EVOO). Note: I used butter for the first night and brushed EVOO on my slices of bread on the second night. No noticeable difference, as far as I'm concerned.

4. For each sandwich, over medium heat, brown both sides of one slice of buttered bread and brown only one side each of the two remaining slices. You can brown all the slices as directed before assembling the sandwiches.

5. For Sandwich #2, add the step of lightly sauteing the carrots and the onions.

6. Assemble in this order: bread (untoasted side down) topped with cream cheese, tomatoes and basil; bread toasted on both sides; cheddar cheese and sage; carrots (and onions if making Sandwich #2); bread (untoasted side up).

7. Place in heated pan, over medium heat (adjust as needed), topping each sandwiches with a lid or weighted plate. Turn when bottom side is browned. Brown second side to desired doneness.

These vegetables, cheeses and herbs were used according to what was available in my garden and my refrigerator. Take a look at what you’re growing or what’s in your fridge and you can create your own delicious sandwich.

Aha, I just remembered... if you look closely at the layout of ingredients with the yellow cheddar, you’ll see that I mixed in a few sliced almonds. A crunchy bonus!

SPAGHETTI SQUASH DINNER

My daughter and her family recently moved to the country and have numerous neighbors who are always willing to help and share. One neighbor grows spaghetti squash which I love, and I’m happy to say that I was gifted with one of them.

Just the right size for me to use in two meals. That may seem like big helpings, but one cup of spaghetti squash is less than 100 calories and it’s low in saturated fat and cholesterol. I also love to eat some of the strands just after it comes out of the oven.

Squash is really thick-skinned and difficult to cut. Cut off the stem end. Then cut the squash in half. However you decide to cook it -- boiled, in the oven, or in the microwave, do not bother to peel off the skin.



CLICK ON ANY PHOTO TO SEE AN ENLARGED VERSION.


I like to scoop out the seed with a serrated grapefruit spoon. A tablespoon will work just as well. I’ve heard that the squash seeds can be toasted in the oven like pumpkin seeds. If anyone has a good recipe for doing that, I hope you’ll share it here.


You’ll find numerous ideas for temperatures and times in your cookbooks or on the Internet. I only cook it once or twice each summer and it seems like I do it different (or is it, differently) every time.

While the squash was cooking, I pulled leftover Sloppy Jane mix from the refrigerator and put it in a saucepan over low heat.

Then I sliced a tomato from my garden, topped each slice with a piece of mozzarella cheese, a basil leaf (also from my garden), and topped it all with freshly ground black pepper and a very small amount of kosher salt.


You’ll know spaghetti squash is done when you can run a fork, tines down, through it from end to end (the long way) and it easily shreds out like short strands of spaghetti. Overcooking will make mush which has happened to me in the past. Oh, well, I cook and learn...


I topped the cooked Spaghetti Squash strands with the reheated Sloppy Jane mix and enjoyed it with the Tomato-Mozzarella-Basil Salad.


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