Summer Sandwich

I love sandwiches. I grew up eating plenty of them. They were the perfect summertime lunch for a kid who didn’t want to come inside and miss the fun of playing with her friends under the summer sun. I still love sandwiches. This afternoon, I had a hankering for this silly thing my granny used to make, plucking the first ripe, crimson blushing from her garden.

She’d toast two slices of whole-grain bread, smear it with a thick layer of mayo and top it with chunky slices of tomatoes still warm from the afternoon sun. A sprinkle of salt to bring out even more of the tomato’s sweetness, a handful of her home-grown baby butter lettuce and another smear of mayo would grace the remaining slice of bread.

Pressed together you had it all warm, sweet, cool, and salty. With each bite, that mayo would turn from an ordinary fat-laden condiment into its own luxurious sweet and tangy tomato drenched dressing. No bacon need apply – that was the sandwich.

So I’m thinking about the mayo, all that bread glancing at my swimsuit I just pulled out of the drawer. Boy, gotta have that sandwich tonight, but how? I’ll make my own version, I thought, cheerfully reaching for the whole wheat pita – the perfect summer bread, low in calories, crunchy when toasted, and totally portable. So here goes my version of the granny classic!

Reduced-fat mayo, smear, smear – it’s my friend since it’s so much lower in fat than the light version and still has flavor. I just picked up some gorgeous Jersey tomatoes from the Union Square farmer’s market and a delicate bunch of assorted baby lettuces. Granny used iodized salt, but I’m going to opt for large crunchy crystals of sea salt and I’ll sneak in some fresh basil, why not? Ah there we are my favorite summer sandwich – bikini-friendly and totally fresh.

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