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Day 22: Something New

Friday.  I've noticed that here in Quarantine Land, the days seem long but the weeks are flying.  In normal times, both Jeff and I worked from home on Friday, and we usually would have lunch out together.  Our neighborhood has many restaurants within walking distance, and leisurely lunch at the bar, chatting about how we're wrapping up the week, was a really nice ritual.

Today, we had leisurely lunch at the kitchen counter.  Jeff pulled together leftovers from the week (tomato soup, white beans, escabeche) and roasted a large tray of broccoli that needed to be cooked.  And I made a twist on a sentimental sandwich from college.

Schneider Special
The campus center had a small kitchen and salad bar, and it was open longer hours than the formal dining halls.  Fausto, the sandwich guy, liked to joke that he hated vegetarians-- vegetarian sandwiches were so boring.  But he DID make the best oozy-cheese-and-tomato-on-pita sandwiches. Known as the Schneider Special.
The key to making a good one at home is properly toasting the pita.  Fausto's conveyor belt toaster toasted both the top and bottom of the pita at the same time, so a Schneider Special was always the perfect balance of crunchy and oozy.  I split the whole wheat pita and dried it out a bit (oven set to 400, 3 minutes on each side) before adding slices of muenster and grape tomatoes and popping it under the broiler.  I liked my Special with thousand island dressing and lots of shredded lettuce, but some time after college discovered that arugula is also great.  Right out of the oven, slather on the dressing (a mix of mayo, ketchup, sweet relish, garlic powder) and pile high with arugula.  Squish it down and the residual heat from the cheese wilts the greens ever-so-slightly.  It was delicious.

Overnight Oats
Breakfast was overnight oats, made with almond milk and coconut cream.  I had never made these before, but it was easy! Mixed Quaker Oats, the liquid, a mashed banana, a little salt and brown sugar, vanilla extract, and cinnamon the night before, and in the morning, added some dried blueberries, almonds, and cashews.  And I'm still working on the grapefruit.  It is so sour, I think I will supreme the rest and soak them in sugar syrup.  Another day.

Pizza Night
We stocked back up on Eat pizza at Whole Foods this week, and had a mushroom and onion one for dinner, with Three Stars Peppercorn Saison.  And, just because, we paired it with breaded mozzarella sticks and marinara.  Yum!

Comments

Unknown said…
I love the sandwich idea! I'm addicted to arugula. Love how you just whip things up from your refrigerator. The quaratine has forced me to become better at this for sure!
12:04 PM
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