Tell Me Your Sandwich

[Old Hippie]

With seitan and almond cheese? :food-smiley-002:

Yer not far off. Yves makes a veggie "ground round" that, with the addition of some salsa and a dash of mesquite smoke makes a passable carne asada. The cheese is by Daiya. My memory of the ingredient list is scanty, but among other things I can remember it does NOT have lactose. Pea flour is one of the ingredients, and "some other stuff."

Salsa fresca is -- later in the summer, anyway -- merely a matter of taking scissors and a bowl out to the upper garden.

I get a little schizophrenic about vegetarian cuisine. Part of me says the problem is that people always want it to taste "like" something, another part says I should just spend my culinary time on world cuisines that are vegetarian by nature. Probably no surprise that I generally balance the two sides. We have all kinds of Indian and Asian vegetarian food, along with recreations of carnivorous favourites.

With some effort and ingenuity it's amazing how close you can get. You have to be willing to learn to "unpack" the taste and think about what will give you that component from a different source. I enjoy the challenge.

And to get back on topic: fish-stick sized rolls of seitan, battered in tempura batter and deep-fried, make excellent Tacos Pescados with some cole slaw mix and tartar sauce. It's my other favourite "sandwich."

[Bill aka Mole]

Many cities, many lunches, many times a hungry tummy has been satisfied...

Store bought sammies:
High School, Pasadena, CA: A two man sub from Stottlemyers. A California sub (oil & vinegar dressing, not mayo!) of substance that, when I was in my teens, was made with meat that was made in-house at the resturant. Haven't been there in over 30 years.

U.S. Navy deployments, Bahrain and United Arab Emerates: Shwarmas. A mixture of beef and lamb meats cooked on a vertical rotisserie. Thin sliced and stuffed into a pita with shredded lettuce, tomatoe and a yogurt sauce. Available just about anywhere in this area, as plentiful as a hamburger shop in the West.

Starting over, Orangeburg, SC: Prime rib sandwich from Four Moons Internet Cafe. Slow cooked prime rib, deboned and thinly sliced, piled high (>1.25") with Swiss and horseradish sauce on a Kaiser roll.

Home Made:
Left Over London Broil Sammie: I marinate a London Broil (top round roast, usually 2 pounds/1 kilo size) in a combination of cheap italian dressing, cracked pepper, salt and whatever I think might be interesting. I have used dried red pepper flakes, Spontaneous Combustion Hot Sauce, Blair's After Death 20/20 Hot Sauce, Italian bread dipping spices, Hot and Mild paprika, cold flat beer, Cutty Sark, cold flat Guinness. Marinate for about three hours, turning at about 1 hour intervals. Grill over charcoal in an enclosed grill (I prefer Webber for durability) initially 5 + 5 minutes one each side for the cross hatching grill marks reducing to 5 minutes a side until medium. For dinner, the missus and I will eat about 3/4 pound total on the first night with a reheat and similar consumption on the second night. This leaves about 1/2 pound on day 3. I slice this thin and place it on either sourdough or Italian or French bread slices with a covering of swiss or provelone and liberaly smothered in HP Sauce (not A1 Sauce). Can be served warm or cold but with the HP Sauce, best not to make it in advance.

[davedove]

Part of me says the problem is that people always want it to taste "like" something,

That's one problem I have with some vegetarian dishes, or diet ones for that matter. Why do people always try to insist it "tastes the same"? No, it doesn't. It may be very good, maybe even better than the "real" thing, but it is not the same.

I have had some vegetarian patties that were very good, but they were not trying to mimic a meat patty. I've had some really good bean patties. But I do not want veggie patties that try to mimic meat. If I want meat, I'll eat meat.