this summer's favorite toast and sandwich.

In the quintessential summer quest to be able to eat something satisfying without having to turn on the oven, I present to you my favorite toast and sandwich of the season.

The first is the toast, which is a combination of two trends that have just trended themselves to death: Avocado Toast and #putaneggonit.
(In my defense, I've never purported to be ahead of the times or innovative... just hungry.)
(update: after a quick Google search, it appears that avocado toast with a fried egg is a trend in itself, so.)

Instructions:
(1) Toast two pieces of sourdough or country white bread.  Easy.
(2) Mash up one avocado to whatever consistency you like.  Mix with salt + black pepper.  Top each toast with one half of the avocado.
(3) Fry up an egg!  But keep that yolk extra runny.  Top the egg on one of the toasts.
(4) Drizzle soy sauce over both toasts.
(5) Eat the toast with the egg over the toast without the egg.  It will catch the precious runny yolk, of which you should try your best not to waste a drop.


This is a mighty lunch, but it's great for dinner too.  Especially if you have a good guilt-inducing dessert planned for after.

The sandwich I discovered via A Chef's Life, a show on PBS.  It's about a Vivian Howard, a female chef in North Carolina who takes traditional southern food and "elevates them," so to speak.  In one episode she talks about growing up and eating Tomato Sandwiches.  I'm not really very familiar with food from The South, but this one piqued my interest.  I tried it one afternoon and it was a revelation!  My life has been forever changed.

The ingredients are simple: sandwich bread (I toast it), mayonnaise on both pieces of bread, sliced tomatoes sprinkled with salt and pepper.
But having the right ingredients is crucial.

First, the bread.  Vivian talks about how when she was a kid, they straight up used plain old white bread.  You know, the kind that just dissolves, disintegrates, and disappears if you put it in water?  I tried a few different kinds of breads and found the perfect kind.  Get a multi-grain bread (I use nine-grain).  It's sweet and rounds out the acidity of the tomatoes.

Speaking of tomatoes, they HAVE to be heirloom tomatoes (it doesn't matter what color they are).  You pay slightly more money, but their flavor is unbeatable, and they are meaty and substantial.  (I remember when I was younger I discovered that people ate tomatoes the way you eat an apple or a peach and I was so grossed out, but now I realize they were talking about heirloom tomatoes and I totally get it.)  If you have some non-heirloom tomatoes hanging around and you think you want to use them to try this sandwich for the first time, PLEASE DON'T.  The sandwich won't taste good, and after that first bad experience you'll never want to make it the real way.  The risk is not worth it!

Lastly, the mayonnaise.  Duke's mayonnaise is like, the thing in The South.  For the sake of authenticity I tried to find some out here, but wasn't successful... slash, I was impatient and wanted to eat a tomato sandwich as soon as possible.  If and when I find some Duke's and try it I shall report back on my preferences.  Anyway, I used good old Hellmann's/Best Foods mayonnaise.  Don't you dare even ask me about that garbage Miracle Whip.  If you think that stuff passes as mayonnaise, I don't think we can be friends.  That may sound harsh, but I don't joke around when it comes to disgusting excuses for mayonnaise.  SO GROSS.

Close those two pieces of bread and you have yourself something so incredibly delicious, the kid inside you who always hated tomatoes would never believe you.

An added bonus to these two eats?  They're meatless!  Good for you and for the environment.  Try them for your next Meatless Monday!