Yves Salami and Follow Your Heart Gouda Summer Vacation Sammich
Sometimes when you're on vacation you just don't feel like making a huge effort. And sometimes you just want a sandwich because cooking takes too much time. Or maybe you just want to take a sandwich for your lunch to work. Or maybe you just really, really like sandwiches; I don't judge.
Anyhow, I was on vacation recently and, given that the house I was in had a shared kitchen, it wasn't always easy to cook a meal. So, I gave up on the idea of eating almost anything that needed stove prep, or required a lot of counter space or time, and stuck to eating easily made meals and snacks. Sammiches and chips to the rescue! :-) And beer. Of course, beer.
While your standard PB&J is always a quick and delicious choice—as well as one whose ingredients can be found pretty much anywhere on the planet—I decided that I wanted to try to eat at least a few real veggies in each meal ;-) So, your standard sandwich usually stacks meat, cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, and condiments. Mine was no different!
For this sandwich I tried out the Yves brand. Specifically, the veggie salami. I found the Yves salami to be a fairly good replica of the traditional pork salami. The texture wasn't as dense or firm as I'd have liked, and I did think that it was lacking a bit in spices and seasoning—mostly in that I think that it could have been perhaps smokier, or maybe have a bit more garlic and/or salt.
The Follow Your Heart Smoked Gouda is a lovely cheese for sandwiches. Not, perhaps, a grilled cheese sandwich as it doesn't really melt well. But for a regular cold sandwich I think it is quite good. The texture is smooth and not at all grainy as are some soy or nut-based cheeses. The slices are also nice and thick which is makes them well suited for a wonderfully filling sandwich. I sometimes eat the slices on their own :-) I will say, as with the salami, I think it could be a touch smokier to really live up to the Smoked Gouda name. I'm excited to try even more of these cheese slices!
Ingredients
tomato (2 wide slices; if you have New Jersey tomatoes use them; they are the BEST)
spinach (however much you like; I prefer this over lettuce)
onion (2 slices; I prefer Vidalia)
*Yves veggie salami* (4 slices)
*Follow Your Heart Smoked Gouda* (3 slices)
*Arnold multi-grain bread* (2 slices)
mustard; whatever you have on hand
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Assemble your sandwich; you know how. Toast the bread if you want to—I'm not the sandwich police.
