FOUR FANTASTIC VEGETARIAN SANDWICHES FROM THE HERB GARDEN CAFE...WITH LOVE

Hendersonville, North Carolina (MOTHER's home base) may be a quiet little settlement (in fact — most nights — you can hear a pine needle drop after 10 o'clock), but it's blessed with two excellent natural food restaurants . . . which is more than most small mountain towns (and some real cities) can boast!

We've already told you about The Merry Miller and shared some of Leona Farquhar's recipes with you (see the centerfolds in Issue Nos. 46 and 49), and now we'd like to introduce you to Paul Corpening and Deborah Dunn ... owners and operators of The Herb Garden Cafe

Paul and Deborah opened their place (which does indeed look like an indoor herb garden) on a shoestring, and have only recently been able to hire their first paid helper (Lynda Flanagan, who's on the left in the picture). But being short of hands hasn't prevented the young entrepreneurs from dishing up consistently delectable fare . . . which brings us to the real subject of this article! Along with many other good foods, the cafe serves sandwiches made (for the most part) of perfectly ordinary, everyday ingredients . . . yet somehow those plump meals-in-themselves always turn out to be extraordinarily tasty.

The secret, say Deborah and Paul, is in the freshness and wholesomeness of their sandwich "fixings" . . . and in the wonderful breads in which those fixings are nestled. The Herb Garden Cafe, you see, gets its whole grain loaves right out of the oven, from a local husband-and-wife-team small home bakery called Our Daily Bread.

And that team, Richard and Marilyn Colgan, not only turn out—unassisted-many varieties of warm, crusty bread each week (varieties like Black Russian, Sourdough Rye, Swedish Limpa Rye, Herb and Onion, Sprouted Wheat, and Yogurt Wheat Germ), but they also produce and sell large batches of creamy, delicate tofu. [EDITOR'S NOTE: Watch for more about the. Colgans and their business in an upcoming issue.)

Now, you may not have such a good source of bread and soybean curd at your fingertips (unless you make your own), but you can still put together superlative sandwiches like the ones pictured here if you faithfully follow Paul and Deborah's recipes.

All but one of the following . sandwiches is spread with a special herb butter, and the originators of the butter stress that—in this recipe as in each of the others—fresh herbs make all the difference where flavor's concerned and should be used whenever possible.

HERB BUTTER

1 / 2 pound farm-fresh or safflower oil butter

1-1 / 2 teaspoons chili powder

1 /2 teaspoon minced garlic or garlic powder

1-1 / 2 teaspoons basil

1 teaspoon Vege-Sal or other vegetable salt

1 teaspoon oregano

Let the butter sit at room temperature until it's soft enough to allow you to thoroughly cream the other ingredients into it.

EGGLESS EGG SALAD SANDWICH

2 pounds tofu

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 tablespoon Vege-Sal or other vegetable salt

1-1 / 2 teaspoons celery seed

1-1 / 2 teaspoons oregano

1-1/2 teaspoons parsley

1 teaspoon dill leaves

2 tablespoons primary yeast flakes

2 tablespoons safflower oil mayonnaise

1 / 2 cup minced onion 3 stalks celery, chopped sliced bread Herb Butter alfalfa sprouts

Crumble the tofu into a large bowl (Peal and Deborah use their hands for this . . . they say a fork just doesn't do the job right), and add the remaining ingredients, stirring well as each one goes into the bowl. This recipe will yield enough filling for abort 20 sandwiches (if you want to make less, just reduce all amounts by half), and they'll be especially good if you toast the slices of bread before spreading them with some of the Herb Butter. Add a generous layer of "eggless egg salad" and a big handful of alfalfa sprouts to each sandwich, slice your finished product in two so it'll be more manageable, and chow down. You'll find this does taste like egg salad . . . only better!

PEANUT BUTTER AND FRUIT SANDWICH

sliced bread a good natural peanut butter with no salt or hydrogenated oil fruit butter (either the Pure and Simple brand, which is made with cherries, or a good apple butter) sliced banana sliced strawberries raisins (optional)

For each sandwich, spread one slice of bread with peanut butter and the other with fruit butter, then add a layer of the banana slices and one of sliced strawberries. A sprinkling of raisins makes an appealing addition.

VEGETABLE-CHEESE SANDWICH

sliced tomato sliced avocado shredded carrot chopped onion any other fresh vegetable in season (zucchini, yellow squash, spinach, etc.) sliced cheese of your choice (such as Monterey Jack, Cheddar, or Swiss)

sliced bread

Herb Butter

alfalfa sprouts

Assemble the ingredients in Dagwood fashion . . . and The Herb Garden folks recommend a dark bread like Black Russian or pumpernickel for this one!

TOFU AND OLIVES SANDWICH

2 pounds tofu

1-1/2 teaspoons basil

1-1 / 2 teaspoons crushed rosemary

1-1 / 2 teaspoons celery seed

1 tablespoon soy sauce or Dr. Bronner's Bouillon (or to taste)

2 tablespoons primary yeast flakes

1 / 2 teaspoon minced garlic or garlic powder

2 tablespoons safflower oil mayonnaise

1 / 4 cup minced onion

2 stalks celery, chopped 1 / 3 cup salad olives sliced bread Herb Butter alfalfa sprouts

Crumble the tofu and combine with the other ingredients in a large bowl. This recipe, too, will provide filling for about 20 sandwiches . . . which should be assembled the same way the "eggless egg" ones are. Only—for Tofu and Olives—Deborah and Paul recommend rye bread, which you can toast or not (according to your preference).

As our title says, these recipes come to you with love from The Herb Garden Cafe. Which reminds us that the only ingredient we failed to mention in the above formulations is the good vibrations that just naturally radiate throughout Paul and Deborah's establishment. Don't forget to add a few of these to your sandwiches too!.