Hendersonville, N.C. (MOTHER EARTH NEWS' former home base) may be a quiet little settlement (in fact — most nights — you can hear a pine needle drop after 10 p.m.), 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 and now we'd like to introduce you to Paul Corpening and Deborah Dunn; owners and operators of The Herb Garden Cafe and inventors of some wonderful vegetarian sandwich recipes.
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). 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 vegetarian 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 vegetarian 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.
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 vegetarian sandwich recipes.
All but one of the following vegetarian sandwiches recipes are 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
Ingredients:
1/2 pound farm-fresh or safflower oil butter
1-1/2 tsp/ chili powder
1/2 tsp. minced garlic or garlic powder
1-1/2 tsp. basil
1 tsp. Vege-sal or other vegetable salt
1 tsp. oregano
Instructions:
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
Ingredients:
2 pounds tofu
1 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tbsp. Vege-Sal or other vegetable salt
1 1/2 tsp. celery seed
1 1/2 tsp. oregano
1 1/2 tsp. parsley
1 tsp. dill leaves
2 tsp. primary yeast flakes
2 tsp. safflower oil mayonnaise
1/2 cup minced onion
3 stalks celery, chopped
Sliced bread
Herb Butter
Alfalfa sprouts
Instructions:
Crumble the tofu into a large bowl (Paul 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. 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! The sandwiches will be especially good if you toast the slices of bread before spreading them with some of the Herb Butter.
Yields enough filling for 20 sandwiches.
Peanut Butter and Fruit Sandwich
Ingredients:
Sliced bread
A good natural peanut butter
Sliced banana
Sliced strawberries
Raisins (optional)
Instructions:
For each sandwich, spread one slice of bread with peanut butter and the other with fruit butter. Add a layer of the banana slices and one of sliced strawberries. A sprinkling of raisins makes an appealing addition.
Vegetable-Cheese Sandwich
Ingredients:
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
Instructions:
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
Ingredients:
2 pounds tofu
1 1/2 tsp. basil
1 1/2 tsp. crushed rosemary
1 1/2 tsp. celery seed
1 tbsp. soy sauce or Dr. Bronner's Bouillon (or to taste)
2 tbsp. primary yeast flakes
1/2 tsp. minced garlic or garlic powder
2 tbsp. safflower oil mayonnaise
1/4 cup minced onion
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/3 cup salad olives
Sliced bread
Herb Butter
Alfalfa sprouts
Instructions:
Crumble the tofu and combine with the other ingredients in a large bowl. Assemble 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).
Yields enough filling for 20 sandwiches