One Hungry Mama

April 1st, 2011

{parenting, recipe} The Comforts of A Simple Sandwich

Last week was tough. In the middle of working hard to put together Peko Peko: A Charity Cookbook for Japan, my sitter had to unexpectedly leave town. For a week. And my sister came to town. With her husband and brother in law.

I love having a full house. I’m happy when my sister is here. My sitter had to leave to meet her newborn grandson. It was all good, but a little crazy to say the least. And part way through the week, I needed a quiet, special lunch to refuel.

I picked an afternoon when my house guests would be gone and stopped by a specialty store on my way home from the Hungry Baby’s playgroup. Instead of madly throwing together a PB&J, I got what I needed to make this sandwich: prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, sun dried tomatoes and basil piled on a fresh ciabatta roll drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt.*

Ahhh.

As you can see…

this sandwich was so delicious that I couldn’t wait to start eating it. I took a bite (ahem, bites) before I even grabbed my camera and, if you know and love a food blogger, you know that’s serious!

After snapping a few pics, I returned to the kitchen to make the Hungry Baby’s sandwich. The plan was avocado, basil and mozzarella with olive oil on easier to manage bread. By the time I was done making his, the Hungry Baby was screaming to try mine. How can you blame him?

We sat down together, the Hungry Baby’s sandwich in front of him and my sandwich in front of me, and his begging intensified. “Mo, mo, mo! My, my, my!” while wildly pointing to my plate. I switched things up, assuming he’d quickly realize my lunch was not for him. I mean, prosciutto is kind of stringy and sun dried tomatoes are tough for little ones, right? WRONG!

The Hungry Baby went to town! On MY sandwich! He didn’t want the sun dried tomatoes — I was right that they were too tough — but he loved the prosciutto. I just needed to tear small pieces that didn’t require breaking up with his teeth. So, that’s what I did. Reluctantly at first. Happily at last.

In fact, this sandwich — and sharing it with my little one — was just the respite I needed in the midst of a crazy week.

*Note: An age recommendation? What can I say? All bets are off on this one! Try sharing it in any age-appropraite form that any hungry baby can manage. And maybe add avocado for healthy measure. The flavor goes great with the rest of the ingredients.