Mother’s Day Picnic

Ann asked to have a picnic for mother’s day.  Picnics for vegetarians are a little outside of my comfort zone – I generally prefer warm food for lunch, and I don’t have much experience with picnic-appropriate vegetarian food.   I could have done the standard fresh fruit/humus/yogurt/tabouli approach, but I decided to try something a little different.  It worked out well, so here’s my new vegetarian sandwich recipe.  Sorry, no food pictures this time.

Roast a few garlic cloves.  Set aside to cool.

Take about half of a medium size red onion and cook with olive oil, salt and pepper until it starts to go soft. I sliced the onions into rings, but that led to larger pieces of onion that were easy to eat in a sandwich.  A coarse chop is probably a better idea.

Then add about eight ounces of sliced mushrooms and some red wine vinegar.  Any kind of mushrooms should work – I just used crimini this time.  Cook over medium heat until the mushrooms are brown.

Slice a baguette into sandwich-sized chunks and split lengthwise.  I did some light toasting in the pan I’d cooked the mushrooms and onions in, but I don’t think that added much.  The roasted garlic gets spread on one half of the bread, ricotta cheese is spread on the other.

Tear up some fresh basil leaves and julienne some sun-dried tomatoes.  Put them and a good-sized portion of the mushroom/onion mixture in the sandwich.

Sandwiches were a success, but they’re not toddler-friendly.  The crustiness of the baguette made it difficult for Zoe to eat, and I don’t think the texture of the sandwich would work with a soft bread.