Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about sandwiches. I’m been dreaming about this amazing smoked meat sandwich we had in Montreal. It was simple, just meat, rye bread, and mustard but the size of it was massive and the taste was delicious. I still regret not getting a second one immediately after I finished the first. I’ve also been dreaming about the turkey cranberry sandwich I used to have at Earl’s Sandwiches when I lived in Arlington. That sandwich was like Thanksgiving any time of year.

But those are specialty sandwiches, and although I sort of need to find a specialty sandwich place here in London, I’ve turned my attention to takeaway sandwiches.  You know, the kind you can just grab on the go. I’ve found I don’t often like the takeaway sandwiches, and usually it’s because of too much mayonnaise. But I did find some local flavors I like, such as coronation chicken, tuna and sweet corn, or salt beef and gherkins. However, nothing has truly been cutting it. The sandwich I am craving and missing is such a simple one! It’s the Mediterranean sandwich from Potbelly in the US. Once I got thinking about it, I was sure I could recreate.

I discovered this sandwich the summer after I graduated with my Masters in Museum Studies from NYU. I felt like having a Masters meant I should have a real job and be a professional, whatever that means. But instead, I was working at a temporary science exhibit in a place that had no air conditioning and no plumbing. In DC. IN. THE. SUMMER. If you don’t know DC in the summer, it’s like 95°/35° all the time and it’s about 1000% humidity. A woman who lived in the apartment building upstairs and regularly brought her granddaughter to the exhibit would sometimes offer us water and popsicles. It was so hot that the plastic balls in one of the exhibits would become misshapen so the exhibit no longer worked. Needless to say, I didn’t feel especially professional sweating it out and I hadn’t thought that this was where my degree would take me.

My one solace from the heat was Potbelly restaurant around the corner. There I could enjoy cool air and a bathroom. I’d buy a cold water and a Mediterranean sandwich and luxuriate in the comfort of the restaurant and the food. The Mediterranean sandwich might not look like much, but for me, it has a special significance because it was there for me during frustrating time. And besides, it is freaking delicious. I love Mediterranean flavors, as I told you when I confessed that I eat tons of Greek salad when Ryan is away. I love the crunchy, salty, oily, creamy combination of fresh and canned vegetables all coated in cheese and hummus.

I love this recipe also because it allows you to have a little freedom. For example, use whatever hummus you like. I found lemon and coriander (cilantro) hummus here and loved it. But I think regular, garlic, or roasted red pepper would all be amazing. I used a jar of roasted red peppers because I like the roasted flavor and I didn’t feel the sandwich needed additional crunch. However, feel free to use fresh peppers if you like that flavor better. Also, I mixed all the ingredients, minus the hummus, together and then stuffed the pita. I like this because it makes the bites diverse. If you like layering your ingredients for uniform flavor bites, that works too. Do what you like, just be sure to enjoy this in a cool and comfortable place.

Messy level: Ordinarily a sandwich is an easy one spoon recipe. I’m giving this two spoons just because you have to do a little chopping, draining, and mixing. The added steps create more dishes, but help make the sandwich more delicious.

Copycat Recipe: Potbelly's Mediterranean Sandwich

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Total time

10 mins

 

Copycat recipe for Potbelly's Mediterranean sandwich. I am counting one serving as two halves of a round pita. Depending on size of pitas, this recipe will make 2-3 servings.

Serves: 3

Ingredients

• ½ cup artichoke hearts, drained from a jar
• 2 roasted red peppers, drained from a jar
• ½ cup roughly chopped cucumber
• ⅓ cup crumbled feta cheese
• 2-3 tablespoons hummus (any flavor you like)
• 2-3 pita pocket rounds (size depends on how many sandwiches you get)

Instructions

1. Preparation note: If you haven't already prepared the cucumbers, chop them now. I cut the whole cucumber lengthwise in quarters. Then I chopped along those quarters and made tiny little wedges. (As if you cut coins of cucumbers then cut those circles into quarters) However, shape doesn't really matter, it just needs to be easy to stuff in your sandwich.
2. Cut the roasted red peppers into slices. Again, size isn't so important, just medium length slices that can easily be stuffed into a sandwich.
3. Scoop the artichokes out of the jar and let excess oil or water drain off. You can pat them with a paper towel if you want them especially dry. Put the artichokes in a small bowl.
4. Add the chopped cucumber, sliced roasted red peppers, and feta cheese to the small bowl with the artichokes.
5. Mix the sandwich ingredients until things are mixed up and a little cheese looks like it's gotten stuck to everything.
6. Cut the pita rounds in half and open the pita pockets. Using a knife generously spread hummus inside each half of the pita pocket. You don't have to measure, but about 1 teaspoon should do. If you like more, do more. [Note: If you make sandwiches from 3 pita rounds, then you'll use a total of 1 tablespoon of hummus]
7. Fill the pita pockets with your mixed sandwich ingredients. Depending on how much you fill and the size of your pita pockets, you'll have about 2-3 sandwiches.
8. Serve the sandwiches on a plate. Spoon a large dollop of hummus on the edge of the plate. Use this for dipping your sandwich or any vegetables that fall out. The more hummus the better!

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For Christmas my sister-in-law bought me a box of conversation cards with questions all about food. Some of the questions are a little bit silly like, “has our love of bacon gone too far?” (Yes, bacon is nice, but bacon maple frosting is too far) Some are really fun to think about like, “what would you serve if Julia Child came to diner?” (Probably something Puerto Rican since maybe she wouldn’t have eaten much of that before)

One question I really like is, “what do you eat when you’re alone?” I like this question because the answer encompasses a whole range of foods. When I’m lazy, I like popcorn, a spoonful of Nutella, and cheese and crackers. Sometimes when I’m alone I like to try something really difficult to make because then if it comes out badly, no one else knows. But my favorite thing to eat when I’m on my own is Greek salad. I love Greek salad. It’s crunchy and salty. It’s pretty healthy, but it’s got some indulgences with the olives and cheese. And I just love all the flavors and I eat it whenever I can. When I was in grad school writing my thesis, I’d run down to the deli beneath my apartment and grab a salad on a break. When, it was too loud and crazy at when I worked at Ford’s Theatre, I’d run to Cosi for lunch and get one. And now I always search for it on takeaway menus.

And also, I eat Greek salad when I’m alone because Ryan doesn’t like olives and feta. But sometimes I can’t resist, and I make it for dinner anyway. I wanted to make it a little heartier, so I decided to substitute the greens for bulgur, but still keep all the yummy other vegetables. This was the first time I ever had bulgur and it was so good! It’s small like quinoa, but chewier like rice. Also I like that it’s got an uneven shape.

To be honest, although it’s a straightforward salad recipe, I feel a little nervous sharing this! I have two Greek coworkers who sometimes ready this blog, and I’m changing up a traditional dish. That feels somewhat taboo. But in truth, this recipe is like tabbouleh and regular Greek salad fell in love and had a delicious hybrid child. So it’s like two wonderful Greek recipes in one. This is yummy, a nice side dish, and Ryan even liked it (without the feta and olives).

One last thing before the recipe – I have a tip on cutting cherry tomatoes. Cutting a lot of small circular foods is kind of annoying and time consuming. To speed up the process, take two lids from food storage containers. Put your tomatoes (or grapes or pitted cherries or your circular whatever) between the two container lids. Make sure your knife is sharp, then carefully cut horizontally between the two lids. Then boom, you’ve got lots of tomato halves in one slice. Some might be a little uneven, but for a salad that’s not really important. I really like this trick because I think it makes preparing a salad less tedious and it’s a fun trick. Sorry, I don’t have a trick for cutting tomatoes into quarters.

Unrelated to this post, after three years of having a Twitter account, I’ve decided to finally start using it. For real, I’m going to start tweeting and stuff. Help me get up and running! You can follow me @mariel621. Thanks!

Messy level: Salad is so easy and neat – if you plan it properly. You’ll need a cutting board, knife, and a saucepan for the bulgur. You could use a separate bowl to mix it all together and serve, but if you have a large enough saucepan you can do it in there. I didn’t have a large enough saucepan, then I transferred it to a mixing bowl that was too small, and then I finally got it right and put it in a big enough bowl. Don’t make my mistakes, and it’s a one spoon recipe.

Bulgur Greek Salad

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

30 mins

 

Serves: 6 large servings

Ingredients

• 1½ cups bulgur
• 3 cups water
• ½ cup cherry tomatoes in quarters
• ½ cup cubed cucumber
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped (or in strips if you prefer)
• ½ red onion, cut into matchsticks
• ⅓ cup pitted kalamata olives
• ⅓ cup crumbled feta cheese
• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1-2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• oregano (optional)

Instructions

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the bulgur and water. Bring it to boil.
2. Once the water has come to a boil, cover, and lower the heat. Simmer until all the water is absorbed. It should take about 15-20 minutes, but check what the package says.
3. While the bulgur is cooking is cooking chop up all of your vegetables
4. When the bulger is finished, fluff it with a fork and let cool to room temperature (or just slightly warm).
5. Stir the vegetables into the bulgur.
6. Pour the olive oil and balsamic over the bulgur and vegetables. Taste and adjust as you prefer. I like only a little balsamic to give it a nice tang, but not over power the dish.
7. Serve and sprinkle with a little oregano (dried or fresh) for garnish.

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But I’m getting ahead of myself. Last week I flew back to London, back to our cute little flat, and back to Ryan. It was wonderful to be back. Done with the move and done with long distance. Now, on to be an expat. The only draw back of my arrival was that the airline lost my luggage for just over 24 hours. I was grumpy about it, but at least I eventually got it back.

On the Thursday after I got back, Ryan took the day off and we went to the zoo. After living in DC, I was a little spoiled on free zoos, but the London Zoo is totally worth the money. It was awesome. We saw so many animals and they weren’t just lounging around they were walking and doing stuff. Exciting, right? We saw a komodo dragon, a tiger, giant tortoises, and a okapi – which I didn’t even know existed and has a butt like a zebra.

Then on Friday, my parents and my brother Eric arrived in London. We took one of those double-decker bus tours and it was really fun seeing so much of the city and learning random facts. Then, Monday, less than week back in London, and we were off to Greece.

My family! L to R, Papa, Eric, Ryan, Mama

We are lucky enough to have this family vacation in Greece because my mom was invited by a colleague to his wedding in Crete. Incredible, I know! But before the wedding, and before  Crete, we spent a few days in Athens. I have been wanting to go to Athens for about seven years – since I studied abroad in Rome, and fell in love with Classical art, architecture, history, and mythology.

Athens was AMAZING. First, to blow your minds, our hotel had a view of the acropolis. When Ryan pointed it out I was in disbelief. It was there? I was finally seeing it?! Later we went to the hotel’s roof bar and the view was even more breath taking at night (although my pictures didn’t come out well).

Anyway, day 1 in Athens and the five us make the sweaty hot trip up to the acropolis. I can’t explain how amazing the experience was. I loved seeing things I learned about over ten years ago in an art history lecture hall at the University of Maryland. I loved walking among stone and sculptures that have witnessed history. It was incredible to look out over a vast and built up city with this ancient history in the middle of it. And the Parthenon – wow. I was in awe of it. In awe of the building, the history, the city. It was great to imagine what it was like when people actually came to worship Athena. I can’t say anymore, just look at these sweet pictures.

I also insisted on seeing every single thing at the National Archaeological Museum. I was really impressed by that museum. Some of you might be reading this thinking, “archaeological museum, snooze-fest.” But I loved it. I know this blog is my platform for talking about food  (and I’ll get there I promise) but my training is in museums so let me chat on that for sec. Pieces of pottery and faded carvings can be a snooze-fest, I’ll admit. But this museum put the pieces together with reconstructed pieces to give a full picture of what the object was. I liked seeing real pieces put together with a reconstruction to create a full vase. And for faded carvings, they had color reproductions next to the original. It helped provide context and let me imagine a little better. And there were awesome maps and info graphics to put these objects into a historical context. Ok, I’ll stop. I know I’m dorking out on museums.

Ryan and I also went to the Agora to check out some more ruins. In case you don’t want to Google Agora, it was a commercial center in Athens. It was a place where people went for religion, shopping, art, and what have you. It was amazing to walk around among foundations of buildings and temples. The Agora museum had more pottery pieces and sculptures – but it also had 6th-4th century cooking equipment. See, I told you I’d get back to food. It’s cool that some of these objects look so similar. Below are pictures of a cheese grater, grill, casserole, oven, and spit.

And while we’re talking about food, let’s just say I AM IN HEAVEN. First, I love Greek salads. Greek salad is what I eat when Ryan is away for dinner, and that’s because he doesn’t like olives or feta cheese. I have been indulging to the utmost.  Also we have had delicious lamb and beef, bread, olive oil, tomatoes. In the pictures below there is mousaka, something like a falafel, tzatziki, stuffed lamb, Greek salad, potatoes, and other things I don’t know the name of. This was all from Xenois Zeus, a restaurant in Athens with a great roof-top view dining room.  And while less widely lauded, I’ve also had tons of Fanta Lemon, which is my favorite soda of all time. I’m hoping to find a cookbook and maybe sneak in few Greek recipes in after vacation. I’ll write more about Crete when I’m back in London!

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Meanwhile, while I was doing that, Ryan was in Brussels for work. How cool is that?! Seems super cool to me. He did get to do a bit of walking around, he ate an awesome waffle, and he even saw the King of Belgium! I was jealous. He was only there overnight, so I didn’t go with him, which means I was making dinner for one.

Now, I’ve mentioned it before, but when I’m alone I make girly, vegetarian, salads. My go-to is usually a Greek salad because Ryan doesn’t like olives or feta. I decided to put a twist on a regular salad and do a pretty liberal interpretation of this recipe from Smitten Kitchen. Part of the reason for interpreting the recipe is that I don’t currently have access to an oven or food processor. What I found is you don’t need an oven, but a food processor would definitely be helpful. Either way, it’s a pretty yummy and simple dish. The proportions below are small, since it was just for me – but feel free to double it. And sorry, this is not a photogenic dish.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup uncooked quinoa

1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes

3 garlic cloves

Dressing:

1/8 cup olive oil

1/8 cup warm water

1/2 tsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 cup chopped kalamata olives

1/4 cup crumbled feta

Instructions:

1. Cook quinoa according to package directions. Or, put 1/2 cup of quinoa and 1 cup of water in a pot, bring to a boil, cover and reduce to a simmer until all water is absorbed. This takes about 20 minutes.

2. Heat a skillet on low. While the pan is heating, cut the tomatoes in half. Also cut the garlic cloves in half. Put the tomatoes and garlic in a hot skillet. Heat for 10 minutes, stir once halfway through. The tomatoes are done when they’re a bit wrinkly and when you press on the tomato skin, it has some gentle give. This part smells so so good!

3. In a food processor, blend the olive oil, water, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and half of the tomatoes and all the garlic. Blend until smooth (or in my case smash with a fork to the best of your ability).

4. Plate the quinoa, mix in the olives, tomatoes, and feta. Then pour over the dressing. Pour the dressing slowly, to your taste. Don’t just dump it or you’ll have soggy quinoa.

Messy level: Two spoons, and only because you need two pots. It’s easy to make though and won’t have much clean up.

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