The vegetarian sandwich that'll fool you into thinking it isn't a vegetarian sandwich. Not because it tastes like meat but because it's filling. That thanks to the bagel it's served on and the slices of nutty swiss cheese. Oh. And mayo. There's the mayo.
I was an odd kid. I dreaded going to birthday parties, loved hammering, and took a typing course at the local highschool when I was 11. For fun. What tween doesn't love office supplies and such?
I've matured now. Grown up a bit.
I now dread going to New Year's Eve parties, love hammering and type every single day. For money.
Clearly I've grown as a person.
I loved typing so much in fact, that that's how I made money during University and for a year or so after. I'm quite a typer. I believe at my speediest, when I was doing medical transcriptions for a living, I clocked in at about 142 words per minute.
I hated that job. And when I say hated it I mean I HATED it. Not the work so much, but my boss happened to be completely insane. Do you know what it's like to work for someone who is certifiably insane? It's difficult. Ignoring the facial ticks alone is exhausting.
But the one truly great thing that came out of that job, other than the satisfaction of quitting to take my first television hosting job, was THE SANDWICH.
The office I worked in had a cafe downstairs and it was there that I was introduced to a sandwich I am still eating and loving today.
3 ingredients, 2 condiments and a whole lotta satisfaction.
Here's how you make it ...
Cut a bagel in half. Any kind of bagel. I like poppyseed.
Toast and BUTTER it. With a capital BUTTER.
Lay 1 or 2 or 3 slices of Swiss Cheese on top.
Click here to see the behind the scenes food styling secret to the above shot.
Top with a huge handful of sprouts. I like alfalafa sprouts.
Here's how you can make them at home in 3 days!
Salt & Pepper.
Add a big squiggle of mustard ...
and a slathering of mayonnaise.
Voila.
The Vegetarian Sprout Sandwich
Ingredients
- Alfalfa Sprouts
- Swiss Cheese
- Bagel
- Butter
- Mustard
- Mayo
Instructions
- Cut your bagel in half and toast it.
- While the bagel is toasting lay a piece of swiss cheese on your counter. Top it with a BIG handful of sprouts (I like alfalfa).
- Squeeze a big squiggle of mustard and mayo onto the sprouts.
- Remove the bagel from the toaster when it's done, butter the bottom and then quickly slip the swiss cheese and sprouts on top. (you want to get the cheese on as quickly as possible so the heat from the bagel helps soften the swiss).
- Top with the other half of the bagel, cut in half and enjoy.
I managed to escape the job I hated with two things. This truly delicious sandwich and the knowledge that I can hate my job, work for an insane person and still come out of it O.K.
And a stapler. I also escaped with a stapler.
Jeannie B
Forgot to mention cucumber slices too in my graddaughter's sandwich.
Melanie
My mother owned a smoothie, fresh juice, and wrap shop when I was a teenager and one of her most delicious wraps was just hummus, grated carrots, and sprouts!
When my dad went on a 30 day juice fast -my family goes through cycles of being health nuts- all he craved to eat was a wrap (one of the good expensive ones with the little seeds in it) with goat cheese and diced cucumber.
Jeannie B
Your sandwich looks delicious Karen. I haven't had sprouts for years. Yesterday, my daughter sent me a picture of my four year old granddaughter having a picnic outside. She was eating a sandwich made with whole grain bread, cream cheese, grated carrots and hummus. It sure looked good. We always get the cheddar cheese bagels at Fortinos. They're delicious too.I keep them sliced in half and frozen in the fridge freezer.I really must try making those sprouts at home.Have a great day Karen.
Reg
Looks yummy. My only change would be to some other kind of bagel. I'd be flossing forever trying to get the poppy seeds out from between my teeth.
Amanda
I'm not a big plain mayo fan, but make it a flavored aioli and I'm IN. YUM.
Of course, this makes me want MY favorite sandwich: toasted bread, goat cheese spread on one half and pesto on the other, layer with roasted eggplant, peppers, and arugula (mixing the arugula in a little balsamic & olive oil). Yum yum yum too.
Lisa
I got lost at sprouts.
mary
Karen... where do you find your poppy seed bagels? (or plain or sesame for that matter) They look Montreal style.
Karen
Hi Mary - They are indeed. I get them from my local grocery store (Fortinos/Loblaws) which if you're in America is no help to you of all, LOL. Sorry. ~ karen!
Emily
I hope it was a red Swingline stapler! LOL
Andrea @ The Greenbacks Gal
Just looking at that picture I got seeds stuck in my teeth.
Ann
I love doing medical transcription. I am self taught. It was something I figured out how to do in my down time as an xray tech. I was familiar with the terminology and I had spent many an hour proof reading the reports others had typed. So why not? But I probably could only do radiology reporting since that is my niche. I can remember with hilarity, trying to figure out what new foreign docs were dictating. Who knew that "peri-fairy" was periphery? But alas, a few times I also worked for someone totally insane. And I willingly walked away from that job, where I could literally do it all. But then I landed at Children's Hospital where I had the very best job of all time. Doing MRI's on all kinds of sick kids and trauma patients. Yes, I do know I am crazy. But somebody's gotta do it.
Your sandwich looks amazing. But my fav is grilled gouda cheese with tomato. But it has to be a good tomato and right now no tomato is close to what could be honestly called good. Summer time, here we come.
Melissa
The peri-fairy comes the night after you have a baby.
It’s the tooth fairy for grownups.
Mary Kay
Was the stapler red???? A Swingline Red Stapler??
Katie King
That's what I was going to comment!
That, and...I could burn this place down.
Tara
Oh man, I love sprouts on a sandwich. Too bad pregnant ladies aren't supposed to have sprouts. Yeah, I definitely see myself breaking that rule for this sandwich.
Shelly
That sounds suspiciously like MY favorite sandwich, but I add a handful of spicy banana peppers...and it's also yummy on a chewy roll. Great. Now I'm hungry...
Shirley
Re your food styling tip: I was wondering what happened to all the poppy seeds in the Swiss cheese shot. Bet you're still cleaning them up!
Or perhaps they just blended in with all the construction debris?
Laura Bee
Oh God. No. Not the mustard! Mustard is the monster under my bed.
Looks like a lovely sandwich otherwise.
Bernard
OK...the bagel thing is great (of course),but here's something not many people have tried ( I think ) and at first glance...You're WT!
"Try it, You'll like it", he said in his best NYC accent.
LIGHTLY toast favorite bagel and slather (loving that word so it must be spoken, not just read, aloud) with copious amounts of butter and cream cheese. The proportions of said condiments are yours for the putting. Apply a handful of Bar-B-Que potato chips to the base bagel and scrunch the top half down upon the base (without destroying the sandwich).
Now, take a deep breath, bite, and chew .... slowly.
Delicioso ( or something like that).
Lori
P.s. it sorta does look good,thought I could just be hungry ? Hehe
Lori
Haha i got lost a the alfalfa sprouts! Hahah
Nikki F.
Sounds great to me!
I also like a similar sandwich but substitute Munster for the Swiss, and add a little lettuce. Also if you want it to be a heavier meal add a breaded cooked chicken cutlet.
Julie H
If you want ANYTHING to be a heavier meal you can add a breaded cooked chicken cutlet. :)
Jenn
I count 8 ingredients.
Melanie
Where exactly are the five other ingredients?
Im confused.
5 Monkeys and a Chick
I was ready, I was ready to follow you down the heavenly sandwich path. But I got lost at the corner of mayo and mustard. I am sad now.
Jenny
Mustard is the devil's work.
At the last company I worked for there was this awesome Chinese place that had the BEST Hunan chicken.
I've not found a comparable place. And I can't cook so I'm SOL.
Sandy
Hi there, I know what you mean, when you hear co-bo's that sound like "what" but sometimes you gotta just try it. One of my favorite sandwhiches, roast beef, tomatoes and a little bit of mustard warmed up. Well one day, I had every thing but the roast beef, tried it, and yum! Then another day during tomato season,no bread just did the mustard, wierd but yum again!
Sometimes wierd things are worth a try!
Langela
She lost me at Swiss cheese and the green grass stuff. Between the two of us, we like your sandwich, Karen. :)
Marti
Mayo. I can't bear "slathering" of mayo. Ever.
Must have been an "mentality acquired" while working in that office. And by "mentality acquired," I mean mayo insanity. :(