THE WITH A TWIST bacon + lemon + plantain

Go start a personal project. Pick something you inherently love, and set yourself to work at it. I usually don't like being directive, but sometimes, you just need the encouragement and for someone to tell you, your personal interest project/hobby isn't stupid. Hell, mine is making sandwiches. It makes you happy, and that's really the means, and the ends of it. You do it for yourself, and maybe others will appreciate it, but that's not why you do it. And this isn't coming from a super go-getter self-starter either. Naw. Sometimes, the rest of all life's tribulations, and your own failings catch up with you, and you'll be glad you have that thing you work on, for no other reason than your own satisfaction. And it will give you that, every time. That which can only be accomplished by doing something, because you find it inherently satisfying. No amount of nights out, cat videos, or retail therapy can give you that. And maybe you'll even develop some skill at it, and have something to be proud of, and to share with others. Or not, 'cause that's really not the point.

But anyway, I really like making sandwiches. It's not my only thing, but it's one of them. And the other week, I got a really nice message from someone for whom sandwiches is also, his thing. As much as I don't care if anyone understands the sandwich thing, it was really nice to know there are people out there. He proposed doing a sandwich off. I'm always happy to test my sandwich making imagination, so I accepted, and here's the result. What's the twist? Details after the jump.

THE LUCKY CAT spicy peanut chicken

I have to explain for a moment, why I've started naming my sandwiches. And relay the reasons for this above poor choice right here. I started the blog in 2009, and kept it secret for at least a year. When I eventually started telling my friends about my really silly personal project, they naturally, started asking me to make sandwiches for them. I was all too happy to, because so often in the endeavour to make someone's dream sandwich, I really extended my own creativity, and came up with stuff I never would have thought I could have come up with. The sandwich dedicating definitely set me on a path. I'd call them, ask them to tell me what kind of a sandwich they would want. They'd request one or two ingredients, and I'd come up with the rest. They'd come over, I'd make it, and I'd usually photograph them eating it. But so often, I was surprised to be asked, "What's this one called?" I've been dismissing the notion of naming sandwiches, thinking listing their feature ingredients is good enough. And for some sandwiches, it is. But some sandwiches have some sort of personality, or context to them. So I thought it would be fun to finally start naming them. Here's The Lucky Cat, for your eye delecting pleasure.

avocado + cabbage + tamari club

What's up friends? I decided to go out and buy a bunch of really lovely meat at the organic farmers' market last week, and then eat way too much of it all at the same time. What better way than with a classic Club!? But obviously not that classic. Enter tamari + avocado + cabbage + ginger + mint + lime + garlic + chili mayo. Sadly I only got a taste of this sandwich. I was still full from the chicken and egg sandwich made previously, but a hungry friend of mine came by and devoured it. Equally satisfying. Ok, that's a lie, but this was one mountain I was too full to climb.

maple Hawaiian grilled cheese

So it was my birthday last week! The family tradition for birthdays in recent years, is that we all take work off, and try to spend the day together. And birthdays are awesome, because you put thought into what it is exactly, that you would be happiest spending the day doing, and have everyone participate in. So when my parents asked, I pretty quickly came up with a day of making sandwiches. I invited them over, and had them bring odds and ends from their ever-full kitchen of untold wonders, and made a variety of sandwiches for them, and of course stopped to photograph, so I could get some blog posts out of it. Here's one of them, and you'll see a few more in some past and coming days. 

It was a nice birthday. I like having something totally unnecessary, but satisfying to do. And I think the sandwiches were a hit? I was going to make 3 of this one, so we could all have, and I was kind of looking forward to this one in particular, but as it turns out, I couldn't eat this sandwich because unless expressedly stated, cured meats are NOT gluten-free. But I snacked on some of this delicious Quebec raw milk cheddar. And everything smelled really nice. 

Oh, and then at night, I had a little booze picnic in the park with friends. There were sparklers. That was nice too. It would be great to spend every day doing exactly the things that make you happy, and I try. And of course, it's easier when your wishes and tastes are simple.