As Robyn would say: INNAAARDS! This is the sandwich I had for lunch today and it was one of the better ones I have made. I’m very picky about sandwiches, so I’m usually most happy with the ones I’ve made myself. I think the best “sandwich” I’ve had outside of my kitchen was the Ralph (with debris) I had at Mother’s in New Orleans this past March.

Unless there is a roll or bun involved, I prefer my bread toasted for sandwiches. The idea of non-crunchy bread on softer insides kind of grosses me out. Also, this sandwich is at the limits of the amount of filling I prefer. I like to be able to get my mouth around the thing. I hate getting sandwiches with turkey piled two inches high and falling out all over. There needs to be a good ratio of ingredients so that you can taste everything and not be overwhelmed.

Anyway, the innards of this sandwich consisted of:

• Two slices of Plainville Farms Honey Roasted Turkey
• A few bits of Niman Ranch’s Jambon Royal (the finest ham!)
• Some butterhead lettuce I got at the Farmer’s Market on Sunday
• And finally, some roasted tomato and garlic hummus (from Wegmans) spread on each of the slices of bread

Super simple, but the two meats, the bread (Heidelberg French Peasant, of course), and the lettuce are top-quality (and the hummus is good too) and you can’t go wrong mixing them all together.

This is the rotini macaroni I had the night before, with ground turkey and sauce made from fresh tomatoes. The important thing about this, apart from the good tomatoes (from Ludgate Farms), is that I used Ronzoni’s Healthy Harvest Whole Wheat Rotini and it was good! I bought it off of Cook’s Illustrated’s recommendation, a bit wary after my encounter with Barilla PLUS. That was only marginally acceptable. It may be good for you but it has a really odd texture and a slightly chickpea-like flavor. I like chickpeas, but not when I want macaroni.

Anyway, this was tasty too. Rotini + ground turkey + fresh tomatoes/fresh basil/garlic/saltpepper/a sprinkle of green pepper flakes/a few blobs of jalapeno sauce/a little olive oil = not bad!