Reuben and Vest

By the way, have you seen the movie Rubin & Ed? Crispin Glover never fails to crack me up. Especially when he’s marching around his apartment with a squeaky-mouse, wearing those wild striped pants and platform shoes. But I digress.

I really have been doing a bit of knitting – this is a vest that I’m making for my husband according to his request. He wanted a very heavy wool vest, in a weight similar to a sweater he bought in Mexico many years ago (which is a really nice sweater, but it but weighs an absolute ton!) Nonetheless, that’s what he wanted, so that’s what I’m doing. Pattern is my own design, and I haven’t made a vest before, so who knows how it will turn out.

Meanwhile, may I present my lunch, the Veggie Reuben (concept stolen from inspired by Wild Oats when the old SLC store on 200 South had their own menu items). Take your favorite rye bread (mine is Volker’s Jewish Rye), spread with mustard (yes, I said mustard, not Thousand Island or Russian dressing), and layer it with Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, sliced tomato, sliced green pepper, sliced mushrooms, and sliced red onion. Grill it as you like, but this is how I do it: Spread each of two slices of bread with butter on one side and mustard on the other. I made mine with Pommery Mustard, (my favorite, but not available anywhere in Salt Lake City as far as I know. My current crock came from Dean & Deluca in Napa Valley). Toss the bread butter-side-down on a heated skillet and top each piece with some swiss cheese. Fry them until the bread is nicely browned and the cheese is melted. Meanwhile, take some very well-drained (squeezed) sauerkraut (I like Claussen’s) and heat it a bit. When the bread is done, assemble the sandwich by placing the warmed sauerkraut on one slice of the bread, top it with the sliced veggies, then the other slice of bread. You can, of course, modify the veggies to suit your taste, but this is what they used at Wild Oats. I find it’s really the tomato and green pepper with the kraut that make the sandwich “work”, so sometimes that’s all I use. But if I’ve got the mushrooms and/or onion, I’ll use them. Add a nice Claussen Kosher Dill on the side, and voila, lunch is served!