Anything with avocado is wonderful in my book — and my kids’ books too. We all adore the soft, creamy flesh of avocados. Whether it’s eaten just cut from the pit or mashed into guacamole, you can bet that Will and Paige will gobble it up fast.

So, when I started thinking about making wraps for lunch when a relative visited this past weekend, I decided first on a Turkey Club … and then decided to make it California-style with the addition of avocado slices.

The result was a craveworthy, hearty sandwich with a wonderful creaminess, fabulous crunchy and total deliciousness. It was a little big for little Paige (she unrolled it and ate the contents with a fork), but Will really liked it. And I loved it.

Do you have a favorite wrap sandwich? Share in the comments!

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Today is Will’s last day of preschool. Ever. I can hardly believe it. You always hear people say that children grow up so quickly, but only in experiencing it can you appreciate just how true that is. It seems like just yesterday that I was uncomfortably pregnant with him and now he’s almost 5. Time really does fly.

I’ve been thinking the same thing about Paige recently … she’s gone from round-faced baby to thinking, plotting, planning little girl in no time. The other day, I was working on a recipe (this recipe, in fact), when Paige pulled up her trusty pink stool and started asking questions. I was photographing some cubed chicken at the time. She wanted to know what it was, why I was taking pictures and what I was going to do with it.

She followed me through the kitchen as I added all the ingredients to a mixing bowl and then stirred it all together. I explained every step of the process as I went, with her listening and watching intently and with great curiosity. She is at a point where she really wants to understand everything she sees.

These children … they are amazing.

In regards to this sandwich … it’s a wonderful, easy fast lunch that involves no heating of the kitchen (SCORE!). Perfect for hot days … or any day … the combination of briny olives, crunchy bits of cucumber, moist chicken chunks, creamy, salty feta and an easy dressing is fabulous on pita bread. For the chicken, I used leftover grilled chicken, but you could easily substitute rotisserie chicken or even those premade chicken strips (Trader Joe’s sells them in the freezer section).

It’s definitely a crowd pleaser.

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Meet ramps …

In the bowl pictured above are some chopped ramps, a wild onion that grows in the Eastern part of the United States and Canada. Also known as a wild leek, it has a bold flavor with notes of onion and garlic. And until this past weekend, I had never had one, despite hearing raves about them. At right, you can see what they look like in their natural form.

Basically, you remove the root part and use the rest of them. Stems, leaves … it all works.

Are you familiar with ramps?

I’ve known about them for a few years, but have never been able to procure any. However recently when my Garlic Scape Carbonara recipe was featured on Saveur, I received a kind note from a new reader asking if ramps could be used in the recipe. I told him that it was possible — though I’ve never actually had ramps. He offered to send me some, and I excitedly agreed. Last week, they arrived.

Now, it’s one thing to read about the garlic-onion taste of ramps and a whole other to experience it. I sauteed a few up to get a feel for their taste and fell in love. Head over heels love. Then I whipped up a Ramp Pesto … oh my.

That night, the kids and I feasted on more sauteed ramps, Tortellini with Ramp Pesto and a Jamie Oliver recipe for braised cabbage (more on that tomorrow!). It was a delicious, decadent night. Will wasn’t a fan of the cabbage, but couldn’t get enough of the ramps — particularly the pesto.

Do you have a favorite ramp recipe? Share! I have a few more to play with and am trying to decide what to do with them.

A special thank you to reader Mark! And thank you to the Colrain, Massachusetts, farm where these were harvested. We LOVE them. Read the rest of this entry…

A local deli makes this massive, delightful sandwich called Amanda’s Big Mouth. It’s pastrami, cheddar, bacon, onions, lettuce, tomato, hot sauce and thousand island dressing (I skip the dressing)—and it’s amazing. It’s the kind of sandwich you eat when you are starving … or when you just want something amazing when you are enjoying a few minutes to yourself.

But it’s also massive and not at all diet friendly.

Isn’t that how it always works? You find a food you love, only to discover that it’s making your hips expand at a rapid pace? And it can only be blamed on your adoration, which is leading you to indulge in said sandwich a little too often. What? Do I speak from experience? Um? What?

Anyway, if you’ve resolved to be healthier, then that sandwich probably isn’t practical. Seriously. Does anyone need that much meat? Nonetheless, you don’t have to completely skip the deliciousness of your favorite stuffed sandwich. Just lighten it up a bit instead by making it at home with the same ingredients in moderation.

How? Toss the hard roll and use a whole wheat one or trade it in for a whole wheat pita or wrap. Cut the amount of meat down to 2-3 oz. To make the sandwich look fuller, don’t just lay the meat on. Instead, drop the meat on so that it sort of crumples and curls on itself (don’t put too much thought into that! The technique works best when  you don’t think). Use only about an ounce of cheese and consider switching higher fat cheeses for lower fat ones. If the sandwich has other ingredients like bacon, use it! But just a little to get the flavor.

So, I applied these principals to my favorite sandwich. Guess what? It was at least as good as the original, and I didn’t feel weighed down after eating it (that’s a huge plus!). It’s a little spicy-sweet with the sriracha, with notes of saltiness and pepper. And it’s divine. Absolutely divine. Just try it.

See, you really can lighten up a sandwich and still enjoy it.  What’s your favorite sandwich? Share! Read the rest of this entry…

On busy workdays, I am a huge fan of quick and easy dinners. A sandwich like this totally fits the bill. Sure, you have to cook the turkey and pancetta, but it only takes minutes and then you are seated and eating. It doesn’t get much better in terms of time.

Now, honestly, Shawn isn’t that fond of sandwiches for dinner. But with the flavor combination here — and the fact that it really does fill you — he is willing to make an exception. The kids? They adore it.

The sandwich balances the creamy fontina cheese, salty pancetta and slightly sweet turkey … it’s an awesome combination. If you are like me and crave veggies, add a little lettuce and tomato to the pocket too. According to Shawn, the one thing that could make this better would be to serve it on a soft, freshly baked roll. I like the pita, personally.

Do you do sandwiches for dinner?

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Some foods are ubiquitous to areas. Philadelphia has its cheesesteaks. The south has its BBQ. New York has its cheesecake. Boston has its baked beans. But for every well-known regional food, there are dozens of lesser known ones that are just as wonderful — if not more so.

When it comes to greater Boston, one of those foods is the Roast Beef Sandwich. An area favorite, particularly north of Boston, it’s popularity extends across the New Hampshire line and down into Rhode Island too.

Let me introduce you to this glorious sandwich … The Roast Beef Sandwich is typically served on an onion roll, which is a soft sandwich roll that’s dotted with sweet bits of caramelized onions. My husband opts for a regular sesame roll, but you have to ask for that (and unless you are a total onion hater like him, I don’t suggest you do so). Onto that roll goes an eye-popping quantity of thinly sliced roast beef deli meat, which has been warmed on the grill. It’s doused with a spicy, loose barbecue sauce and served hot. The contrast between the sweet onions and the bite of the sauce is amazing.

Excuse me while I wipe the drool from my lips … this is an amazing sandwich. Read the rest of this entry…

Some days, I just don’t know what to make for dinner. Don’t you have days like that? You know, where it’s all just too much and urge to order takeout becomes too hard to fend off. And sometimes, you bend under the pressure and just order something.

But, I have found that when I am feeling like that, the best defense is to at least try – take something out, even if you don’t know what you’re making with it. That was the case with this ground beef. I knew I was going to use it for dinner … I just didn’t know what.

As dinnertime approached, I still didn’t have a plan. I leafed through a few cookbooks and then turned to the internet. Actually, I turned to Twitter and instant messaging. And the funny thing? When I asked, almost everyone came back with the same answer: Sloppy Joes.

Well, when something like that slaps you in the face, you just have to go with it. So I did.

How do you combat the “I don’t feel like cooking” feeling? Read the rest of this entry…

It was a steamy, hot day today. It was one of those days where you just don’t know what to do with yourself. The kids and I ran errands, took a walk (what was I thinking?!?) and ran through the sprinkler. Because I wanted to. Finally, we gave in and collapsed onto the couch with the air conditioner on (remember how I was boycotting the a/c this year? I still am … but we did install one unit in an unused window).

When it came to dinnertime, I didn’t want to cook. Who would? But that’s exactly why I plan our meals for the week. When the plan is laid out for you, it makes it way easier to just give in and go for it … so I did. And really, when I realized what I had planned for tonight, I couldn’t say no.

That delicious burger above was worth every bit of heat and torment to create it. It’s just that good.

Inside this juicy burger is an oozing center of juicy, savory deliciousness. You bite into it and it spills warm juices down your chin, leaving you to lap them up wipe it away with your napkin. I first made these about two weeks ago and feel instantly in love. Since then, we’ve had them several times … they are rather addicting.

I have to give the credit for this one to Shawn, who wanted “something, some cheese to stuff the burgers with,” one day when I was heading to the store.

Coincidentally, the hamburger is a total New England food. The hamburger – a ground beef patty stuck between two slices of bread- was created right here in a little restaurant in Connecticut. The first burger was created by Louis Lassen, who ran a small lunch cart in New Haven that he called (so creatively) Louis’ Lunch.

Today, Louis’ is still run by the Lassen family and is now located in a small building on Crown Street. It’s a favorite for Michael and Jane Stern, who have written about it on their website Roadfood as well as naming it one of their picks for “20 Burgers to Eat Before It’s Too Late,” in the June issue of Gourmet. I daresay, I will be trying that little hamburger joint quite soon …

Back to my delectable burger, it’s worth every single second and bite. Try it.

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When I flipped this sandwich out of the frying pan and onto Will’s plate, I instantly smiled. Do you see it? The simple, unmistakable shape was clear as day. Instead of shooting a photo of the most perfect sandwich in the batch, I went with the one with the perfect little unexpected heart.

Here, you can see it better in this one:

That perfect little unexpected heart is a lot like a mother’s love. You carry a child for nine and a half months. Of course you are supposed to love them, it’s expected. But loving that little seed in your belly is like talking to an imaginary friend. You know the baby is there and real. But before anyone can see or touch that baby, it’s intangible. It’s confusing and uncertain. Really, it’s an abstract thing – loving something, someone, whom you don’t know and who you’ve never met. It’s complicated. Then one day they are born. And you are expected to love them right away, instantly. You can’t help but wonder if you really can love someone whom you only know as the alien jabs in your belly. So, when you have that swell of emotion when the baby first cries, that pop of relief that they really have arrived safely, it is unexpected.

This evening after dinner, I curled onto the couch next to Will. He scurried his little warm body close to me and laid down in front of me. I put my arms around him and hugged him close, while his short hair tickled my nose. “I love you, Mommy,” he whispered.

Simple, unexpected, heart swelling. What more can a mom ask for? Read the rest of this entry…

Doesn’t that look good? It makes my mouth water to think about it, let alone see it. This delicious, juicy chicken burger is ranking tops on my short list of craveworthy foods. Yum.

It all started earlier this year. Shawn picked up the cleverly named Hamburger Seasoning (really, they went out on a limb for that name, right?) from Williams-Sonoma. We tried it a few times here and there in hamburgers. They were really quite good. I started selecting higher fat meat, which makes for richer, juicier burgers.  Oh, it really was good.

But red meat, and specifically red meat with a higher fat content, isn’t really the healthiest option. So, we tried out ground turkey, but it was a little dry. Then we used it with ground chicken. Oh, the ground chicken. With a hint of Hamburger Seasonings and a dash of Worcestershire sauce, the chicken burger takes on a flavor reminiscent of a beef hamburger, but without the grease or fat. The taste is sharp, a little pepper-y and so perfectly moist. Read the rest of this entry…