sandwiches: food or fine art?

I would like to start by declaring two things:

1. I am still very pleased with the picture of my Snobby Joes - it's pretty enough that I almost don't mind how long it has held the space of "first picture you see on the blog," aside from the fact that it means I haven't posted anything since Monday.
2. I believe I am the only woman in Philadelphia...the country...maybe the universe, who needs an hour to make a sandwich.

I mean, really - the whole idea behind a sandwich is that it is easy to make and easy to eat, right?  Isn't that why that simple food has sustained Mister through long days and nights of his various projects (and at times helpful insomnia)?  Isn't that the King of School Lunches?  Donna Reed or June Cleaver slap some mayo on a couple of slices of Wonderbread, neatly place a slice of cheese or two atop the bottom slice, then fold a generous number of slices of mutilated animal flesh and top with another piece of bread, then put it in Junior's brown bag and send him off to school with a smile and a kiss, right?

Not so with me.  Since Mister and I gave up on eating slices of what used to be an animal but managed to fit into a square shape after it was killed and ground into oblivion, sandwiches have taken on a different form.  There are the several incarnations of PB&J which usually involve Dark Chocolate Dreams alone, chunky peanut butter alone or with a generous spread of Polaner All-Fruit.  Mister still makes sandwiches that consist of Provolone, Muenster, Cheddar, or Pepper Jack cheese with one of our three mustards and a couple of pickle slices.  If I am making a "sandwich" for myself, it usually means I've spread something (Chocolate PB, chunky PB, hummus, or olive tapenade) on a single slice of bread and am eating it over the sink.

If, however, a sandwich will play a part in dinner, it will probably involve tofu, cucumbers and/or tomatoes, and about an hour or more of my time.

I don't think it will surprise you that we had TLC Sandwiches with Mediterranean Mashed Potatoes for dinner tonight, served with a bowl of mixed olives.  I think it would have gone quicker if I had pan-seared the tofu slices rather than baked them, but I was mashing the potatoes while they were baking, so it came out okay, I guess.  Our Tofu, Lettuce, and Cucumber Sandwiches were missing the L, so I did a layer of C on the bottom and the top.  Having not been raised by June or Donna, my husband absolutely cannot tolerate mayonnaise, so I smeared hummus on the inside sides of our bread.  It was tasty, smelled good, and was attractive - all I need to do now is get back into the habit of wearing heels while I do household chores and cook dinner.