I hope you're all doing great and healthy, specially our dear @sirenahippie, who has been sick for the last days but still working like a champion.

Yesterday was one of those days that are gone in the blink of an eye. When we join breakfast and dinner, we call it brunch, and when we join lunch and dinner, what is it called? Whatever the name, that's what I did last night; I made a huge sandwich filled with sautéed mushrooms with garlic and onions.

The whole thing was quite eventful. We'd had a hectic day; it was 6 p.m. or so, and I'd just come from grocery shopping.

I'd found some mushrooms that were begging to be tucked into a big sandwich. I had to take the opportunity, for they were fresh, which seldom happens in my town.

But the thing is that I'd forgotten to buy pita bread and neither had I spreads in my fridge. What I did have was my big craving for a sandwich.

...So I explored my options and I had everything I needed to make a simple and quick bread and some fun and healthy spreads: avocado and almond "mayonnaise" and Red bell pepper & spicy paprika sauce.

Since these spreads don't contain any water, they are ideal for preparing your favorite pressed sandwiches, since you can leave them tightly wrapped in the fridge, well pressed overnight while all the flavors of the fillings of your choice blend together without spoiling your bread.
--I'll do that when I'm not so hungry and in such a hurry--.

Before I organized the shopping, I made the dough for the bread. It was one of those recipes that your hands know: a little of this and a little of that; no preferment, no protocols.

For a big loaf of bread, I used:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups of warm water
• 1 tablespoon cane sugar
• 5 turns of my salt grinder (half teaspoon approx.)
• 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast

To make the bread dough,

I just put everything together in a bowl and mixed.

First, the dry ingredients.

Then the liquids.

I mixed it with the help of a hand whisk. It turned out a soft and sticky dough, which I didn't knead.

After half an hour, when I was almost done with the spreads, it had raised and become softer and manageable enough.

I flattened it onto my greased 30 cm frying pan and let it rise for 15 minutes before turning on the heat. I let it cook for 5 minutes on each side over low to medium heat.

The fillings

Sauteed Mushrooms

While the dough was raising, I managed to sautee the mushrooms I'd just bought with onion and garlic.

I used:

• 210 gr fresh mushrooms
• 2 cups julienned onions
• 1 tablespoon crushed garlic
• 1 bay leave
• 1/2 cup white wine
• Freshly cracked black pepper to taste
• Salt to taste
• a little olive oil to sautee

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I julienned the onions and sauteed them first along with the bay leave.

I let it cook for 2-3 minutes.

Meanwhile, I cleaned and sliced the mushrooms and added them in the wok. After they had cooked for 1 minute, I added the white wine to deglaze the wok. A couple of minutes after that, I removed the wok from the fire and let it cool.

**I also fried a sliced plantain. It was ripe but not too much; around here we call that "pintón," which means it's about to be fully ripe. We could say it was a half-ripe plantain.

The Spreads

There are 5 ingredients common to these spreads: garlic, soaked and peeled almonds, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, and salt.

What varies from one recipe to the other, is that one uses avocado, while the other uses roasted red bell pepper, hot paprika, and corn oil.

Avocado & Almond "Mayonnaise"

I've been able to buy avocados at a low price from a street vendor near my house. This is happiness for us at home.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups ripe avocado
• 50 gr soaked and peeled almonds
• a drizzle of olive oil
• 4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon crushed garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

(no water)

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I put all ingredients in the blender and let it work scraping as it went.

I had to blend the "mayonnaise" for several minutes until it became the right texture.

Red Bell Pepper & Almond Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 cup roasted red bell pepper
• 50 gr soaked and peeled almonds
• a drizzle of olive oil
• 4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon crushed garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon hot paprika
• 30 ml corn oil

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To make this sauce,

I roasted a red bell pepper over the stove fire.

I let it cook, turning it over until it was completely black.

When it had cooled, I peeled it, washed it, and removed the pedicel, veins, and seeds.

I put all ingredients in the blender, except for the corn oil.

I used hot paprika to provide spiciness, which we love. The corn oil was used to achieve a little more thickness.

I poured it in a little bit at a time while the sauce was blending, to achieve a little emulsion and make my sauce a little thicker.

The rest is history.

I cut the loaf of bread lengthwise and set about spreading and filling it.

Bon appetite!

By the way, I've heard that lunch and dinner is "linner." For others it's "lupper," produced by combining lunch and supper. Neither is in the dictionary, but I think they just are as popular as brunch, which is in the dictionary. What do you think about linner/lupper being as popular as brunch?

Thank you so much for your visit :)

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