Poor Lin has discovered that the next-door flat will be undergoing extensive renovations this summer and therefore anticipates eating in the park A Lot so she has suggested that we all stick our sandwich ideas into one post... She's a bit giddy, I think, at the idea of having her Very Own Poll so I'll cut and paste her email below as there are supplementary questions involved.

We do enjoy a bit of tuna mayo in this house, and I find that if you butter both sides in a debauched manner then things such as ham or cheese stay together. She also likes pate, but I've only started giving it to her recently, and if we're having an impromptu picnic I'm not above asking the man in the deli for a selection of bits of ham, salami, and getting him to slice some cheese for us to have on rolls. Oh, the bliss of having a weaned child over one whose salt intake you don't have to bother about quite so much. Also I personally enjoy a mixture of hummus, grated carrot and sultanas in a sandwich but Babybear has been off hummus for some time now so I don't get it very often.

And I know this is a bit fiddly and faffy and therefore against the grain but I very often find myself running a rolling pin over Babybear's sandwiches and sometimes even cutting off the crusts because she can be a bit of a pain in her determination to disassemble them. I've not yet cut shapes out with cookie cutters, for me that's a Bridge Too Far but go for it if you reckon it'll work for you.

Anyway, here's Lin's starter for ten. Thanks for any and all contributions.

Aaaaah, Quorn. That's on my list of 'things we should eat more of.' Or is that tofu? I get so confused...

"Hi there Aitch,

I thought it was about time we had a Quorn recipe on the blog so here is a recipe for veggie meatballs.  It isn’t really mine, I have amended it from Jenny Maizels book but the Pumpkin loves these served with a tomato sauce and pasta so I thought I would share it.  Be warned though, it can be quite messy.

 

Veggie Meatballs (but you could use mince and have normal meatballs). Makes about 16

 

1 small red onion chopped

1clove garlic, chopped

200g veggie mince (I use Quorn)

1tsp dried mixed herbs

1tsp of smoked paprika

2-3 tbsp of passata/tinned toms (I usally use passata but I don’t think it matters much)

11/2 slices of bread made into breadcrumbs

1 beaten egg

 

Heat some olive oil and fry onion and garlic until soft

Add mince with herbs and tomatoes, cook for about 5 mins (until it is cooked through if you are using meat rather than veggie stuff)

Stir in breadcrumbs, leave to cool and then stir in the egg.

Shape into walnut size balls (you can freeze any you don’t want immediately at this point)

Place on a greased baking sheet for about 20 mins (200/400/gas mark 6)"