While I’ve yet to be convinced that National Sandwich Day wasn’t created to sell more sliced bread, the holiday is still a good excuse to make a sandwich for dinner tonight - or any night for that matter. Sandwiches can be much more than your basic peanut butter and jelly. When done right, a sandwich can be a simple, healthy, and elegant meal.

Here are my top sandwich choices from the Eat.Drink.Better archive:

• Meatless Monday: 8 Meat-Free Sandwich Ideas

• Meatless Monday: Berry Compote, Tofu Pesto Sandwiches, and Pasta With Chickpeas

• A Beefy (yet Beefless) Burger with Black Beans

For more ideas, visit:

• Smitten Kitchen’s Sandwich Archive

• Sandwiches, from Vietnam to South Carolina

• Scanwiches

To test your sandwich knowledge, take this quiz.

(Image courtesy of andso at flickr under a Creative Commons license)

Quick question:  Do you know what you’re having for dinner?  Don’t panic if you don’t have a clue – you’re not alone.  Up to one third of Americans don’t know what they will be eating for supper on any given day, an underlying cause of relying on prepared food fast high in convenience and packaging and low in nutrients and local food connections.

However we slice it, our busy, chaotic, modern lifestyles generally leave us low on time and quality food fuel.  I seem to live on either extreme:  either I’m working and writing from my farm with a freezer full of preserved garden goodies to eat, or I’m in town all day running through a laundry list of errands, undoubtedly skipping a meal and ending up famished.  And crabby.

A little planning goes along way in keeping well fueled on the road.  Here’s three tips for easy green meals to go, and a recipe for Stuffed Roti (pronounced “row-tee”) with Chickpea Filling, a hearty Caribbean-inspired sandwich stuffed with curried veggies, potatoes and chickpeas that can be readily noshed with one hand just about anywhere:

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Pacific Albacore tuna season started a bit late this year but is now in full swing, running from July through September. In case you didn’t realize it, Albacore, IS NOT its overfished and mercury-laden tuna cousins. It is troll or pole-and-line caught, endorsed as a “best choice” by Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch and certified sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council.

Albacore tuna (Thunnus alalunga), also called Tombo tuna, is a medium-size tuna found in temperate, subtropical and tropical oceans. Albacore tuna live longer and grow more slowly than other tunas. Most Albacore is sold as high-priced “white meat” canned tuna on supermarket shelves. Fresh Albacore has whitish-pink flesh, fairly soft texture and a mild, leaner flavor compared to other tuna species. I do not recommend Atlantic Albacore because it has been substantially overfished, but Albacore populations have remained abundant and sustainable in the Pacific.

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Ingredients
1-1/2 pounds tofu, extra firm or super firm*
1/2 cup eggless mayonnaise (Nayonnaise and Vegenaise are great, but Wildwood’s Garlic Aioli is my fave)
2 red bell peppers, finely chopped
4 scallions (white and green parts), finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
3 stalks celery, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
4 teaspoons pickle relish
1-1/2 tablespoons prepared mustard
¼ teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon sea salt or to taste
Black pepper, to taste
10 slices good-quality sliced bread

Directions
1. In a large bowl, mash tofu with a fork, potato masher, or your hands.

2. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.

3. Spread a few tablespoons of the tofu mixture on the bottom bread slices. Top with remaining slices of bread. (Toasted slices make this even more scrumptious!)

4. Carefully cut the crusts off the sandwiches with a sharp knife. Cut in half diagonally, then cut in half again so you’re left with small triangle-shaped finger sandwiches. (Throw the crust out to the grateful birds.)

*A word about tofu: There are many different types of tofu available, ranging from silken and soft to firm and extra firm - and even super firm, in the case of my favorite brand, Wildwood Organics, but there are also differences within those variations depending on the brand you buy or the way it’s packaged. The perfect textured tofu for this dish is one that is very firm. I recommend an extra-firm tofu (in the refrigerated section of the grocery store). Wildwood brand is my favorite, but if you can’t find it or can only find one that is in a tub of water, you might want to press out the water first. To press tofu: just dump the water and give the tofu a quick rinse. Wrap the tofu in a towel and place on a plate. Place something heavy on the tofu and leave it there for about 20-30 minutes; the towel will be soaked through.

Serving suggestions:

*Wonderful as a sandwich filling on a hard roll or stuffed in a pita
*Serve on crackers as an appetizer or party dish
*Serve as a side salad – great for picnics and BBQs!

Variation suggestion:

*Use cubed, steamed tempeh for a “better than chicken” salad.
*Use potatoes for a tasty potato salad.
*Use garbanzo beans/chickpeas for a “better than tuna” salad. (Grind the beans in a food processor for a tuna-like size and texture.

Other tofu recipes can be found at www.compassionatecooks.com

Also on GO:

All About Tofu - Part 1

Food has a large impact on the environment, as we've recently discussed. There are ways that we can make a difference: buying organic, eating locally, and chomping on a PB & J at lunch. What? We'll explain.

A new group has sprouted up trying to convince people to help the environment by eating this childhood standby. Called the PB&J Campaign, the goal is to "to combat environmental destruction and improve animal welfare by reducing the amount of animal products people eat."

The website states that by eating a PB & J at lunch, you will save 2.5 pounds of carbon as compared to eating a hamburger, tuna fish, grilled cheese, or chicken nuggets. Yes, that's right, this is a sandwich that slows global warming.

Obviously trying to show consumers the environmental impacts of going meatless, the site also features the environmental benefits of eating a bean burrito, falafel, and other veggie meals.

Rebecca says: Never been a PB & J fan. I think it's the J, actually, because I love me my PB. I ate a peanut butter and banana sandwich everyday for my entire kindergarten school year. I wonder if that is even better for the environment?

PB&J Campaign

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