I have sandwich OCD

I'm neat by nature. My mother is the same way too, so that must be where it comes from. I'm not completely anal about everything, but I like to have things organized and presentable.

But I wouldn't say that I'm obsessive about every little thing. (If I was, then I most certainly would have an issue with my currently unmade bed and huge pile of CLEAN clothes in my bedroom....sadly, I don't.)

However, I just noticed yesterday that I'm extremely controlling....when it comes to sandwiches. (Such a feeling of power, I know.)

Lots of people have those weird tendencies when it comes to food. I know a few people that can't stand to have different types of food touching on their plates. Or people that have to eat one thing at a time (eat the meat first, then one side, then another).

Well, my food obsession has to do with sandwiches, in particular. As in, the way my sandwiches are put together, and the manner in which I eat them.

For instance, if I'm eating some PB & J...there have to be equal amounts of peanut butter and jelly (usually mi madre's blackberry jelly, because it kicks ass), and when I eat it, I have to position it so that the jelly is on top. The reasoning behind this is that it keeps a huge hunk of peanut butter from sticking to the roof of my mouth, and it keeps the jelly from sliding out of the sandwich and all over whatever beautiful piece of clothing that I'm wearing at the time. (Duh.)

When I make a sandwich I always make them the EXACT same way every SINGLE time too. Using the PB & J example...I always apply the peanut butter first to one slice, then jelly second to the other.

I liken it to morning rituals. And I don't even notice things like this 95% of the time...until I come upon some minute realization like the sandwich dealio. And now I'm psycho-analyzing myself. Realizing that in the morning, I always put the right contact in my eye before the left...I always brush my bottom teeth before I brush the tops ones...I put my makeup on in a very distinct order. Sheesh. Habits, I tell ya.

I wonder if I do things completely ass-backwards tomorrow whether it will fuck up my day or not. And if it does fuck up my day, would it be because of the actual opposite actions, or just my brain telling myself that things are jacked up because I did them the other way? (These are the things that go on in my head...wasted meanderings, for sure.)

Makes you think about your own habits, doesn't it?

Anyway, I'll break my train of thought and share a lovely sandwich recipe with you all. It's one of my favorites at the moment (and yes, I fix it the same way every time). I stumbled across the idea for it over at the We are not Martha site...great recipes galore over there, so check 'em out.

Needed:

honey wheat sandwich thin
cream cheese
roasted unsalted sunflower seeds
thin-sliced turkey
Granny Smith apple
regular-sliced sharp cheddar cheese

Directions for putting this beast together (you have to have it in the right order or the tastes don't meld, I swear!):

1.) Open your sandwich thin, apply cream cheese to the bottom slice.
2.) Toss on some sunflower seeds (I love these...the more you can get stuck in that cream cheese, the better, in my opinion).
3.) Layer some turkey slices on top of the seeds
4.) Slice up about 4 or 5 moderately thing slices of apple (sliced the way that an apple corer makes the apple look, just a tad thinner so that you can place it on top of the turkey). The ratio of apple to turkey should equal about 2 to 1...trust me.
5.) Take the top half of the sandwich thin and slap on a piece of that sharp cheddar cheese. Toss it in a toaster oven and let it melt, just a little (or if you don't have one at your disposal, throw it in the microwave for 10 seconds on high...get the exact same effect).
6.) Put that on top of the loaded bottom side of the sandwich then, and voila!

Nom nom nom.

Check out the original version at We are not Martha by clicking here. My version is definitely a bit more loaded than theirs (I blame the thicker chunks of apple, but that makes it way more wonderful)!

Book review coming tomorrow...later, kids.

Song of the day: "As Far As I Can See" Phantogram (going to see these guys for the third time in October...can't wait)