Hoping My Grandmother Won’t Turn Over In Her Grave

We all know I’m crazy and at times will make two completely different meals for my boyfriend and myself; I just love cooking that much. But sometimes—even I—cave to the heat of summer and just make a sandwich. Although you know it’s just not some deli meat thrown on white bread.

When I was younger my oma used to eat this very odd sandwich for lunch. Rye bread, butter, cucumber slices, served open-faced. However I expressed this in my 8-year-old brain, I thought the combination lacked flavor and was just, well, weird. Not that I didn’t adore butter, for even at a young age I piled on the creamy spread an inch deep. But just cucumbers—who wants a cucumber sandwich when you can eat pizza bagels?!?!

I’d forgotten about that lunch staple until I recently watched someone else, an English woman, eat butter and cucumbers together. I honestly that my oma made that up. So I investigated the origin a bit.

It of course now makes perfect sense: it’s a proper tea accompaniment. She must have picked it up in her time in England after fleeing Nazi Germany.

Over my vacation, 80P and I stopped by my parents place and I brought back with me DAD GANSIE’s homegrown cucumbers. I used one in a white bean and feta salad. And I used one on my spin of my oma’s cucumber sandwich. I’m hoping she’d be okay with this variation.

Oma’s Cucumber Sandwich Revisted

I had leftover feta-basil mixture from my Baked Egg Pattypan with Feta and Basil that I used to spread over toasted rye bread (I know, it’s pretty insane to sub feta for butter—what could top butter?!?!—but it worked.) And then I placed salt-and-peppered cucumber slices over the feta.

I even made this at the office. Since there’s not a toaster over at work, I toasted the bread at home and wrapped it in tin foil and left it out on my desk until lunch time. I didn’t want the fridge to mess it up. I then cut and seasoned the cuke. Yes, I keep mini salt and pepper grinders at work. Brought in a separate container, the feta and basil mixture was spread on the slice so the bread wouldn’t become soggy right before I was ready to eat.

Cooling, simple, summer sandwich. Serve open-face.