Lentil Patties in Lavash Wrap (+ Giveaway)

Getting creative with sandwiches usually means changing the combination of meats, cheeses, veggies or sauces used. Another way to go is to use a different kind of bread. I’ve tried making sandwiches with naans in the past, and they turned out fabulously. So when our friend Lilea from California Lavash sent us packages of soft, thin, out-of-this-world lavash bread, I decided to make sandwich wraps with it. Fresh lavash bread is flexible and doesn’t tear so I tightly rolled up each lavash around the filling into a cone, folded the bottom and secured the wrap into a small glass cup.

For the filling, I used left-over mashed potato curry, tomatoes, lentil patties (for a vegetarian version), blue cheese, yogurt sauce and alfalfa sprouts for freshness. If you want to serve the same treats for your family, Pham Fatale and California Lavash have put together a giveaway this week. Just click the "like" button below and you’re entered in the contest! At the end of the week, we’ll pick three winners at random who will win two bags of whole wheat, original, spinach and pizza lavash. And check back again this week to see what else I do with lavash. Good Luck!

Healthy School Lunch: Raspberry Spinach Salad Recipe

I have to admit, we haven't had much problem getting the kids to eat their vegetables. How, you may ask? Well, my first rule is never trick them. Second, get your children involved in the kitchen. Once they start to enjoy cooking, they will become more emotionally interested in creating new dishes, which is exactly what you want them to do! Trust them and let them experiment with new flavor combinations.

They recently came up with a savory fruit salad with greens, which was delicious. Since today was my husband's little 7-year-old sister's first day at school, I packed a plastic container with the raspberry salad (my munchkin's favorite fruit) and raspberry salad dressing on the side. You could also make a sandwich layering a slice of cheese, raspberry salad and a slice of cold meat between toasted slices of bread.

Raspberry Cheese Pinwheel Appetizers

They may seem like an odd couple, but I paired raspberry and blue cheese to create these great party appetizers. First, I made a raspberry salad, tossed with pickled red onions, crumbled Gorgonzola cheese and candied walnuts. To make them easier to serve, I wrapped the raspberries in lavash flat bread and rolled them into pinwheel appetizers.

I secured the appetizers with party picks, so they would look elegant passed around on trays. They are great appetizers for finger food buffet parties and take no time to assemble. Fruits don't have to be used only in desserts!

Banh Mi Mam Chay (Vietnamese Vegetarian Sandwich Recipe)

A lot of Vietnamese dishes are inspired by French cuisine, because Vietnam was a longtime colony of the French empire. Bánh mì sandwich is an example of a dish that reflects the fusion of both cuisines. The sandwich consists of cilantro, fresh chiles, pickled carrots and usually a meat filling (grilled chicken, bì which is shredded meat with roasted rice powder) or sometimes a vegetarian filling, served on a baguette, spread with mayonnaise on one side and butter on the other.

For the veggie option, I normally fill the sandwiches with bì chay (shredded tofu with roasted rice powder). But this time, Aunt Danielle stopped by and we made mắm chay. She knows it's my husband Lulu's favorite, so she makes it very often. As I've said before, Aunt Danielle is a sweetheart and an amazing cook, except that she does not share her recipes. She used to run a successful restaurant in the early 90s. She taught me a lot of Vietnamese staple dishes to cook for the family until she found out about PhamFatale.com through her friends. I had to confess and she was not happy. It's funny; family and friends are a lot more reluctant to share their tips and secrets with me, so I have to do a little bit of recon and intelligence gathering.

In the end, Aunt Danielle hasn't entirely showed me how to make mắm chay. We prepped and mixed the ingredients together but she hid a few tricks from me. All I can tell you is that there are a lot of ingredients similar to bì chay involved, such as fried tofu, bean thread noodles, dry roasted rice powder (thinh) and seasonings (fried garlic, sugar and salt). What makes it different from bì chay is the addition of galangal (a type of ginger), young pickling cucumber, chayote squash (trái su su), ripe papaya, fresh pineapple and dried daikon radish cured in brine.

Even though the sandwich is reminiscent of the typical French jambon-beurre (ham and butter sandwich), bánh mì provides a taste of Vietnam. Lulu's been addicted ever since I first introduced him to the Vietnamese version, and if you try one, you will be too!

Cucumber Tea Sandwiches

Cucumber sandwiches are the most delicious, easiest finger foods to make. All you need is sliced white bread, butter and of course, cucumbers. To enhance the flavor, I also spread a thin layer of parsley and garlic chive cream cheese spread.

We hosted a pool party today for Lya (my 13-year-old sis-in-law) and her classmates. I think everyone had fun, splashing in the water, chatting and reuniting right before school starts. They all seemed very hungry after swimming and the little cucumber sandwiches and other finger foods went fast!