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So, I just now returned from one of Omaha’s fine dining establishments, the Ethnic Sandwich Shop. It’s only a few blocks from where I live, so I see it often; a barn, painted red, with no windows, save for a couple on the south side. It sits in a parking lot.

I wonder what kind of rare, ethnic sandwiches they have to offer? Walking in through the front screen door, you are presented with a menu on the wall and a counter with a soda machine and cash register. One the menu are items such as: Hoagie, BLT, French Dip, Spaghetti for 20 people, and what I ordered, the Jammer something-or-other. It’s basically got lettuce, tomato, turkey, bacon, swiss on a sub roll.

It wasn’t bad.

Was it “ethnic?” I don’t know…ethnic to whom?

The first post in an ongoing series of famous, infamous or otherwise notable last meals. (I was going to do a series of where my food comes from, but after a few hours of research and unreturned emails and phones calls on the various foods in my cupboard I decided to put the idea on hold. I should state however, that a lady over at Topco Associates replied to my email questioning what farm(s) the lemons come from to produce my bottle of Shurtime reconstituted lemon juice with:

Thanks for your interest. The product is packed in the USA. If the lemons come from anywhere else, that is marked on the package also, otherwise they are grown and packed here.

Very informative…

So, to start, I think I’ll go with a classic:

Menu for the Last Supper, 13 in attendance

• unleavened bread
• dipping sauce
• wine

After reading the bible and looking at many paintings, it is my conclusion that they ate bread and they drank wine. Also they probably dipped the bread in something. 3 out of four disciples appear to agree according to certain understandings of certain translations of certain bibles: they ate during Passover. So, unleavened bread it is.

I failed. I failed so bad.

It was supposed to look like this:

…but actually looked like this:

I may have left it in the oven too long, I may have used the wrong type of pan. I should have not replaced puff pastry with pie dough.

Here’s the recipe from the accidental vegetarian if you want to give it a try.

Banana Tarte Tatin, serves 6

Ingredients:

• 3 + 1/2 tablespoons water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 12 bananas, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
• 7 ounces ready-rolled puff pastry
• whipped cream, for topping

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F
2. combine water and sugar in a pan over heat and let the sugar dissolve without stirring
3. then simmer until the sugar water is a golden color
4. add the butter to the golden sugar water
5. pour the golden butter sugar water into a 7-inch round pan
6. pack the bananas tightly into the pan
7. press the puff pastry over top and trim the edges
8. bake about 20 minutes until the pastry is crisp and golden
9. let cool until just warm, then flip the pan over onto a plate and…supposedly the whole thing is supposed to come out and look all pretty
10. then you can supposedly put whipped cream on it

I have no idea what it’s supposed to taste like.

They grow up so fast! I thought I did pretty well organizing the different types of seeds into their respective quadrants in the pot, but everything seems to be growing everywhere all haphazard. Oh well.

I planted some herbs in some cheap dirt I bought at Menards. It’s only been four days, but something already sprouted. I think it’s almost ready to eat.

Now, the children of Mexico will have one less bunch of basil to pick because I won’t be going to the grocery store for herbs anymore. Hooray!

Some flight attendants gave this to me a couple years ago. It’s cute. My favorite part is the salsa dollop.