Last week was Agung‘s birthday and it just so happened to be a long weekend as well, so of course we had to celebrate twice. Initially, I planned to take him on a picnic that I would prepare myself. Meanwhile, apparently, he wanted to treat his family to dinner—and I would tag along. So I pushed my plan to a couple days after, but we were thankfully still on for a picnic. The weather was so lovely too by then! Finally, after almost a full year of torrential rain, we get some pretty sunny days in between. Time to seize the moment and take advantage of the sun. Let’s go on a picnic!
The key to picnic food is to keep it lightweight, compact, yet still fulfilling to a degree. We didn’t really have a proper picnic though—at least according to white-people standards. We only had one type of food and drink—sandwich and coffee—but we wanted it to be as simple as possible. Now, just because it’s simple, doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be high quality or unique. In fact, I wanted to make 3 different kinds just to give variety. Agung thought making a sandwich was just slapping toppings on top of each other and topped off with the second slice of bread. Oh boy, was he wrong! Everything was pretty meticulous—although seriously unbelievably simple and easy. This is the recipe for them.
Last week was Agung‘s birthday and it just so happened to be a long weekend as well, so of course we had to celebrate twice. Initially, I planned to take him on a picnic that I would prepare myself. Meanwhile, apparently, he wanted to treat his family to dinner—and I would tag along. So I pushed my plan to a couple days after, but we were thankfully still on for a picnic. The weather was so lovely too by then! Finally, after almost a full year of torrential rain, we get some pretty sunny days in between. Time to seize the moment and take advantage of the sun. Let’s go on a picnic!
The key to picnic food is to keep it lightweight, compact, yet still fulfilling to a degree. We didn’t really have a proper picnic though—at least according to white-people standards. We only had one type of food and drink—sandwich and coffee—but we wanted it to be as simple as possible. Now, just because it’s simple, doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be high quality or unique. In fact, I wanted to make 3 different kinds just to give variety. Agung thought making a sandwich was just slapping toppings on top of each other and topped off with the second slice of bread. Oh boy, was he wrong! Everything was pretty meticulous—although seriously unbelievably simple and easy. This is the recipe for them.
Number 1
Mozzarella Mushroom Sandwich
(original recipe via Pranomm)
Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking time: 15-20 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 slices of white bread
- 40 g mozzarella, sliced
- 1 tbsp. cream cheese spread
- 3 champignon mushrooms, sliced
- 1 medium-sized tomato, sliced
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- cooking oil, to sautée
- black pepper, to taste
- oregano (optional)
Number 1
Mozzarella Mushroom Sandwich
(original recipe via Pranomm)
Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking time: 15-20 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 slices of white bread
- 40 g mozzarella, sliced
- 1 tbsp. cream cheese spread
- 3 champignon mushrooms, sliced
- 1 medium-sized tomato, sliced
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- cooking oil, to sautée
- black pepper, to taste
- oregano (optional)
Instructions
- Toast the bread on both sides in a baking oven for 5 minutes each side, until they’re golden brown.
- In a bowl, mix olive oil, mushroom, black pepper and oregano—stir well.
- Heat the cooking oil in a frying pan and pour in the mushroom mixture.
- Sautée the mushroom mixture until the mushrooms shrink and grow darker in colour.
- Remove the pan from the heat and let it cool for a bit.
- Take out the bread from the oven.
- Take one slice of the bread and lay down the mozzarella slices on it, top it off with the mushroom sautée.
- Take the other slice of bread and spread the non-toasted side with cream cheese, top it off with the tomato slices.
- Pop both bread slices back in the oven for 5 minutes, until the cheese melts and the tomato is considerably toast.
- Stack them on top of each other and dig in!
Instructions
- Toast the bread on both sides in a baking oven for 5 minutes each side, until they’re golden brown.
- In a bowl, mix olive oil, mushroom, black pepper and oregano—stir well.
- Heat the cooking oil in a frying pan and pour in the mushroom mixture.
- Sautée the mushroom mixture until the mushrooms shrink and grow darker in colour.
- Remove the pan from the heat and let it cool for a bit.
- Take out the bread from the oven.
- Take one slice of the bread and lay down the mozzarella slices on it, top it off with the mushroom sautée.
- Take the other slice of bread and spread the non-toasted side with cream cheese, top it off with the tomato slices.
- Pop both bread slices back in the oven for 5 minutes, until the cheese melts and the tomato is considerably toast.
- Stack them on top of each other and dig in!
Things to Note
- This probably goes without saying, but please remember to wash your mushroom and tomato before slicing them. It’ll ward off possible bacteria.
- Feel free to add more toppings to this sandwich—and really, the ones below too—if you want.
- I didn’t add salt to the mushroom mixture because I love the taste of the mozzarella and tomato already, but feel free to add salt if you want.
- I actually use cooking oil for the mushroom mixture as well—olive oil wasn’t on hand and it was waaaay too expensive where I live—but I feel like olive oil will add more flavour to it. Feel free to use olive oil or cooking oil, as you see fit.
Number 2
Egg Salad Sandwich
(original recipe via Spice Bangla)
Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking time: ±15 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 slices of white bread
- 2 eggs
- 2 tbsp. mayonnaise
- black pepper, to taste
- oregano (optional)
Instructions
- Boil the eggs for 8-10 minutes. Afterwards, remove them from heat and peel off the shells.
- Once finished, slice each egg into halves, spoon out the yolks, and put them all in a bowl.
- Dice the whites into little pieces and put away.
- Mash the yolks with a fork into almost fine powder.
- Add mayonnaise, season with oregano and pepper—mix everything well.
- Add the diced whites and mix well all over again.
- Take one bread slice, spread the egg mixture on top of it and put the other slice on top.
- Toast the sandwich on both sides in a baking oven, for 2-5 minutes on each side.
- Bon appetit!
Things to Note
- Take the eggs out of the fridge around 5-10 minutes before you start cooking. Cool eggs will take longer to boil—either take them out earlier or factor in extra time.
- When boiling, make sure the whole egg is submerged underwater to boil it evenly. Half submerged eggs may end up having still somewhat raw yolks.
- My initial plan was to use celery or parsley for the egg mixture, but oregano was all I had on hand. Feel free to try swapping the oregano for celery or parsley.
Things to Note
- This probably goes without saying, but please remember to wash your mushroom and tomato before slicing them. It’ll ward off possible bacteria.
- Feel free to add more toppings to this sandwich—and really, the ones below too—if you want.
- I didn’t add salt to the mushroom mixture because I love the taste of the mozzarella and tomato already, but feel free to add salt if you want.
- I actually use cooking oil for the mushroom mixture as well—olive oil wasn’t on hand and it was waaaay too expensive where I live—but I feel like olive oil will add more flavour to it. Feel free to use olive oil or cooking oil, as you see fit.
Number 2
Egg Salad Sandwich
(original recipe via Spice Bangla)
Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking time: ±15 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 slices of white bread
- 2 eggs
- 2 tbsp. mayonnaise
- black pepper, to taste
- oregano (optional)
Instructions
- Boil the eggs for 8-10 minutes. Afterwards, remove them from heat and peel off the shells.
- Once finished, slice each egg into halves, spoon out the yolks, and put them all in a bowl.
- Dice the whites into little pieces and put away.
- Mash the yolks with a fork into almost fine powder.
- Add mayonnaise, season with oregano and pepper—mix everything well.
- Add the diced whites and mix well all over again.
- Take one bread slice, spread the egg mixture on top of it and put the other slice on top.
- Toast the sandwich on both sides in a baking oven, for 2-5 minutes on each side.
- Bon appetit!
Things to Note
- Take the eggs out of the fridge around 5-10 minutes before you start cooking. Cool eggs will take longer to boil—either take them out earlier or factor in extra time.
- When boiling, make sure the whole egg is submerged underwater to boil it evenly. Half submerged eggs may end up having still somewhat raw yolks.
- My initial plan was to use celery or parsley for the egg mixture, but oregano was all I had on hand. Feel free to try swapping the oregano for celery or parsley.
Number 3
Lazy Nugget Sandwich
Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking time: ±15 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 slices of white bread
- 5 frozen chicken nuggets, defrosted
- 3 lettuce leaves, sliced thinly
- 1 tbsp. tomato sauce
- 1 tbsp. cream cheese
- cooking oil, to deep fry
- mayonnaise (optional)
Number 3
Lazy Nugget Sandwich
Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking time: ±15 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 slices of white bread
- 5 frozen chicken nuggets, defrosted
- 3 lettuce leaves, sliced thinly
- 1 tbsp. tomato sauce
- 1 tbsp. cream cheese
- cooking oil, to deep fry
- mayonnaise (optional)
Instructions
- Heat the oil in the frying pan/wok and deep fry the nuggets for ± 5-10 minutes, until they are golden brown.
- Take out the nuggets and strain them, put them aside for a while.
- Take one slice of bread and spread tomato sauce on it.
- Take the other slice and spread cream cheese on it.
- Put the nuggets on top of the cream cheese, add mayonnaise on top of it, if you like.
- Top it off with the sliced lettuce, and close it with the other bread slice.
- Toast the sandwich on both sides in a baking oven, for 3-5 minutes on each side.
Instructions
- Heat the oil in the frying pan/wok and deep fry the nuggets for ± 5-10 minutes, until they are golden brown.
- Take out the nuggets and strain them, put them aside for a while.
- Take one slice of bread and spread tomato sauce on it.
- Take the other slice and spread cream cheese on it.
- Put the nuggets on top of the cream cheese, add mayonnaise on top of it, if you like.
- Top it off with the sliced lettuce, and close it with the other bread slice.
- Toast the sandwich on both sides in a baking oven, for 3-5 minutes on each side.
Things to Note
- Depending how cold your fridge is, I would recommend taking out the nuggets around 10-20 minutes before cooking to let them defrost perfectly.
- This may go without saying, but please remember to wash your lettuce. Soak the leaves in salt water to more effectively get rid of any invisible bacteria or critters.
- Feel free to swap the nuggets with katsu or schnitzel. Any deep-fried, battered meat will be a great topping for this.
How Our Picnic Went
We went on this picnic on a Sunday afternoon—around 4 PM by the we got to the park. Straight away, we went to the nearby coffee shop and got ourselves palm sugar latte. I brought the sandwiches and two custard puddings that I bought from a Japanese bakery the previous day, so Agung was in charge of the beverage. Afterwards, we walked around for a bit before finding the perfect spot for us and spreading our mat. We had a lot of fun at the picnic, taking multiple photos and videos, filling up our stomach with food and drinks. What a lovely afternoon!
Picnics are something that we like to do together when the weather is right—you can see us on a picnic here, here and here. It truly is an amazing, unplugged way to enjoy each other’s company. When we’re surrounded by this much nature—including the nasty ones, like mosquitoes—we forget that we’re technically still in the city. It’s like a getaway from town without getting out of town, you know. I highly recommend it for everyone. Not even just couples—friends and family too!
Things to Note
- Depending how cold your fridge is, I would recommend taking out the nuggets around 10-20 minutes before cooking to let them defrost perfectly.
- This may go without saying, but please remember to wash your lettuce. Soak the leaves in salt water to more effectively get rid of any invisible bacteria or critters.
- Feel free to swap the nuggets with katsu or schnitzel. Any deep-fried, battered meat will be a great topping for this.
How Our Picnic Went
We went on this picnic on a Sunday afternoon—around 4 PM by the we got to the park. Straight away, we went to the nearby coffee shop and got ourselves palm sugar latte. I brought the sandwiches and two custard puddings that I bought from a Japanese bakery the previous day, so Agung was in charge of the beverage. Afterwards, we walked around for a bit before finding the perfect spot for us and spreading our mat. We had a lot of fun at the picnic, taking multiple photos and videos, filling up our stomach with food and drinks. What a lovely afternoon!
Picnics are something that we like to do together when the weather is right—you can see us on a picnic here, here and here. It truly is an amazing, unplugged way to enjoy each other’s company. When we’re surrounded by this much nature—including the nasty ones, like mosquitoes—we forget that we’re technically still in the city. It’s like a getaway from town without getting out of town, you know. I highly recommend it for everyone. Not even just couples—friends and family too!