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We were out grocery shopping. It was nearing lunchtime, so I asked Emily what she'd like for lunch today. She answered, "sandwich." "Oh," I said, "what do you want on it?" "Beans. And lettuce. With my favorite bread." She took me aback a little. It sounds nice and healthy, but how do you get beans to stay between the slices of bread? And how would it taste? It got me to thinking. Should I try making bean patties or something else. I asked Emily if she'd like red beans or black beans. She declared "red."Then if she'd like them whole or mashed. She said, "mashed." We made our way to the bakery area and I let her pick out her "favorite bread," (since I had no idea what is her favorite in this particular instance). She chose whole wheat hoagie rolls.

When we got home, I drained a can of kidney beans and mashed them. I added mayo and a little mustard, thus making a concoction almost but not quite like tuna salad. I made her sandwich first. She had the beans, pickles, tomatoes and lettuce. I watched her reaction before making a sandwich for me. She was eating it! Actually eating it! I went ahead and made myself a sandwich. I have to say it was pretty good. In the meantime, Emily took some of the bean salad out and declared she didn't like it (which wasn't very surprising). However, she finished the rest of the sandwich which still had about half the beans in it.

From this experience, I have a new standby. If I can't think of something for lunch, I can now whip up some bean salad-- though for me alone, I think I'll have to add some onions and chopped pickles.