Commestibili...

means "foodstuffs" in Italian. As some of you know, I love to cook. Even more, I LOVE to eat. I mean, I didn't get this fat by accident. In any event, I figured I'd begin a post of some of the best recipes I have found in case anyone wanted to cook something that was 1) vegetarian 2) easy to make even if it looks difficult and 3) tastes great. I made this first number for our camping trip because it travels well and tastes better after it has been sitting, chilled, for a long while:

Note: I've been a vegetarian for almost 15 years. When I chose to become vegetarian, I took the Church's idea of "no meat" during Lent. This means we can only eat fish that swim. Yeah, I've heard the joke about calamari and lobster since they don't swim, but they are still considered no-no. Obviously, we don't eat red meat, chicken, pork or shellfish, but you'll see salmon, halibut, and my all-time favourite - tuna. Below is the best tuna sandwich (and vinegarette) on the planet...

Pan Bagnato

In Italy, this sandwich is called pan bagnato, in Provence pan bagna. Either way, it means "soaked bread" and that's the secret: to let the flavours soak into the bread. Wrap in parchment paper to carry; the unfolded paper makes a portable placemat.

1 baguette
1/4 cup good red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup good olive oil
Pepper
2 (6-ounce) cans good-quality tuna in water, drained
3 tablespoons capers, drained and rinsed
Minced red onion, to taste
1/4 cup chopped, pitted meaty black olives, such as Kalamata
4 thin slices tomato, halved to create half moons
Several large basil leaves

Slice baguette in half crosswise, then slice each half lengthwise in two, making bottom halves larger. Pull out and discard the insides so you have hollow bread shells. In a measuring cup or small bowl, whisk together vinegar and mustard. Whisk in olive oil until emulsified, then season with pepper. Brush some of the vinaigrette over the insides of the bread shells.

In a bowl, stir together the tuna, capers, onion, and olives; stir in the remaining vinaigrette until well combined. Mound tuna evenly in the bread shell bottoms. Arrange tomatoes and basil leaves over tuna, then put tops of bread on. Squish down to compress ingredients: you want the bread to get soaked with the flavours. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and parchment to transport. If made ahead, refrigerate up to 4 hours, wrapped.