Every Sunday morning, dozens of local vendors from across the Bay Area flock to California Avenue’s farmers market. This weekend, we decided to challenge ourselves to make lunch using ingredients solely purchased from the nearby farms selling food at the market.

Our first stop was Bolani, a family-owned company boasting a display of several different types of spreads and three kinds of filled flatbreads. We decided to purchase their basil pesto; the nutty green spread was delicious upon sampling, and we instantly fell in love.

Next, we made our way to Craftsman and Wolves, a San Francisco-based bakery selling a varied range of items from matcha snickerdoodle cookies to “‘BascoSalt.” Ultimately, we decided that the milk bread would best suit our future sandwich, so we bought it.

The third addition to our sandwiches that we bought was a bag of mushrooms at (surprise, surprise) a mushroom vendor. Despite the variety, we chose the biggest, plumpest, juiciest looking choice: portobellos.

Wrapping up our journey, we swung by a microgreen stand and purchased a case of pea shoots. The spry greens caught our attention, since they were exactly what we had been searching for the entire morning.

We returned home and immediately got to cooking. We divided the tasks how we saw fit; Alice handled the sautéing, and Amalia handled the cutting. After five minutes of eager anticipation as the mushrooms and toast darkened, it was finally time to put together and indulge in the long-awaited farmers market vegetable sandwiches. And they were well worth the wait.

Recipe:

Ingredients: 

• 1 portobello mushroom
• 2 tablespoons olive oil for sautéing
• 1 loaf milk bread
• 4-6 tablespoons pesto (2-3 tbsp per sandwich)
• 4 cherry tomatoes
• 1 large handful pea shoots

Steps:

1. Slice the portobello mushroom into quarter-inch thick slices.
2. Sauté the mushroom in olive oil until browned.
3. Slice the milk bread into four half-inch thick slices.
4. Place the slices into a toaster and toast until golden brown. Remove from the toaster and set on a plate.
5. Spread pesto on each slice until well-covered. 
6. Slice cherry tomatoes into thin ovals, and place five ovals on each slice.
7. Grab five strips of mushroom and lay them over the tomatoes. 
8. Cut the handful of pea shoots into halves and place atop the mushrooms. 
9. Close the sandwich, cut and enjoy.