Bedtime Story (28/2/2018)

One of my new year's resolutions at the start of 2018 was to lose some weight.  Although I'm doing okay with it, I've realised I'm never going to stop being a bit of a greedy so and so!  This story is dedicated to one of the big loves of my life: FOOD! ;-)

You can, as always, also listen to this week's story as a podcast.

Elliot's ENORMOUS Sandwich

"Can I make a sandwich for lunch?"  Elliot asked, clutching his rumbling tummy.  

Mum eyed him curiously.  "You're going to make it yourself?" 

"I'm starving!"  Elliot groaned.  "So yes, I'm going to make it myself.  I can do that, you know.  I'm almost seven!"

Mum chuckled to herself.  "Go on, then," she smiled.  "What are you having on it?

Elliot wrinkled his nose and glanced around the kitchen.  "Probably cheese.  Or maybe ham.  Or perhaps peanut butter."

"Sounds like you've got a decision to make," Mum laughed.  She picked up her mug of tea and carried on reading the newspaper at the kitchen table, knowing she could keep an eye on Elliot, as he went about creating his sandwich.

Elliot grabbed two slices of bread and spread them with butter.  He grabbed the cheese and decided to grate some.  Mum helped him to carefully cut a small piece and reminded him to watch his fingers on the grater.  Once the cheese was grated, Elliot put it on one of the slices of bread and was about to pop the other slice on top and settle down to eat, when he decided the sandwich didn't quite feel finished, yet.

"Shall I add some ham, seeing as I couldn't decide between that or cheese?"  He called to Mum.

"If you like," Mum replied.  "It's in the fridge."

Elliot added a slice of ham and then frowned.  "I did want some peanut butter as well, didn't I?"

Mum pulled a face.  "I don't know whether that will go with ham and cheese..."

Elliot shrugged.  "But I like them all on their own," he said.  "So, why shouldn't I like them together?"

Before Mum could reply, Elliot had spread a thick layer of peanut butter on one slice of bread.  But, suddenly, he had a thought: if he was just going to add things he liked on their own, to see if they tasted nice all together, why stop with just three things?  Elliot rubbed his chin, trying to remember what all his favourite foods were.

"Crisps!"  He declared.

Mum looked up from her newspaper.  "Crisps?!"

"Yep," Elliot said.  "I'm going to add some crisps to my sandwich.  I love ready salted crisps, so I think they'll taste delicious on here."

Mum watched Elliot tip a packet of crisps on top of the slice of bread that was already covered with cheese and ham.  Then, he grabbed a banana from the fruit bowl.  Elliot peeled it, carefully sliced it and balanced the resulting pieces of banana on top of the crisps.  "Banana's are my favourite fruit," he explained.

"I think that sandwich is probably done, now," Mum said, staring at it as though it was the very last thing she'd want to eat. 

But Elliot was far from finished.

He added chocolate biscuits, Gummy Bears, gherkins and a handful of popcorn.  "These are all things I like to eat as a snack," he explained, as the unusual sandwich grew ever larger.  "So, why shouldn't I put them all together?!"

Mum stuck out her lower lip and recoiled in horror.  "Just because you like them on their own, doesn't mean the flavours will go when you mix them all up," she explained.  "I think that's enough now.  You won't want to eat it and it'll be a waste of food."

But Elliot still wasn't finished.

He added marshmallows, raisins, lettuce and a dollop of chocolate spread.  "This is going to be the best sandwich ever," he declared.

Mum looked like she might be sick.  

But Elliot still wasn't finished.

He added cucumber slices, a squeeze of honey and, finally, a slice of salami.

"That looks..."  Mum began, but she couldn't quite find any words to describe the sandwich that Elliot had created.

Elliot squeezed the peanut-butter slathered slice of bread on top and pushed down.  It took a lot of effort to flatten the sandwich enough to take a bite; he could hear the crisps and chocolate biscuits crunching under the weight, as he pushed down.

"Elliot, you can't seriously eat that," Mum said.  "And it's such a waste of food, because..."

Before she could finish her sentence, Elliot had taken a massive bite of the enormous sandwich.

Mum stared at him in horror, waiting for him to spit it out, or pull a face.  But, to her surprise, he did neither.

"Delicious!"  Elliot insisted.  "It's like dinner and pudding all in one!"  He held the sandwich out to her.  "Want to try some?"

Mum practically turned green at the thought.  "I think I'll make my own sandwich," she replied.  "That's if you've left me any food to use!"

Elliot grinned.  "I think I'll make all my own lunches from now on," he declared.  "And maybe when I grow up, I'll be a famous chef!"

And with that, Elliot settled down at the table to eat his very strange, very big sandwich, whilst Mum wondered just what she was going to have for lunch.

THE END