Summer of Love Anniversary Sandwich

"When the moon is in the seventh house
And Jupiter aligns with Mars
Then peace will guide the planets
And love will steer the stars..."

Well, so far, the prediction from that Fifth Dimension song of my youth hasn't come true, but some minor stars are definitely aligned in my kitchen today.

The stars to which I am referring are a really ripe Brandywine tomato, an equally ready Haas avocado and some wheatberry bread - the stars of my lunch.

My friend Betsy made this summer sandwich for me more than 30 years ago, back when we were listening to the "Age of Aquarius" the first time around and actually believed in the prediction. The sandwich is only good in the summer when the tomatoes are truly ripe, so it's a seasonal treat. All you do is toast the bread (or you can use a whole wheat English muffin), spread with a little mayo, top with ripe tomato and avocado slices, a generous grinding of fresh black pepper and a big squeeze of fresh lemon juice over the whole thing.

I had the avocado in the fridge, the tomato on my counter and the bread in the freezer so, today, when I found a single big, yellow lemon clinging to my struggling lemon tree, I knew the stars were perfectly aligned for my favorite summer sandwich.