V IS FOR VINNY, VEGAN, AND VICTORY.

Vinny, my neighbour, knows I love rapini.  My "desert island" meal of choice would be some new potatoes with olive oil and a plate of rapini.   Yesterday, my nephew Angus did a fly-past, on his way from London to Kingston, and he stopped in next door to Vinny's Panini to order a breaded eggplant panino, which he brought back to Atelier Ivaan to enjoy.  He so much reminded me of Ivaan, because there was no point in talking to him while he was enjoying his food.  All his concentration was on his meal.  And that's exactly how Ivaan was.  The only difference is that Angus eats quietly, while Ivaan would moan softly as he chewed, his eyes half closed, when he was particularly enjoying his meal.
Angus couldn't stay for long, but just after I hugged him goodbye, the door to the store opened and in came Vinny, with a surprise he'd made especially for me.
Now, Vinny's Panini isn't vegan.  Not by a long shot.  The closest they get is the breaded eggplant, which Angus absolutely loved.  But Vinny knows I'm vegan and that I love rapini, so here's half of what he made me:

VINNY'S VEGAN VICTORY PANINO

Why half, you ask?  Because by the time I remembered to get my camera out, the first half of the panino had mysteriously vanished, and I was wiping the evidence off my chin. Okay, in all its glory, here it is:  a very fresh bun, tomato sauce, red peppers, rapini in garlic and olive oil, sauteed onions, mushrooms.  It was heavenly. I suppose I could have saved the other half for dinner, but somehow I just felt like moaning softly with my eyes half closed.

Ivaan, if you read our blog, this panino is truly worth coming back to earth for, because in your immortal words, it contains ingredients.