Spicy vegan "chicken" sandwich

When I was still eating some meat and some fast food, I have to confess I was addicted to Wendy's Spicy Chicken Fillet. It's still hard to resist, but having this sandwich in my lunchtime lineup helps. Here's how to make an easy and delicious vegan "fried" chicken sandwich using Gardein Chipotle Lime Crispy Fingers that's satisfying and nutritious. I do it all the time, even when I'm in a hurry, which I guess is all the time.

THE INGREDIENTS

2 pieces Gardein Chipotle Lime Crispy Fingers
1/2 cup fresh watercress or arugula
1 Oroweat Double Fiber English Muffin
1 tablespoon eggless light canola mayonnaise
1 healthy squirt of sriracha sauce
Several slices of persian cucumber sliced thin on the diagonal
2 slices of tomato and two slices of avocado

Prepare the chicken fingers as per the instructions, or do it my way by microwaving it 45 seconds, then pan frying in hot lightly sprayed pan until crisp on both sides. Toast the english muffin. Assemble all the ingredients, laying the two "chicken" fingers side by side on the muffin & mixing the sriracha into the mayo with a knife as you spread it. Simple. The hardest part is grabbing all the ingredients out of the fridge. Enjoy.

The book jackets of Arthur Hawkins Jr.

Arthur Hawkins, Jr. (1903-1985) was a legend of jacket design who created some of the most striking covers of the mid-twentieth century beginning in the 30's. Here are just a few examples, some from my own library, from his huge volume work. The "Postman" cover has always been a favorite of mine, though it's unsigned and I just figured out it was his.

The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain, 1934

→ The Moth | James M Cain 1948 | Book jacket by Arthur Hawkins Jr

Algernon Blackwood, Shocks, New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc., [1936]. Jacket by Arthur Hawkins Jr.. via L. W. Currey Books

Little Caesar by W. R. Burnett. Arthur Hawkins Jr. created this jacket specifically for this 1958 reprint.Available at Lorne Bair books

Suddenly A Widow | George Harmon Coxe 1956

The Widow Had a Gun by George Harmon Coxe 1951

One minute past eight by George Harmon Coxe 1957

The Velvet Well by John Gearon 1946 via the Browser's Bookstore — The Velvet Well by John Gearon 1946 v ia the Browser's Bookstore

Raleigh bikes

And now for some vintage bikes. Raleigh is one of the oldest bicycle companies in the world, very British, established in 1887 in Raleigh Street, Nottingham. On the short list of bicycles I still want to own are their Twenty folder and the Lady Sport, both of which are thought to be very solid choices for a vintage bike purchase. If you watch "Downton Abbey" or "Call the Midwife", chances are you've seen a character riding a Raleigh. Here are a few nice ones. They can still be found on eBay and other second-hand markets.

Vintage Raleigh bicycle poster, date unknown

"My new/old Raleigh mixte. It was a custom build based on a few bikes I had seen (and swooned over). Ace to ride, and really fast and light. Best thing I own. :) " —LaurenRoseUK on flicker — "My new/old Raleigh mixte. It was a custom build based on a few bikes I had seen (and swooned over). Ace to ride, and really fast and light. Best thing I own. :) " *—LaurenRoseUK on flicker*

Ad for the Raleigh Twenty, the small-wheeled folder

Raleigh RSW, the shopper bike introduced to compete with the Moulton in the 60s The wheels are 16" via

A beautifully restored Raleigh sport  via — A beautifully restored Raleigh sport via

Tom Swift

Here's a quickie for a busy Monday morning. A few Tom Swift Books that I came across on Heritage Auctions. I do love colorful futuristic illustrations from the 50s and 60s. Looks like Tom had some very expensive toys.

Four Tom Swift books.  Grosset & Dunlap, 1956-1964. Two volumes in dj. Very good or better condition. — Four Tom Swift books. Grosset & Dunlap, 1956-1964. Two volumes in dj. Very good or better condition.

+ Heritage Auctions

Abstract Saturday: Adolph Gottlieb

Born in New York in 1903, his first home was on 10th street in New York City, opposite Tompkins Square Park, a neighborhood I used to wander daily when I was a freelance illustrator In the city. He was a contemporary and friend of Milton Avery and Mark Rothko. He changed the spelling of his first name from "Adolf" to "Adolph" in response to the election of Adolf Hitler as Chancellor in Germany and painted for the WPA in the thirties. My particular favorites of his paintings are the "pictographs" from the 1940s. They're all based on symbols or motifs from random human and natural forms, separated into compartments of a grid. Gottlieb didn't sketch out his ideas but tried to be spontaneous so as to draw from his subconscious. There are so many that I love, that it was hard to choose.