The peppers-and-eggs sandwich is the official meal of Labor Day

Here’s your annual reminder that, while Labor Day was never identified with a particular food item — in the way Thanksgiving demands roasted turkey, St. Patrick’s Day requires corned beef and cabbage, or the Fourth of July comes ringed in hot dogs — the peppers-and-eggs sandwich has been the official sandwich of the first Monday in September since 2014. Why? Because, in the void, I made the nomination in my Sun column and, there being no objections, the tradition was thereby established and continues today. Please, consider this meatless, seasonal, shift-workers meal as a Labor Day meal. Where I grew up, it was a real treat, a break from the usual lunch-meat and PB&J sandwiches packed for workers as they headed into another day of toil. (In my family, peppers-and-eggs on Italian bread was also the eagerly-anticipated lunch for a fishing trip.) Since reminding readers of my Sun column of this seven-year-old tradition, I received a couple of gratifying letters:

“Your note about a fried peppers and scrambled egg sandwich gave me a new breakfast item this morning. Delicious!” wrote Stephanie Miller. “I’ve seen you mention this in your column for several years, and again today,” Ann Harrison wrote from Timonium. “As luck would have it, I had green peppers in the ‘fridge this morning and a piece of French baguette. So I made it as you described. Let it sit in the foil for about 15 minutes. Delicious! This will become part of breakfast menu a few times a month. Not going to wait ’til Labor Day! I loved it. Thanks.”

The simple recipe is at this link to my original Sun column, and you might want to compare it to this adaptation from the Soprano’s cookbook. Also, here’s a slow-moving but accurate video of the preparation. Buon appetito, Happy Labor Day and, as you inhale this great sandwich, let’s remember all the workers who came before us — our honorable, hard-working ancestors, many of them immigrants, who provided for their families and built our country.