Herbed Cucumber Radish Tea Sandwiches

I'm putting the link to the original here:
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/04/sandwiched-herbed-cucumber-radish-tea-sandwiches.html   because I want you to know what my 8 year old son saw, and wanted.  And I want the world to know that I managed to pull this off allergen free.  Honestly, I was amazed at how these came out, because I didn't think they looked good at all.  This is totally not the kind of thing I would ever make, but my darling boy wanted them, and you don't say no to requests for vegetables!  =D  So, even though it was a bit of work, I made these.  Since I put the link, I'll only post the recipe as I made it.  The recipe as I post it is safe for all ds's and my allergies/intolerances, and is surprisingly delicious!

Ingredients

yield: makes 12 tea sandwiches, active time 30 minutes, total time 30 minutes

• 1 1/2 cups mayo
• 1 1/2 cups finely chopped dill
• 2/3 cup finely minced green onions
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce sub
• Salt and pepper
• 12 thin slices white sandwich bread
• butter flavored Spectrum brand shortening
• 6 small radishes, scrubbed and sliced 1/8-inch thick
• 1 medium English cucumber (see note above), sliced 1/8-inch thick
• 3/4 cup pea shoots

Procedures

1. In medium bowl, combine mayo, dill, chives, lemon juice, and soy sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
2. Spread one side of each slice of bread with shortening. Spread about 1 tablespoon mayo mixture over butter. Top 6 slices with cucumber and radish slices, arranging them in alternating rows.
3. Top vegetables with about 2 tablespoons pea shoots, then cover with the remaining mayo-spread bread slices, pressing down gently. 
   
   GK's notes:  I used our safe bread: DeLand's brown rice and millet loaf.  I didn't trim the crust because gf bread is freaking expensive, and that's just wasteful, plus in gf bread, the crust isn't that different from the rest of the bread.  Also, I couldn't slice it tea-sandwich thin, because it's already sliced.  Didn't matter.
   
   I wasn't sure about the shortening/dressing thing.  Turned out to be a good thing.  You really do want to use the shortening (butter, margarine whatever you use), because it keeps the dressing from making the bread gross and soggy (plus, I really do think it's tasty).  I thought a whole Tablespoon of dressing per bread slice sounded like a lot, and started out with more like a half tablespoon.  It wasn't enough, and you really do need that whole tablespoon.  I was even able to put two leftover sandwiches in the fridge and ate them the next day.  Both the bread and the veggies were in top condition!  The shortening made it safe to keep!
   
   The mayo I use is Veganaise soy-free.  I was shocked to see it is also corn-free.  So few things are, and I'm really grateful, because it's really tasty.
   
   Also, it turns out if you just use the first 6 ingredients, it makes a perfectly delicious salad dressing.  It's not terribly far from ranch dressing, especially using mayo.  I'm going to try it with the So Delicious Coconut Greek style yogurt, which was the recommended sub if you don't have that greek yogurt-cheese stuff the original called for.  But in the meantime, it's great with mayo, too.
   
   I had never even HEARD of pea shoots before.  I LOVE them!  Dh didn't mind them and ds didn't like them.  He said "They spice my tongue!"  I'm not sure why, though.  They are NOT spicy--they taste like peas.  He might have been confusing the source of the spiciness--the radishes could be spicy, I guess, but I didn't think they were.  *shrug*  He's gonna have to get used to them, cause they were yummy!  (It is possible he's allergic, but he eats peas all the dang time with no problem, so I'm doubtful.)