Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Lunchtime bliss

When R was a baby, I had hours upon hours of nap time each day. Ahh...the memories. These days I am lucky if I get more than 45 minutes of shared nap/"quiet (or sometimes not so quiet)" time each day from the boys. R long ago stopped napping except when he is sick, so he does an hour of quiet time each day.

If I time it right, R's quiet time will coincide with G's nap time and I will have some time to relax and put up my feet. Yeah right. Usually this time is used picking up the house, prepping dinner, tinkering in the kitchen, blogging and sometimes, rarely, lounging. Regardless of what I do though, I cherish this time alone each day. It is my renewal. It is my sanity.

Sometimes, just sometimes, I actually use this precious down time to eat lunch like I did five years ago, which seems like an exotic memory: eating lunch, sitting down, without getting up until I am done with my meal.

This recipe-free recipe is a meal for such an occasion (sad that a leisurely lunch is an occasion, huh?). I would challenge anyone to tell me that their child would eat this salad. But for an adult, it is goo-ooo-ood. It is based on a recipe from Vino Vino, an amazing little wine bar in Grandview. They have a small plate called Asparagus Bruschetta, that a waiter once urged me to order. This recipe takes the components of the recipe and creates a just-for-you-not-for-the-kids salad.


One of the things I am most thankful for this week is those "just for me" lunches and down time during the boys' down time.




Asparagus Bruschetta, Deconstructed Salad
A bowl full of baby spinach greens
Thinly sliced red onion to taste
4-5 stems of steamed asparagus, cut into one inch pieces
A handful of croutons or toasted bread cubes
1-2 slices of prosciutto (or ham or bacon) diced
A small handful of cubed white cheese (I use fontina, but choose your favorite, since this is for you!)
A drizzle of balsamic (about a teaspoon or two)
A slightly bigger drizzle of olive oil (about a tablespoon)
pinch of salt and pepper

Mix well in a bowl. Eat. Relax. Get crazy and maybe even put your feet up.

It's the little things that keep life sweet,
SPC

2 comments:

pam said...

This sounds wonderful!

Renee said...

That looks so good. I am going to try it soon.

My son will eat spinach salad with "dip" (dressing)on it. One of the phrases I have most enjoyed hearing him say is "more spinach please." Even if that means "I want more poppyseed dressing so I will eat the spinach." He isn't so good about eating asparagus.