Tonight was almost a disaster. I got hungry around 5:00, so I settled down in front of Oprah with a cup or two of popcorn. I ate until the bag was empty, and then waited for my belly to feel full.
That moment never came.
Or, more accurately, the moment came a while later, after I'd eaten half a bag of trans fat-free cheese puffs. (sigh) So not good for the thin thighs regime I've put myself on.
A few hours later, with dinner nearing, I found myself with next to no food in the house and less desire to go to the market than to bungee jump in front of all my friends in a thong bikini. I also didn't want to cook, or eat, as compensation for my lack of earlier discipline. But I was hungry (again), and though I am blessed with a sweet and ever helpful partner, he isn't great at kitchen improv -- his idea was to make an "avocado omelet" -- so finally, with a heavy heart and a cranky inner voice (and an outer one, Mr. Food Musings might like to point out), I trudged back to the kitchen to throw together some dinner.
As always, necessity is the mother of invention, and we ended up eating an heirloom potato and asparagus frittata and a strawberry-avocado salad. Earlier, I had tossed the lettuce because it smelled a bit rank in the bag, but when Mr. Food Musings couldn't find even iceberg lettuce at the corner store, I decided it would have to do after all. (Desperation, thy name is Iceberg. Or picking lettuce out of the trash.) Oh yes. I pulled that bag of lettuce out of the garbage can and tossed its contents into my colander. (It's orange, and it always perks me up to use it.) Then I proceeded to separate the wet, nasty red leaf from the hearty, crisp spinach. (It really was perfectly fine.) A few pieces of frilly frisée also made the cut. I rinsed them well, patted them dry, and made my salad. It was sweet and delicious.
Now we're going for a walk. I think hibernating inside all day, though good for my productivity, has been very, very bad for my sense of humor. Note: Or we were, until our Internet connection dropped out. If you live near me, you probably just got an earful of really loud, really bad words.
Strawberry Avocado Salad with Honeyed Vinaigrette
Adapted ever so slightly from All Recipes.com
2 TBSP sugar
2 TBSP olive oil
4 tsp honey
1 TBSP cider vinegar
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 cups fresh baby spinach, rinsed and patted dry
3/4 avocado, thinly sliced
1 cup fresh strawberries, sliced
2 TBSP shelled pistachios
Make the dressing. Whisk together sugar, olive oil, honey, vinegar and lemon juice.
Assemble the salad. Divide the spinach between two plates. Fan half the avocado slices on each plate. Toss half the strawberries and half the pistachios on top. Drizzle with dressing to taste. Reserve remaining dressing for the next time the only salad you can come up with contains strawberries and avocado.
This salad looks delicious--light & refreshing. The strawberries must be divine!
Posted by: Mom | April 03, 2007 at 03:51 AM
You're a brave soul keeping cheesey poofs on hand.
Have you ever tried Poppycock (toffee/caramel popcorn with all sorts of nuts)? I'm certain some satanic powers of delicousness are used in the manufacturing process. Each handful has infiniti calories and its impossible to stop eating.
Posted by: Doug | April 05, 2007 at 04:27 PM
Yes, I've had Poppycock--yummo! Now they have it (or something almost like it) drizzled with chocolate. Oh, Momma!
Posted by: Mom | April 05, 2007 at 04:43 PM
Doug - yes, well, now there aren't any more cheesy demons to worry with, are there? As for Poppycock, never heard of it. And I'll go on record saying I must never, ever buy any...
Mom - ...especially not the kind drizzled with chocolate. That would spell b-i-g trouble.
Posted by: Catherine | April 05, 2007 at 05:45 PM