Salad

Yesterday morning, I received the following post on my Facebook page:

Would you be interested in going on a date with me? Say, dinner and a movie tonight? If so, could you please meet me at my place by 6:00 pm? Oh yeah, BTW I have a big dog that is really nice so don’t be scared when you see him. His name is Tiger (see pic below) and he is very sweet. Have a nice day and I hope to see you tonight.

Your friend, Brock

This request me giggling with glee and anticipation. It was so much better than the usual, “Hey, you wanna do dinner and movie tonight?” that we are both guilty of. So, of course, I accepted the date. I even showed up early:)
We decided to do dinner at a convenient little Mexicanish place down the street so that we could avoid the Friday post-work hell that is Atlanta traffic. We each got our usual: salad with beans and no dressing for me and salad with chicken and vinaigrette for him. Even though I’ve eaten hundreds of meals with this man, I noticed something last night for the first time.

A picture taken, of A Green Salad. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The salad comes with the lettuce on the bottom of the bowl and then heaps of sour cream, guacamole, salsa, grilled veggies and, in his case, chicken, piled on top. Before Brock took a bite, he carefully blended the entire bowl, mixing the best parts in with the blander selections.

I looked down at my plate. I was doing my usual – eating the lettuce first and saving my favorite, the guacamole, until last. I also got to thinking about my ex.

Quick disclaimer here. I am not in the habit of comparing Brock and my ex. It is a pointless and potentially dangerous endeavor. However, sometimes aspects of Brock help to bring me more clarity about my ex.

My ex used to eat his favorite part of the meal first and then he would move on to the less palatable portions.

Revelation.

We eat like we approach life. Me? I tend to delay happiness and have no problem trudging through mediocrity to hopefully get there at some point. My ex? He had no problem going straight for what he wanted and had trouble delaying gratification. And Brock? I think he does it best, mixing satisfaction along with the necessities.

Now, Brock and I both tend to eat too quickly (I can thank being a teacher with 20 minute lunches for that one!). Maybe that’s a sign that we both need to slow down to savor life a bit more.

I know one thing. Next time I find myself eating a salad, I’m going to enjoy some guacamole with every bite.

P.S. Skyfall is Bond at its campy, fun, exciting best 🙂

It’s spring break! No Tupperware for me today! My initial (active) plans for today were scuttled by the protestations of my tummy, so I gave in to a day of reading and sunning on the deck.

Lunch today was a BIG salad. First, I prepped by baking some tofu. I made this batch spicy, adding lots of crushed red pepper along with Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute and some smoked paprika. I love to bake it until it is soft on the inside and firm on the exterior.

Asparagus was on sale at Kroger, so of course I stocked up. These were not the usual slender tender stalks of spring, these were large and succulent. These big boys hold up well to grilling, so that’s just what I did with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Then, it was time to put it all together. I started with a base of mixed spring greens and added cucumbers, red onion, red pepper, baby bella mushrooms, tomatoes, avocado, asparagus, pumpkin seeds, and tofu for mine (the boyfriend prefers chicken). This was all topped with my boyfriend’s favorite dressing: garlic, pomegranate seeds, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper all mixed in the blender. We both love these big and satisfying salads.

I decided to search for new books by some of my favorite authors. You can tell by my find (Damned, October 2011), that I don’t do this very often:) Chuck and I are having a glorious day in the sun along with the dog. The cat, as you can see, prefers the shade.