I have already eaten lunch today. I don't have much left in the fridge so
I decided to throw together a salad. I made a very light shallot
viniagrette this morning and let the flavors fuse. I had small amounts of
radicchio, leaf lettuce and a couple of leaves of romaine. I tore the
lettuce(s) into small bite sized pieces and threw them into a wooden salad
bowl (sides of bowl very lightly seasoned with a clove of garlic rubbed all
around the inside). I spied a chunk of roquefort cheese and chunked it up
into small pieces and added to the bowl. I toasted a few walnuts, mashed
them up and put them in the bowl. I poured the dressing on and mixed it up.
I added a dash of salt and pepper. It was very tasty but a few thin slices
of steak would have been very nice.

On an unrelated hunt yesterday, I lunched at this place I had never seen
before, called Heavenly Ham. I expected something terrific but was sorely
disappointed. I ordered ham and swiss on dark rye and ordered the box lunch
which I ate in the restaruant. The ham itself was nothing special and the
box lunch consisted of a cookie and bag of pretzels. On top of it all, I
got havarti instead of swiss. UGH... It was pricey too. Don't bother with
this place if you come across it. I should have known better, a ham
specialty shop in a primarily Jewish area. I did discover a Middle Eastern
grocery around the corner from the ham joint. It carried a lot of dried
peas and beans, canned goods and lots of fruit, dates etc. Prices were
outrageous. A curry packet (like the Ramen I buy all the time) was $3.

Michael