what's for lunch???

There are 2 things that my husband refuses to eat: mushrooms and seafood (other than canned tuna or anchovies).

I, on the other hand, love both. Crabmeat stuffed mushrooms are one of my favorite foods.

However, I don't usually cook with mushrooms or seafood because it's easier to just keep ingredients we both like on hand. Most of the times that I've gotten something like that just for me it's ended up going bad before I got a chance to use it, so I've given up. There are only 3 sets of circumstances where I really get to have them- when we go out to eat (which is rare ever since we've found out about the allergies/sensitivities), when we have company for a big deal meal (holidays, barbecues, etc) and when my husband is away on business for a week or more (which has not happened in a few years).

So anyway, my husband started a new job about a month ago (and he loves it). The new position requires him to work in the field some of the time, and those field locations are, on occasion, too far for him to do a daily commute. That means he stays at a hotel near the job site, and I'm left to my own devices (unless I decide to drive out to see him).

About 2 weeks ago he was sent to a job site for a 7-day gig. He came home for an overnight, and was sent to another job the next day, with the understanding that he'd be gone for another 7 to 10 days. The day after he left, I needed to go to the grocery store to restock a few staple items. Of course while I was there I just had to check out the seafood and mushrooms!

I came home with scallops and portabella caps (both on sale for a very nice price), as well as some asparagus, zucchini and the items on my list. I had the scallops for dinner that night, cooked scampi style and served over rice. The vegetables sat in the fridge. Until yesterday, that is.

On a normal day, I have a pretty good idea of what I'll eat for breakfast, lunch & dinner before I go to bed the night before. Yesterday's plans got changed several times over though, and I forgot to eat breakfast. So by lunch time, I was really hungry and had no idea of what to make. As I gazed into the depths of the refrigerator, I glimpsed the asparagus and mushrooms hiding behind a carton of orange juice.

Inspiration hit me, hard. Grilled veggies... balsamic vinegar... over rice... YES!

Now, it's not really grilling season here, so we have no charcoal, and I don't have a grill pan for my stove. I do have a George Foreman grill, which hasn't been used in over a year. I pulled it out of its hidey hole and was absolutely disgusted by the amount of dust and yuckiness on it. It really needed a good, thorough scrub-down. Since it's an electric appliance, it needed to thoroughly dry before being used, which rendered it useless for lunch making.

I was not daunted, though! I determined that rather than find something else to eat, I would just use one of my giant frying pans. The plan changed from grilled veggies to veggies that were sauteed in oil & balsamic vinegar. Sooooo gooood!

The players: baby carrots (cut into 2 pieces to shorten the length and then each half cut into 4 long pieces each), celery (coarsely chopped), sweet onion (diced), asparagus (each spear but into 2 or 3 pieces, for fork-friendliness), zucchini (cut into thick coins which were then halved), potabella mushroom caps (sliced); also a drizzle of olive oil, a bunch of balsamic vinegar and spices including basil, garlic salt and thyme (all dried).

The basic concept: pour a tablespoon or 2 of olive oil into a large frying pan. Add enough balsamic vinegar that it and the olive oil generously cover the bottom of the pan. Heat over medium high. When hot, add onion, stir and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute, allowing the pan to heat back up. Push the onion to the edges of the pan and add the carrots and celery. Stir to coat everything with oil & vinegar and cook for another minute or 2. When the onion begins to look translucent, add the asparagus, zucchini and portabella. Stir well. Add more balsamic, if needed, and stir to distribute. Put a lid on the pan, reduce heat to medium and walk away for about 3 minutes. Remove lid and check if the asparagus is tender enough for your taste. Continue to cook without the lid until it is. Serve over the starch of your choice (rice, pasta, baked potato, bread, etc)

It's seriously tasty stuff!