lunch in a hurry...

I don't know what it is about Saturdays, but they are over before they even start. There is always a myriad things to do.

During term time, I am day-mother to my stunningly-gorgeous-adorable-14month old grandson, so week days are pretty full (yes, I will be giving some baby-friendly recipes in the near future; look out for those). So when the weekend comes around, I have to catch up on those necessary chores like washing, menu planning, shopping and chilling-out. Notice how 'chilling out' is bottom of the list!

Anyway, I was expecting visitors for Sunday lunch, but this conflicted with their travel plans, so the date was brought forward to Saturday. Needless to say, they would have had the same meal presented to them Sunday, so the difference was the time available.

By the time I had finished my weekly skype call with my eldest child in London - isn't technology wonderful? - it was mid-day. The photo just goes to show what you can elegantly put on the table in 25 minutes (you do not want to know what my kitchen looked like, an hour later!)
A low-fat, healthy meal. Literally in minutes.

The soup was a classic gazpacho with salsa, served in tea glasses:
Serves 8 with no leftovers - more's the pity.
2 x 400gm cans of chopped tomatoes (chilled)
200gms Italian cherry (Rosa) tomatoes
2 tsp crushed garlic - or more. Or less.
2 tots of vodka - or more. Or less.
2 Tblsp sweet chilli sauce - or more. Or less.
Salt, freshly ground black pepper and worcestershire sauce to taste

Whoosh all together in a liquidizer (I did mine in two batches).
Then sample. (You have to check the seasoning, don't you?)

The salsa was made up of finely chopped:
1 red onion
more garlic
1/2 a small cucumber
1 small red bell pepper (capsicum)
1 small yellow pepper - or green
1 green chilli -deseeded
2 Tblsp chopped fresh parsley or coriander

Stir well to combine. Add a bit more vodka.

This floats quite comfortably on the gazpacho provided you position it gently, with a steady hand.

For the salad, I took a large platter, and artfully arranged on it:
1 small pillow pack of baby leaf salad
1 small pillow pack of rocket, basil and baby spinach
2 large firm ripe avocados, each sliced into 1/8ths
a pack of asparagus spears (about 16 spears) cooked 2 mins in the microwave in a little water
the other 1/2 of the cucumber used for the salsa
2 spring onions
3 small firm ripe nectarines cut into thin wedges

Then, for the dressing, I combined:
1 Tblsp of wholegrain mustard
1 Tblsp low fat Mayo (I like Helman's)
1 Tblsp lemon juice
and I added about a teaspoon of caster sugar.

I put wholewheat rolls on the table. And, to my chagrin (dictionary def: acute vexation or mortification - I felt both!) my husband insisted on putting out Vienna sausages.

No left overs. Just lots and lots of dishes.

That was Saturday.

And then it was Monday.

What happened to Sunday?