Good Friday Salad in a Jar

I made another salad in a jar on Good Friday for my day trip to Ostia Antica. I figured that it would be a great picnic lunch.
I'm not really a practicing Catholic although I usually do follow the traditions of Lent.  I usually give something up. One year it was the elevator in my building (which was great because I still don't use elevators unless I'm actually completely wiped out). Another year I gave up ice cream. That one didn't work out nearly as well.  I kept forgetting that I'd given up ice cream and wound up deciding to tack on days to my lent to make up for it.
This year, Lent seems to have flown by and I never actually got around to giving up anything. And since my awarness level wasn't particularly high, I'm sure that I also ate meat on Fridays as well. I've never been a stickler for these things, but I do try to follow along... This year I seem to have dropped the ball.
For Good Friday, however, I decided to follow tradition and have no meat all day.

So my salad was vegetarian.
My first layer was fresh olive oil, balsamic vinegar reduction and some oregano (grown and dried by one of my roomie's family).  Then I added white cannelloni beans with a little salt. Then came a layer of strawberries (I'm seriously starting to enjoy my roommates reaction when I put fruit into salads, it's utterly hilarious). Then a layer of delicious Asiago cheese because I really love its creaminess and how well it pairs with strawberries. Then I added a 1/4 of a small red onion diced coarsely because I adore the bite that the red onion adds to the salad. It adds a bit of kick and texture at the same time. Finally I filled the rest of the jar with mixed greens. I got an extra large package at the super market that has arugula, lettuce and some dark green and purple leaves that I don't know the name of. It's seriously one of my favorite mixes of salad.
Voila. My salad was amazing as I sat among the ruins of Ostia Antica. It was a truly memorable and delicious picnic lunch.

The Amphitheater and Temple

My Lunch and a productive morning...

This morning I woke up early thinking that I had a lesson but right as I was getting ready to leave it got cancelled.  My next lesson won't be until 3 this afternoon, so what to do? I guess I could have just gone back to sleep but that seemed like a waste of time since I had already spent time trying to be awake.
So instead, I went into the kitchen and started making my lunch and what will also most likely become my dinner.
At the supermarket a couple of days ago I had bought chicken thighs, so I got busy deboning them and let the creative juices flow.  I decided to make Truffled chicken with a creamy truffle sauce that I'd also bought at the store. It was really simple to make and quick as well. In fact I think I'll have to post up the recipe at some point.  All I needed was chicken thighs, flour, spices, oil for frying and this creamy truffle sauce.
When it was all done, I put a piece into my plastic container with my leftover roasted red peppers, a creamy soft cheese and a couple of pieces of prosciutto for a nice, well-rounded lunch time meal.

I was very pleased with my lunch. The chicken was tender and full of flavor and worked really well with everything else too.  The only thing I forgot was my kiwi, but I guess I'll have that after dinner tonight as dessert!!
Overall, I'm really glad that I stayed up this morning. I got to cook and relax in the kitchen and as a result I had a very appealing lunch. I'll also have dinner already ready for me when I get home at 9:30 or so. Which means, I'll be a very happy camper indeed. Food will be ready and I will be able to dig in right away. No waiting necessary.
I got to work early this morning feeling calm after cooking and I got to take my time and not rush for once. Normally I run around like a crazy person in the morning so this was definitely a nice change of pace!
Yay for productive mornings!