There is nothing like ever so carefully building up the foundation of a lovely day in your head... and then having it all come crashing down.
Okay, maybe that is a bit of an exaggeration. But not by much (I can be extremely melodramatic).
I thought I was going to have a nice Saturday with the tot. It was a gorgeous day, and Seth was at work, so I figured I would put on my fun-mom hat (okay, more like a slightly embarrassing sun hat) and go to the beach - play in the sand, prance around in the water, then grab some food in the harbor and watch some boats sail on by.
We arrived at the beach. Within 2 minutes, Max was found throwing sand. Totally not allowed. A thing he has been banned from doing. I'm not really sure why sand looks so appealing to throw, as opposed to say, scooping into funnel shaped toys that have wheels that spin when sand is dumped into them. But I digress.
So I gave him a warning. If you throw the sand again, we are leaving. His response was a gleeful "go bye-bye."
I couldn't help but roll my eyes and wonder how he could possibly be okay with leaving the beach. Why wouldn't someone want to play here for awhile?
I got us away from the ever-so-temping sand and into the water. We frolicked and splashed in the water for about 20 minutes. Then we got out of the water.
As soon as we got back to our towels, the sand throwing began anew. Another warning was given, and subsequently ignored. And thus we left the beach after all of 30 minutes. And out of those 30, about 1/5 were taken up with admonishments.
So we trekked home, no longer stopping for lunch. And as we made our way home, I called Seth to complain, pointing out that none of the other kids were throwing sand. He tried to comfort me by offering up the explanation that the other sand-throwing kids were already taken home.
So once we got home, I needed food. Something comforting. Something interesting. Something that would make up for the shattering of my Saturday plans. Something that would help assuage my fears that my offspring will forever be the annoying kid throwing sand.
Sometimes our best laid plans are thwarted by toddlers. And I suppose when life gives you lemons you are supposed to make lemonade. I didn't make lemonade. But I made a grilled cheese stuffed with things like provolone, prosciutto, arugula, sage, plums, and a lemony spread. I guess there are worse things in life than having a Saturday turn into a warm crispy sandwich.
For more information about one of my very favorite fruits, the plum, check out this slideshow from Cooking Light! Sooooo many varieties of plums that I need to try!
Ingredients
2 slices sourdough bread
2 slices thinly sliced prosciutto
1 slice provolone
4-6 sage leaves
1 plum, sliced
handful arugula leaves
drizzle of olive oil
lemon wedge
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
canola oil, for cooking
For the sauce:
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Greek yogurt
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Mix mayonnaise, yogurt, mustard, lemon juice, lemon zest, and sumac in bowl. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate.
On slice of bread, make a bed of arugula leaves. Drizzle with just a bit of olive oil and lemon juice, and sprinkle salt and pepper. Next add the prosciutto, then the provolone, the sage leaves, the slices of plum, then, finally, the desired amount of the sauce. Heat some oil in cast iron skillet or other frying pan. Add sandwich, brown on one side (about 2-3 minutes). Flip, and brown on the other.
