So, I’m back from my hiatus – I’ve still been making lunches, I just have taken a break from nattering on about them.  My camera had been acting temperamentally and things have generally been busy, but I have been convinced by the guys to return to this forum.

So, why today?  It’s a repeat of the Smoked Chicken and Wild Rice Salad:

I made this today because today is our beloved John’s last TXI lunch as a single man – he is off tomorrow to marry his beloved Katie this weekend – and this lunch is full of some of his favorite things.  Grain salad – check. Curry and cilantro – check.  Bold flavors – check.  Good bread to accompany – check.  I wanted to send him off with a bang.

Thoughtful of me, right?  How do you suppose I have been shown gratitude?  The evidence is here:

Let me point out two things: the missiles in the foreground – hard to tell from this picture, but if he is North Korea, I’m feeling a lot like Japan over here.  Please also note the howler monkey dangling from the desk lamp – this adorable little distraction lets out a primal scream as it whizzes past one’s head, propelled like a slingshot from somewhere over there in North Korea.

So it’s been a fun morning.  See why it can get so hard to write about lunch?

Mazel tov, John and Katie – best of luck to both of you.  It couldn’t have happened to a nicer couple!