#42 Indian Summer

Can we still say “Indian Summer?” That glorious warm, blue sky breather between the first frost and the last leaf slowly dropping before the snow flies. Nothing ethnic is safe these days, but I’m not sure a new term has been invented for these lovely days.

Last night we had dinner on the deck. It’s a lovely place to eat because we are in the trees. High up. Our front door is at ground level, but the back door to the deck is one story up, sheltered by some graceful trees. It overlooks a wonderful vista of yard, ravine and creek, and this time of year we can again see our neighbors on the other side of the creek ravine who are hidden from us during the summer with thick layers of leaves.

We had chicken cordon bleu (boneless chicken breast filled with thin ham slices and Swiss cheese) and a heaping salad of field greens with tomatoes, mushrooms, olives and celery. This recipe looks similar .

My secret is to order this as a sandwich at our favorite restaurant, Old Bag of Nails. At the same time, I order a “doggie bag” which is really a box. When it arrives, it is about 7” tall and deep fried. Then I begin to carefully dismantle it. I scoop off the bun, then the tomato, onion and lettuce. I cut it in half--difficult because of its huge size--this step must be done with care--and place half in the box. Then I cut the other half into halves. Usually I can only eat 1/4 of the sandwich, so I want to be prepared to move more into the box if necessary.

The next day we enjoy our night out again, but at home, with two more normal size servings. Americans are being “biggie sized” to death (or at least poor health) by their restaurant portions, but there are sensible ways to eat out. And cheap ways to eat in.