The Strangest Salad Ever

It's that time of year when food just comes together - lots of salads and barbecues, not many things that need a recipe. Who wants to be in the kitchen when it's stinking hot?
This was possibly the strangest salad ever. A pan fried chicken thigh, tomato, snow peas and cold roast potato, topped with some asparagus that had been quickly sauted in the chicken juices. Just yum.
Today is 36 degrees and blustery. I'm not so sure I'll feel like eating else anything but icecream.

Buttered Asparagus with Ham

As I rose out of my flu-induced apathy, I started craving vegetables. I wandered around Fyshwick Markets with a friend, trying to buy veggies while I had no idea what I was going to cook. The red capsicum looked good, so I grabbed some. I felt like soup, so I grabbed a some stock-making veggies (making a mental promise to Ryan not to feed him parsnip). There was no healthy looking green beans, and the broccoli was expensive. Even the spinach looked old and unhappy. Then I found some asparagus that looked green and crunchy and good. And I had some inspiration from cookiecrumb about exactly what to do with it.

Buttered Asparagus with ham

Brown a small amount of butter in a non-stick pan. Turn the heat down to medium, then roll the asparagus around in the butter, until it's nearly cooked. Then throw in a handful of shaved ham. Keep stirring it gently until the asparagus is developing black blisters, and the ham is getting a little crispy. Pile on to a plate, add some cracked black pepper, and enjoy.

This might be even better with a soft poached egg, but I'm not that patient.