Recycled Toppings

Had a lunch fit for a king ... or at least a king with a kingdom currently suffering from an economic recession.

A burst of creativity struck me as I was gazing into my refrigerator for the third time of the day. Thinking, "If I combine this and that, it might be ... and that and the other thing would ... hmm."

Like any bachelor, my fridge is filled mostly with condiments, beverages, and toppings. Between the three, I composed a lunch of a minimalistic chef's salad and a small bowl of chili.

To make the chili, I heated up a sauce pan full of beanless hot dog chili sauce (using the remains from last night's chili dogs) and some medium-heat queso (usually used for chips or to slather on chicken patties), and then added some oyster crackers (left over from the clam chowder I made last week).

The salad included shredded lettuce (left over from taco night a few days ago), half a tomato (originally from the West Side Market a couple weekends ago; the other half had to be quietly sawed off and disposed of), rolled and sliced turkey breast lunch meat, and a bleu cheese vinaigrette, the origin of which I'm not really sure.

In all, it was surprisingly delicious, appropriately filling, and economically efficient. Yum.

Now I'm off to catch the train. I'm heading down to Public Square, where they are apparently giving free tours of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument and its underground tunnels until 4 PM. Should be cool.