humid with a side of salad

Sorry for the hiatus - I guess you could blame a numerous amount of things in my life. Laziness being the primary excuse. I recently got a new job; I have my own desk, with my name on it and everything. I have 2 computer screens - which at first made me feel really special, because most people on my floor only have 1. Wishful thinking on my part, because in this case, 2 monitors means your less likely to want to look at another computer screen when you get home after an 8 hour shift. Seriously - I cringed pressing the start button on my laptop this evening after my work computer crashed 4 times today- Bless the Lord I have a Macbook & its rare that my good ol' apple is rude enough to shutdown on me- though its happened).

Anyway, it has been EXTREMELY humid here in Ottawa these past few days. Seriously humid - as in no point of doing your hair humid, no point in wearing clothes humid. As in peak temperatures were over 40 degrees today and yesterday with the humidity. So I have lived by making salads .... Really I have made the same salad almost every day this week because it tastes that good & its really easy.

Heres what ya' need:
1 container of bocconcini cheese (pearls)
1 container of cherry tomatoes
1 large english cucumber
1 container of arugula
1 half thinly sliced red onion
6-8 fresh basil leaves
1 package of prosciutto
2-3 tbsp of olive oil
1/3 a bottle of balsamic
1/3 a cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese
freshly ground salt & pepper

Set your oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking dish with a sheet of tin foil (this will help to make clean up quicker). While the oven preheats; line the baking dish covered in tin foil with 4 pieces of prosciutto (make sure they aren't touching each other). When ready, put the sheet in the oven & set the timer to 10 minutes. Cut up the cherry tomatoes (in halves), the cucumber (in bite size pieces, or if you're feeling fancy you can cut the whole cucumber into 4 equal parts & shred it with your potato peeler, discarding the peal- careful of your fingers). Drain the bocconcini cheese pearls in the sink & set aside, tear up the basil leaves, and shred the parmesan cheese. Check on your prosciutto - if you notice its starting to look crispy take it out & set it aside; if it isn't let it bake a few more minutes, keeping a close eye. While thats cooling off; in a small pot, start cooking your balsamic vinegar on a medium to high heat to reduce it (about 10 to 15 minutes). Make sure to stir this occasionally, as it does stick to the bottom of the pot. In my experience it tends to cook slow, so I like to put a lid on mine partially, making sure to keep a closer eye on it. While this is reducing, get your salad prepared on a plate or bowl. I prefer to use a larger serving plate for this salad, because I feel as though it looks a lot nicer. Lay your arugula down on the plate, then your cucumber, cherry tomatoes, red onion, bocconcini cheese & torn basil leaves. Crumble your baked prosciutto on top. Sprinkle olive oil evenly atop the salad, & following the same method with your reduced balsamic. The balsamic should be a thicker consistency, but still thin enough for your to evenly spread by drizzling it with a spoon. Top with freshly ground salt & pepper and freshly grated parmesan cheese & a few extra basil leaves. This recipe has served 3 very hungry people as a side dish with BBQ'ed chicken.

Enjoy & stay cool friends,
Nicole!