Grown Up Lunch: Parma Ham Charcuterie Plate

@fresh_and_easy Twitter feed led me to the LA Times article on 40 ways to pack a "grown-up" lunch. Some of those points were a bit too complicated for me to even think to do. (i.e. A dandelion greens and goat cheese empanada? Please. Would I go through all that trouble?). But some were easy.

And so it inspires the new topic of Grown Up Lunch!

Like pack your own charcuterie plate.

And there was the last pack of Parma Ham staring at me from the bargain bin at 8 p.m. last night for about $1.50 discount, destined to be the star of today's lunch.

So, for this Grown Up Lunch, mix and match the following from F&E:

• Parma Ham
• Bocconcinis (little mozzerella balls)
• Roasted tomatoes (marinated in olive oil)
• Olive tapanade
• Baby bagette
• Fruit salad -- Pick out apples and and honeydews to go with the ham. The rest is dessert.
  

I ate about 4 slices/half the pack of the Parma Ham and half of the baby bagette, 3 bocconcinis and 3 slices of tomatoes, and about 1/3 the tub of tapanade.

I washed that down with a can of San Pellegrino Limonata. Not from F&E but from BevMo.

So, technically, you *can* repeat the performance with everything a day or two after this. Parma Ham instruction said it should be eaten within 3 days of opening. And who knows how long the bagette will hold. As for the marinaded stuff in the tubs, those guys can go the distance.

As for me, because my Parma Ham is pushing it already, I plan to make a little breakfast sandwich with the leftover ham, apples, and bagette. :)