day five

Thankfully, arugula is not Dumb and Dumber.

Everyone told me for years that Dumb and Dumber was the most hilarious movie they'd ever seen. A classic. Slap-your-grandma, laugh-til-you-cry, beyond-words funny. And then I finally saw it, and regretted the utter waste of a good hour and a half.

Chefs do the same dadgum thing with arugula. It's on every the menu at any restaurant with more than two stars, tossed, sauteed, wilted and dressed. If you watch "Chopped" once, you will see arugula used, probably in every course. That stuff is used in nearly every dish on the Food Network, and lauded by chefs as if it is the green of heaven, the Old Faithful of salad.

And you know what? It lived up to its reputation. I couldn't believe it! It's like finally seeing The Shawshank Redemption, and you laugh and weep along with everyone else. Granted arugula may not bring you to tears... but it's so good it'll make you want to eat salad*, and that's saying something.

It's bright and succulent, earthy and somehow rich. I've never tasted a leaf like it!

Day Five: it's weirding me out how well this experiment is going...

*I made mine with a quick dressing of white wine, olive oil, white wine vinegar, and lemon juice. Mwah!