Frasier Salad

Listen to this song:



Now listen to it approximately 187 more times, and you will begin to understand how I spent the last week.

Last Monday, while bending over to begin organizing and cleaning one of the shelves in my (now former) classroom, my back seized up.  We're talking a full throttle, there's-nothing-you-can-do-except-fall-to-the-floor kind of seize-up.

As I lay there on the floor, counting the dust bunnies underneath the math shelf, I got to thinking: How did I end up here?

Within a few moments of my impromptu soul-searching, I had my answer.  I was stressed out.  I hadn't been to the gym in over a month.  I'd been eating unhealthy foods on a more-than-occasional basis.

And as a result, was forced to embark upon an Adventure in Bed Rest.

The Sous Chef did a marvelous job balancing out his concerned comments - "Don't bend over!"  "Slow down!" - with wonderfully helpful gestures.  He made me meals.  He brought me everything.  For Pete's sake, he even helped me shower at the height of my incapacity.

But best of all, he brought me the Wii.  Translation: I had Netflix streaming for about 96 hours straight. And I was usually streaming Frasier.

I recently rediscovered the show after it was added to the Netflix selection.  I've always been a fan of the show's brilliant balance of intellectual and slapstick humor.  The bed rest was a perfect excuse to overindulge in Frasier without feeling guilty for wasting my time.  I mean, what else was I going to do?

After four solid days of watching the show, and listening to the enigmatic theme song (you'd be amazed at how much space on the Internet is devoted to people trying to interpret the lyrics), I had but one idea running through my head:

Tossed salad and scrambled eggs.

It sounds a little crazy at first, I know, but if you think about it, people add hard boiled eggs to their salads all the time.  Scrambled eggs are certainly along the same vein.  But the plus side is they are done way quicker, and you have the added benefit of avoiding a potential Shell Stuck To Boiled Egg situation.

I once threw a similarly sticky boiled egg into the sink with such force that bits of it ricocheted off of the sink and landed about ten feet away.  It was not my proudest moment.

Moving on.

Thanks to our CSA share at Breezy Willow Farm, I had crisp lettuce, farm fresh eggs, and some leftover roast potatoes on hand.

Thanks to the Sous Chef, I had lots of fresh herbs on hand, too.  I quickly chopped up the herbs and added them to the eggs, which, after a quick scramble with a fork, floated on a butter-and-olive-oil sea in my sauté pan.

As the eggs cooked, I tore and washed the lettuce.  I sliced the potatoes.  I threw it all into a bowl, topped it with the cooked eggs, and a little balsamic vinaigrette.

I had a healthy, balanced, easy lunch in less than fifteen minutes.

A Frasier Salad.  Awesome.

Eat (and take care of your back) well.

What TV shows or movies have inspired you in the kitchen?