A perfect cure for a case of the Mondays...

simple dinner, padron peppers, wine & word games!

Sundays are bad but Mondays might arguably be worse. At least on Sundays there is still the freedom of free time. Mondays are back to work, back to reality...Bleck!  Mondays are particularly rough after the departure of fun houseguests, as was the case this past weekend.

Feeling low-down, DH and I decided to lift ourselves by the boot straps and go for a beautiful run along the Bay in Berkeley. Exercise can be an excellent anti-depressant.

from L to R: padron peppers, quinoa, big eye tuna

On the way home, we picked up some sushi grade big eye tuna & salad greens at BB.

I threw some quinoa on the stove while DH heated the panino press. Once the press was smoking hot, he threw the tuna on to sear for a minute or two on each side. We fried up some padron peppers we'd bought the day before at the Oakland farmer's market. (sidebar: Padron peppers are my latest obsession...the perfect snack, morning noon and night!)

seared cherry tomatoes

Once the peppers were finished, I threw some farmer's market tomatoes in the same hot pan to sear, then placed them atop lemony-dressed greens. 
The whole meal was as simple as simple can be and so perfect for the moment.

Nothing like a quick, 100pt. Scrabble game to cure even the worst case of the Mondays. ;-)