Day Sixty - Two : Sunday relaxation

I decided after a morning of spring cleaning and changing my closet from fall/winter to spring/summer clothing, that I deserved a nice relaxing afternoon. Today's high of 73, made it the perfect day to grab the Sunday Times, a nice light snack and my favorite springy/summery aperitif and take all of them up to my roof and enjoy. It is always such a treat for me to actually get through the entire Sunday New York Times on Sunday proper, I feel like I've accomplished something. Being able to delve deeply into the Sunday Styles and the Metropolitan sections is the height of Sunday relaxation for me..

I am sure you are wondering what my snack was...well ladies and gents here you go:

 Take about a quarter of a french baguette and cut it length wise. Brush with olive oil on either side and then place on top of a stove top grill. What you get from this is a nice grilled bread base anxiously awaiting a yummy topping. That topping will be composed of: finely chopped fennel, a finely chopped apple such as a golden delicious, a handful of red grapes cut into three, some chopped walnuts, some parsley and crumbled fresh goat cheese. Combine all of these ingredients together, what you will get is a fresh, clean, healthy mixture of flavor profiles. I think it is nice to top this with a little bit of homemade aged balsamic vinaigrette.Take each of your two pieces of bread and top with your chop chop mixture. The classic tastes of the baguette will support your topping perfectly. This afternoon, I paired this with a campari and soda while reading the New York Times on the roof.

Campari and soda is my preferred spring/summery aperitif, perfect for a late afternoon beverage on a Spring day or as a refreshing cocktail on a steamy summer evening. In case you aren't familar with Campari, it originated in Italy in the middle of the nineteenth century and is a mixture of alcohol and water that is infused with bitter herbs, aromatic plants, and fruits giving it a redish, pinkish, fuschia hue. It is definitely an acquired taste sort of beverage if you ask me, I tend to think that it is an aperitif you either love or hate...in case you couldn't guess, I'm in the love camp. The refreshing qualities of the drink pair perfectly with the freshness and cleanness of the open faced sandwich.

Enjoy your Sunday evening folks! Please join me in having a campari and soda, if that's up your alley.