asparagus, carrot and mushroom salad

our bodies should come with repair manuals . . . we all have a few achy-breaky little bothers that require maintenance, fine-tuning, and maybe the need for a jump-start now and then. one person's foot pain, is another person's allergy to nuts, is another person's need for nine hours of sleep instead of just eight.
          if i was reading ahead i'd see a new chapter in my manual, "how to stay fit after 50". it would include, i'm sorry to say, a few pages on eating less pasta, bread, and potatoes which is more than just a little aggravation for me, it's a down right pain. i am a glutton for starch, salt and fat. my taste buds consider a bowl of pasta with butter and cheese the food of the gods, but my waist line can no longer be maintained on that kind of menu. luckily, i'm not a big sweets-eater or there'd also be pages and pages about the trouble with eating cookies, cake, and ice cream.

in an effort to follow ms. marguet's body manual, i created this cooked salad of asparagus, carrots, mushrooms and leeks. i'm finding that leafy salads aren't substantial enough to satisfy my hunger, and lettuce is becoming a little boring. i served this salad with a skinny slice of brie and one slice of whole wheat baguette . . . years ago i would have eaten the whole thing.

ingredients

• one bunch of asparagus, woody stems snapped off

• several carrots, cut into 2-3" sections

• small crimini mushrooms

• two leeks, sliced lengthwise and then cross wise

• balsamic vinegar

• olive oil

directions

1. steam the asparagus and carrots just until they start to soften. drain and let cool.

2. sauté the leeks in a tablespoon of olive oil until they start to brown, then add the mushrooms and stir until they release their juices. sprinkle with salt and pepper

3. allow the leeks and mushrooms to cool and whisk together a few tablespoons of the vinegar and about 1/4 cup of olive oil.

4. layer the asparagus and carrots on a plate and sprinkle with salt and pepper, and i intended to add fresh dill but forgot . . . i think it would be a good addition.

5. add the leeks and mushrooms to the plate and drizzle it with the vinaigrette.