Ham Steak with Fruit Salsa

Tonight was filled with cooking disasters. I planned and started to make Chicken Marsala for dinner. I went into the basement to get some of my supplies, and came through the pantry to get some flour. For some reason, we keep this STAPLE of cooking on a very high shelf far away from my little self on a step. You can imagine what happened next.

You got it; a container of flour, on the floor. So, chicken marsala was clearly out.

I had everything for this meal, so decided to make it. However, my ham steaks were the mini presliced ones. I turned the broiler on high (because recipes just say to preheat broiler, never indicating if it's supposed to be lo or hi), and moved the rack up as indicated. Fearing the worst, I dropped the time a little. Not thinking, I moved the rack with the cookie sheet of ham steaks on it, lost my grip, and lost a ham steak to the linoleum monster.

First, my little ham steaks...shriveled. Then, it set off the smoke detector, which someone (who shall remain nameless) decided would best go IN the kitchen, setting off that oh so pleasant melody. As I was taking them out of the oven, the boiling water of my potatoes (which I had started before the flour incident), splashed me.

So, we're up to a no go chicken marsala, shriveled and crunchy ham steaks, a screeching smoke detector, and a lost ham steak. It was almost funny, things were so bad.

Usually, though, this is a delicious meal. It's a standby in our house, especially at this time of year when peaches/nectarines and plums are so delicious and cheap! I love that this is a recipe that is meant for NO MEASURING. I eyeball if I have enough plums to peaches... cut up the amount of red onion I'm feeling on that particular night, etc. The cookbook authors suggest that this is a versatile recipe and that lemon juice can be substituted for the lime, mint for the cilantro, and any seasonal fruit for the peaches and plums. These ingredients are the only ones I've tried, however.

This recipe is a Weight Watchers one too, with 4 points per serving. It's from their Make it in Minutes cookbook.

2 peaches, diced I used one, today
6 plums, diced Today I used two
1/4c finely chopped red onion
1/2 jalepeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped I just keep a jar of sliced ones in my fridge and use as many slices as I see fit--today, only one slice
2T fresh lime juice
2T chopped cilantro
1T Dijon mustard We were out; I used spicy brown, which is definitely not as good.
1T packed dark brown sugar
1-1lb ham steak

1. Preheat the broiler
2. Combine the peaches, plums, onion, jalepeno pepper, lime juice, and cilantro in a bowl.
3. Combine the mustard and sugar in a small bowl. Place the ham steak on the rack of a broiler pan and broil, 4 inches from the heat, 4 minutes. Turn the ham over and brush with the mustard mixture; broil 4 minutes longer. Cut the steak into 4 portions and top each with 1 cup of the fruit salsa.