This meal was absolutely fun to make. I assure you, a solid vegetable meal like this can be cheap and fabulous. The asparagus and sweet potatoes came from Aldi, a rather unusual but wise grocery store, which is known for very reasonable prices on off-brand foods. A good number have recently opened up in Orlando. My experiences there in America and out of the country have been pleasant.

I steamed the asparagus on medium low with a a cup of water and sprinkled with chopped garlic. Light salt comes just after removal from the pan or at the table.

The sweet potato recipe came from Market Fresh Produce (www.marketfreshproduce.net) in a box of potatoes I purchased from Costco earlier in the summer. I chose to dress the sweet potatoes with an easy, store bought seasoned salt and rosemary from our herb garden. I roasted the potatoes on an aluminum foil-lined tray on the top rack in my oven. The smaller the cubes of sweet potatoes, the faster the vegetable cooks, but too small and they come out looking like hash browns.

While the other veggies were cooking, I sliced Roma Tomatoes and Mozzarella Cheese. I shredded some fresh basil from our herb garden. I put a generous dot of balsamic vinegar on a plate and quickly dropped the basil over it to keep it from running toward the center. Then, I placed layers of tomato and mozzarella on top like a tower. I have known some people to hold the stack together with a toothpick. That was not necessary with this meal. I drained the asparagus quickly and served it, removing any extra pieces of garlic that were left in the pan and adding them on top. Once the potatoes were added, we sat down to an excellent late summer meal. I do caution that the potatoes are best eaten immediately; so, save what you don't expect to eat for another exciting recipe later.