Whats on your plate?

[SameOldStory]

A salad. No name. Just a salad.

This is one of the few things that my wife will over-stuff herself with.


The basic salad;
1 big head of lettuce (or two small heads)
1/2 onion
honey
Large (14-16oz) can of sweet young/early peas (and I don't care if you don't like peas. Ther're needed.)
Mayo (NOT salad dressing) (I've tried it with both)
1 pound of American style bacon (more would be ok)
1 very large bowl. I use a glass lasagna pan

This may sound strange, but it is REALLY good.


First fry up a pound of American style bacon. Whatever style bacon it is will have to be crisp enough to crumble.

Chop at least half an onion. If you don't like onion, ask for help in finding an inoffensive mild flavor onion. The end product will not taste strongly of onion at all, even if all you use is half an onion.

Put about 2 cups full of mayo in a large bowl. Mix in the onion. Press it into the mayo with a hard spoon, kinda like mashing it into the mayo.

Add in about 2 table spoons full of the honey. This is the tricky part. Slowly add more honey and taste it as you mix it into the mayo. At some point the flavor will change. You will know it when it changes flavor, so add more honey in very slowly.

Everything has to be done in that order. Now put the bowl in the fridge while you do the next part.


Shred up enough lettuce to cover the bowl (pan). Pour the drained peas over the lettuce and spread them around evenly.

Crumble two thirds to three quarters of the bacon over the peas/lettuce.

Pour your honey/mayo sauce over that, and spread it evenly. Then add more lettuce on top of it all and press it down flat.

Shred the rest of the bacon on top of that. Put it in the fridge to settle/meld for about half an hour.

Enjoy.




Side notes;
1 - I keep the bowl and the glass lasagna pan in the fridge while I'm doing everything else.
2 - Very important. Use only FRESH lettuce. Buy more if it's starting to wilt.
3 - Some honey can be substituted with Splenda, but not more than half.
4 - This can not be made a day ahead of time. Four hours max is best. Plan on having it or lunch and dinner.

[beppe]

Originally Posted by SameOldStory

A salad. No name. Just a salad.

Great. It will have to wait for Tuesday. I can not get the lettuce before. And do not want to waste your idea with the curly chicory that I have in the house.

What a great idea.

[SameOldStory]

My wife likes simple foods so I've only used iceberg lettuce. A mixture of lettuces might be good too.

[SameOldStory]

I'm haveing "a salad" again.

[kindlekitten]

Originally Posted by SameOldStory

I'm haveing "a salad" again.

sorry SOS but that sounds revolting. canned peas haven't passed my lips in over 30 years, and I can't imagine honey on any vegie let alone a salad

[SolRaven]

I had the farmers market tomatoes and they were exactly what the guy selling them said that they would be, very good, but not as good as Jersey tomatoes.

[SameOldStory]

Originally Posted by kindlekitten

sorry SOS but that sounds revolting. canned peas haven't passed my lips in over 30 years, and I can't imagine honey on any vegie let alone a salad

That was my thought too when told what I had just eaten that at a party a very long time ago.

There's no reason you can't cook your own peas and let them cool in a fridge. The same goes with making your own mayo.

Many look down on mayonnaise as a modern monstrosity. In reality mayonnaise is a French sauce that goes back a couple of hundred years. Needless to say, it wasn't factory made but "home made".

But, please, lets not get involved with the "proper" French sauces.

As to the honey/onion/mayo combination you would just have to take my word on it. At some point, as you add the honey, the flavor of the whole thing changes.

I've been making this for over 35 years and never measure the ingredients so I can't tell you how much honey to put in to it. Just do it slowly. You really don't want it to taste sweet. And if you do it right it doesn't.


Yes, it is counter intuitive. Like adding lemon and cream together.


Side note.
If you add too much honey, just add more mayo until it tastes right (again, you will know). It's better to throw away the excess, if you cant use it, than to have it tasting sweet.

[SameOldStory]

This morning: Sausage (with lots of sage), egg, and cheese sandwiches.

[SameOldStory]

A special thanks goes to Javed for leading me to an interesting page.



You know what they call the Big Mac in India?

[beppe]

A treat of asparagus a la Bismark.

1 kg in two. Steamed crisp, sprinkled with Parmesan, melted brownish butter and a fried egg. Open air lunch, being in the 30°. Centigrade of course. High 80's for you non standard.

Chilled Rosè of all the possibilities.

[Nyssa]

My little girl made Mac & Cheese for lunch! I'm thrilled that my kids like being in the kitchen, cause goodness knows I don't.

[kindlekitten]

Originally Posted by SameOldStory

That was my thought too when told what I had just eaten that at a party a very long time ago.

There's no reason you can't cook your own peas and let them cool in a fridge. The same goes with making your own mayo.

Many look down on mayonnaise as a modern monstrosity. In reality mayonnaise is a French sauce that goes back a couple of hundred years. Needless to say, it wasn't factory made but "home made".

But, please, lets not get involved with the "proper" French sauces.

As to the honey/onion/mayo combination you would just have to take my word on it. At some point, as you add the honey, the flavor of the whole thing changes.

I've been making this for over 35 years and never measure the ingredients so I can't tell you how much honey to put in to it. Just do it slowly. You really don't want it to taste sweet. And if you do it right it doesn't.


Yes, it is counter intuitive. Like adding lemon and cream together.


Side note.
If you add too much honey, just add more mayo until it tastes right (again, you will know). It's better to throw away the excess, if you cant use it, than to have it tasting sweet.

I don't diss on mayo and quite often do make my own. but honey and vegies or meat will never combine in my mouth. I loathe all honey mustard, dressings and so on

[SameOldStory]

Oh well. You wouldn't taste the honey anyway.

[SameOldStory]

Originally Posted by Nyssa

My little girl made Mac & Cheese for lunch! I'm thrilled that my kids like being in the kitchen, cause goodness knows I don't.

I used to help cook. I figured that if I wanted to eat what I like, I'd better learn to cook.

Smart move. My wife has a limited range of food that she likes. I'll eat just about anything once. And if it's really popular I'll try it again some time later (and elsewhere) if I don't like it, on the presumption that if a lot of people like it I just may have been unlucky in the first attempt.

[Nyssa]

Originally Posted by SameOldStory

I used to help cook. I figured that if I wanted to eat what I like, I'd better learn to cook.

My husband said that was one of the reasons he learned to cook. Plus he has one very odd food allergy (onions) and one very common allergy (shellfish/ iodine) so it was also out of self preservation.

Originally Posted by SameOldStory

Smart move. My wife has a limited range of food that she likes. I'll eat just about anything once. And if it's really popular I'll try it again some time later (and elsewhere) if I don't like it, on the presumption that if a lot of people like it I just may have been unlucky in the first attempt.

Thanks. I, unfortunately, was always kicked out of the kitchen so as not to be underfoot and in the way. My skills are extremely limited and I have no joy of cooking.

My youngest son is the same as you, he will try just about anything at least once. He has said more than once that he would like to be chef, so we try to encourage him as much as possible.