It is 40 degrees outside on this Saturday morning in mid May and I had to put on my winter coat before perusing the farmers market. I found some lovely spinach, asparagus, local bacon and eggs. The spinach is rich, meaty, and deliciously green. It kind of makes me wonder if some genetic engineering might be responsible. Of course, it is more likely that I am just shaking off the remnants of a long winters lowered expectations due to tired imports from the grocery store.
Christina is at her studio and I can't wait for her to get home to try this. Every bite is absolutely perfect in my mouth, which I attribute mainly to the fresh ingredients. I wonder if Christina is painting something green...
Here is the dressing (I actually measured this out today so that it will be easier to follow):
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp vinegar (I used 1 of rice vinegar, 1 salad vinegar but it doesn't really matter..you could use cider vinegar)
1/2 tsp yellow mustard powder
1/4 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp maple syrup
a dash of lemon juice
fresh ground pepper
Whisk together and set aside.
For the salad:
hard boil 2 eggs (cover eggs in cold water and bring to a boil, boil for 1 min then turn the heat off and let them sit uncovered for 15-20 min while you finish preparing the salad..if you are a fast chopper you can cover the eggs and they will be done in 8-10 min.. know your abilities!)
cook 6 strips of bacon in the microwave. Normally I am not a proponent of using the microwave, but bacon is greasy and messy and it likes to jump up and bite you and I find it is not fun to play with. It usually crisps up better in the microwave anyway.
One more hot ingredient. The asparagus. Heat 1 tsp olive oil in a pan. When the oil is hot add chopped asparagus, 2 cloves minced garlic and a pinch of salt. Allow to cool just until the asparagus turns bright green (but still crunchy) and is coated with the garlic and oil (~3 min). Turn off the heat and set aside, squeeze some lemon juice over the top.
Rinse and chop spinach into bite sized pieces
add sliced mini cucumbers
diced red bell pepper
warm asparagus
sliced egg
crumbled bacon
Dress salad just before serving
Christina's vote: "Bacon in a salad? yes, yes, yes!! a perfect blend... a blend of perfection..perfectly..uh...no, now I'm blowing smoke..but it IS damn good! I'm gonna have me some more!"
An easy-peasy way to make bacon (sans the microwave or spattery frying pan) is to throw it in the oven! I've never been able to cook bacon properly until I figured this out!
ReplyDeletePut your individual slices of bacon on a cookie rack. Put the cookie rack onto a cookie sheet (that will catch the grease), pop it in at 450°, and Voila!