There are so many other lettuces available with prettier rufflier dresses, more colourful and flavourful to be sure.  Don't ever underestimate the appeal of Iceberg Lettuce however  . . .

It is the lettuce of my childhood.  We never ever had anything else, except for maybe leaf lettuce from the garden . . . and to this day iceberg lettuce is the only lettuce my mother will eat.  

She totally eschews any other kind.  That is just one of my mother's best qualities. She is loyal to the core . . .  to political parties, to grocery shops, to hair dressers, to cars . . . and yes, to lettuce. God bless you mom. We love you.

Seriously though, there is nothing, and I mean NOTHING on the planet that can compare to the beauty, flavour and crunch of a salad made with iceberg lettuce, especially when presented with and served with the most perfect accompaniments. 

That's one of the beauties of iceberg lettuce.  It never minds sharing the plate with a willing dance partner, and it goes very well with lots of other flavours.  It is like the chicken breast of the lettuce world. It makes a beautiful canvas.

In this instance  I have cut the lettuce crosswise horizontally . . .  into half inch "steaks."  Yes, you will need a knife and a fork to eat it, but just wait, it gets even better. 

The "steaks" are drizzled  with a beautiful creamy herb buttermilk dressing . . .  with just enough flavour to really bring out the best of that crisp and crunchy iceberg lettuce  . . .

There is a sprinkling of finely julienned radish for some heat and colour, a bit of mustard cress for a bit more colour and flavour, and then . . . finally . . .  instead of croutons . . .  some toasted salt and pepper pistachio nuts, coarsely chopped.  

This is a salad I would be happy serving to my lady friends for lunch, and I guarantee they would all be pleased as punch with it. This is a salad that would have been quite at home at the Manor for one of Madam's luncheons.

65g shelled roasted salt and pepper pistachio nuts, coarsely chopped 


Make sure your lettuce is dry and quite chilled.  Cut crosswise into four 1/2 inch thick "steaks", removing the rounded ends.  Save these for another salad, another day.  Place each lettuce "steak" onto a chilled plate for serving.  Drizzle each with some of the dressing.  Scatter over the julienned radishes, mustard cress and chopped nuts.  Serve immediately.

Note - a bit of grated cheese is also nice scattered over top, or blue cheese crumbles.

You could also grated a bit of cheese on top if you wanted.  Blue cheese crumbles would be nice, or a bit of sharp cheddar, maybe even some Parmesan shavings, but try not to mess with it too much.  

This is beautiful just as it is.  Bon appetit!

He has come to actually like them through the years however.  As he says, I never make a boring salad!  That is a high compliment coming from him! He is a man of very few words.


Actually he pretty much eats whatever I put in front of him and if he doesn't like it . . .  he won't say much of anything at all about it, or  . . .  if pressed . . .  he will simply say, "It was not one of my favourites."  How is that for being a gentleman.


This salad here today is a recipe I adapted to what I had on hand from the Supper cookbook by the late Marion Cunningham.

She adapted from a salad she had eaten which was created by her friend Myrtle Allen of the Ballymaloe Inn and Cooking School in Country Cork, Ireland.  Those Allens are great cooks!


It has long been on my bucket list to go to the Ballymalloe Inn.  I have all of Rachel Allen's cookery books and I have one by her MIL Darina Allen, called The Forgotten Skills of Cooking.  Good cooking runs in the family.


When I saw the recipe for this salad, it intrigued me.  A salad composed of crisp lettuce leaves interspersed with fresh and colourful vegetables and topped with a buttermilk dressing. It sounded delicious and as pretty as a picture. 


We eat with our eyes as much as we do our stomachs and tastebuds, in fact it is what we see that first appeals to our appetites' . . . 

Something might taste really delicious, but if it is visually disgusting looking and highly unappealing to the eye, it takes a really brave person to get past all of that and dig in.  We truly do eat with our eyes first.


There are only two of us and so I adapted this to smaller bowls for just us . . .  you could do the same thing for four lucky individuals, or you could do as the original recipe and compose it in a large shallow salad bowl. 

Its all up to you.  The Radish rose in the centre is my addition. I thought it would add a pretty and colorful touch, and  . . . it did!

Wash and clean your radishes.  Dry well.  Cut off the tops and root ends so that both are flat.  Taking a sharp knife begin at the top end of the radish and make several slashes, overlapping them slightly almost all the way to the bottom, but leaving the bottom intack.  Place in some lightly salted cold water for about fifteen minutes until they open up.  Drain and pat dry.  Use immediately.

To see a video on how to do this click here.



If you are out to impress your loved ones with a salad that is as visually appealing as it is delicious, then this is the salad for you!

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It has a bit of a bite from the green jalapeno chili with goes into it, not much, just enough and a slight tartness from lime juice . . .  other than those ingredients, everything else is fairly simple.  

Vegetable stock (for the vegetarian), corn, celery and leek, with a knob of butter and a bit of seasoning. Simple ingredientd, but wow flavours!

 



And so I baked some cheesy croutes to garnish this. Simply cut buttered slices of bread into whatever shape you want.  

I sprinkled it with some Taco seasoning (see my side bar) and then toast in a hot oven.  Top with a bit of cheese (I used Pepper Jack for more flavour) and then toast just to melt the cheese.

This was some good and a soup I will make again.  It would be a great first course for a BBQ.  

I can just imagine people sitting down and enjoying it beneath a leafed pagoda while the sun sets and the bees hum . . . ahhh summer pleasures.  

It will be especially good when corn is in season.  We don't get great corn over here, so I will never have that particular pleasure . . .


Note - other nice garnishes are chopped chives, sour cream, chopped roasted peppers, salsa, guacamole.  Choose as you wish!



You might think its too hot for soup, and maybe where you live it is. We enjoy a lovely temperate climate here in the UK, with very few days that are overly hot like that. 

This went down a real treat today when it was cloudy and a brisk breeze was blowing.  They say we may get some thunder storms.  I haven't been treated to a good one of those in years.  Bon Appetit!

Beat together the eggs, cream, pancetta, spring onions and gruyere cheese to combine.  Season to taste with salt and black pepper, remembering the cheese and pancetta will be a bit salty.  Divide the egg mixture between the buns. Top each with a further TBS of cheese. 
 

Bowl eating has definitely become somewhat of a trend in the recent couple of years.  You can call them power bowls or  health bowls, Buddah bowls, etc. but there is something quite inspiring about eating out of a bowl.  

Bowls are not just for soup or cereal anymore!  It's like bowls have now become the hot new plates!

I created a healthy Spring Veggie Bowl for my lunch yesterday and I have to say I quite, quite enjoyed it.  

I am not sure it would have brought me quite the same enjoyment had it been served on a plate, but eating this from a bowl was incredibly tasty and left me feeling very much like I was doing something good for myself.

Filled with spring vegetables  . . .  English peas, asparagus, purple sprouting broccoli and chard . . .  each vegetable quickly cooked until crispy tender with very little use of any fat.  

I used an olive oil cooking spray and a non stick pan . . . if you are afraid that the veggies will burn or stick before they are crispy tender, you can add a splash of water, which works very well, with just a touch of seasoning.

I used whole wheat pasta . . . which is a low GI carb.  

Our bodies need healthy carbs.  That is where we get our energy from.

There is a light dressing on the pasta . . .  for a bit of extra flavour, and I topped it with some coarsely grated Parmesan cheese and chopped toasted walnuts.  

Walnuts are a superfood, and so is chard and broccoli.  Altogether this  makes for a very colourful, quite delicious and healthy bowl full of food!

 

Divide the spaghetti between two pasta bowls.  Arrange the cooked veggies on top of each.  Top each with half of the coarsely grated cheese and chopped toasted walnuts.  Serve immediately.



Here's to good health and Bon Appetit!