Baby Jan and the Saga of Lettuce & Cream

Lettuce and Sour Cream Salad – Old Lunenburg Dishes, Pg. 20 – Catherine M. Creighton (Mrs. H. A.)


Once upon a time there was an excruciatingly fussy child when it came to mealtime. So much so that the child’s grandmother would often fix a completely separate meal to accommodate the child's discerning palette. Despite this minor flaw, the over-indulged child would gobble up lettuce and cream, a favorite side dish to many a meal. Alright...if you haven’t already guessed - it’s Jan…but in Jan’s defence she suffered some traumatic foodie experiences as a child - from being bamboozled into eating meatballs to being tricked into drinking butter milk. As a result she suffers from PTFD (post traumatic foodie disorder).

Back in the day, vegetable gardens were much more common. Baby Jan would watch in amazement as her elderly relatives (she’s got good genes) – hoes in hand, painstakingly tended to their gardens, abundant with potatoes, corn, rhubarb, beans, leaf lettuce, the list goes on. What now seems like a novelty to grown-up Jan, they would slip outside and pluck a head of lettuce from the garden and then whip up this sweet and tangy side dish.

Thirty years later, the world has come full circle - organic, sustainable, local are all the buzz. Growing your own produce doesn’t have to be difficult. Head out to your local gardening store or farmers’ market, pick up a few seed packs or starter plants, and plant a rewarding and delightful patch of heaven. Then you too can dazzle your family and guests with this tasty and super quick side dish made with fresh ingredients from your own backyard.

Lettuce and Sour Cream Salad

Ingredients:

One head of leaf lettuce (washed and cut in thick shreds)

Make a dressing of:
3 tbsp of vinegar
½ cup sugar (scant)
½ cup sour cream

Instructions:

Mix well and pour over the lettuce; mix slightly. More or less sugar and vinegar may be added to suit the individual taste.

Dutch Oven Tips & Tricks:

We know you’ve been waiting for the right moment to show off your chiffonade skills – well here it is! Don’t just cut the lettuce; slice it with your favorite chef’s knife (a Santoku perhaps – we just like to say the word Santoku in a crazy Iron Chef Japanese accent - try it! We really enjoyed the texture of the shredded lettuce. But, not a requirement whatsoever – but easier to eat we think. The only downside to this salad is that if there are leftovers, the dressing separates and looks, ahh - not so appetizing (coming from the adult version of the over indulged fussy eater) – so we recommend making it fresh to go-go or giving any leftovers to your not so favorite neighbor.

Gettin’ Jiggly Wit It!

Emerald Salad – Salads & Dressings, Pg. 175 – Lorna Oxner



Hard to believe, but jellied salad has been with us since the turn of the century. During the Renaissance, elaborate gelatin moulds were the star attraction of the dinner table – usually flavored with wine and extracts - and more tart than the Jell-O concoctions of the 20th century. In earlier times the extraction of collagen - the magic ingredient in making gelatin – was very labour intensive, which made gelatin fairly inaccessible. By the mid 20th century, the magic of manufacturing made gelatin readily available on supermarket shelves across North America, and made Jell-O, a household sensation – thus the popularity of jellied salad moulds during the 50s and 60s. It was also a relatively easy and inexpensive side dish to many meals or buffets, and although less popular today, many still claim their place at the holiday dinner table.

It was inevitable really – cooking our way through a cookbook that was published in the 1950s, we could only avoid making a jellied salad for so long. Peter has no memories of jellied salads growing up, although we have a sneaky suspicion that his Mom may have turned out a few moulds in her day since she just happened to have a few moulds on hand. Although Peter had the good fortune of missing the jellied salad boom, Jan didn't fair as lucky - in fact, while preparing this post, many repressed jellied salad memories came flooding back, kicking her gag reflex into motion.

Of course, for both of us, the mere thought of jellied salad is synonymous with National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation when the rather senile aunt Bethany arrives for the holidays with an armload of wrapped gifts – one being her cat…and another a lime Jell-O and kitty kibble salad mould. So - whether you call it gelatinous, jellied, jiggly or wiggly – here it is at long last – the Dutch Oven Diary’s first…but not last - Jellied Salad!

Ingredients:

1 Pkg Lime Jell-O
1 Cup pineapple juice
2/3 Cup chopped celery
2/3 Cup chopped apples
2/3 Cup chopped pineapple
½ Cup whipped cream
½ Cup mayonnaise

Directions:



Assisting on this recipe was Peter's niece - Mackenzie, Foodie in Training. Dissolve package of lime jell-o in 1 cup of hot pineapple juice. Refridgerate until slightly thickened. Fold in whipped cream, mayonnaise and veggies and fruit. Pour into mould, and let set overnight.










Although we used a top of the line Tupperware jelly mould – guaranteed easy release – we had some issues. A couple tips – lightly grease with a cooking spray and/or place the mould in hot water for 20-30 seconds before releasing. So what’s the verdict?? Well…to be honest – there weren’t a lot of negative comments around the dinner table, but then again – there didn’t seem to be any positive ones either. We just didn’t quite get this one – Jell-O, fruit, vegetables and mayonnaise? Is it a salad? Is it a dessert? It seems to have a bit of an identity crisis. In any case, if there are any brave souls out there that want to get jiggly wit it – be sure to leave us a comment with your review or post a picture to our facebook page http://www.facebook.com/TheDODiaries.