My Mom, Lettuce, and Watching

Mom had enormous, well-directed, calm energy. She moved about our home quietly cleaning, laundering, ironing, sewing, cooking, baking, gardening, canning, preserving, churning, and milking the cow some days when I couldn't. Occasionally, there would be a lovely time when she whistled; usually while she was cleaning. It was beautiful. I have never heard anything like it since.

No big splashy messes while she did things. There was a frugality, husbanding of resources and commodities, even motion. You might say she had to with five children to rear and Dad away in the city--pre-dawn to late night. She took the initiative where we children were concerned and though money was always extremely tight, she saw to it that we were decently clothed and shod, and certainly well and healthily fed.

In our current culture, we are finding out that much of the foods she prepared and served in what is now a renaissance of “real” food and how to make it after a couple generations of hyper-processing and creating an industrial empire of sadly, harmful methods of obtaining nutrition. Notwithstanding, bacon, and the WWII oleomargarine and hydrogenated vegetable oils (Crisco), etc., she did a fantastic job of feeding us healthily and well.

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sun warms the damp earth

it makes lettuce seeds grow fast

soon we'll eat salad

I have warmly remembered lunches of loose-leaf lettuce that had been just minutes earlier in Mom's garden...

Wilted Lettuce*

In a large serving bowl put

Fresh-picked, washed/dried, tender, loose-leafed lettuce (red or green leaf lettuce, Boston Bib)

Fry in medium pan:

2 strips bacon until crisp

Remove bacon from pan, crumble. In the remaining bacon grease saute until translucent:

5 or 6 green onions, thin sliced, include a little of the green part

Remove from heat and add to pan:

1 teaspoon cider vinegar
Pepper to taste

Stir in the crumbled bacon. Slowly drizzle the hot mixture over the lettuce. Toss. Serve. The lettuce will be somewhat wilted.

________

Yes, I hear you—bacon! We know so much more about it now. As tasty as it is, there has to be something else that would offer such a flavor contrast with the delicate lettuce while helping our planet.

How about this...

2 T olive oil to saute the onions
Add toasted Sesame seeds instead of bacon
1 t cider vinegar
Pepper to taste

Or, we welcome you to tell us what you think would be a tasty, healthy, bacon substitute.

* T = tablespoon

   t = teaspoon

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Watching...It's now 3:33pm. The solar eclipse peaked 10 minutes ago. A friend lent me her viewing glasses to have a look. Lots of watching...me too...

...a pano...

...from Wendy...Big Duke and Bert on watch duty...

...Toby Wan watch.