Adventures in Cooking

Ok, so I made a vow to myself that I wouldn't go to the grocery store until I actually was done eating the food that would go bad in my refrigerator. This led to a bit of experimentation.

Sure, I could have made Hungarian ham and cabbage (pathetic lunch meat version), or I could have made pasta with Italian chicken sausage. Or I could have made my Thai/Indian fusion chicken curry (fusion only because I sort of made up the recipe). But no. I had to experiment.

It all began with the dried beans in my cupboard. I thought to myself, "Self, what's more lovely in the summer than a cold bean salad?" And then I remembered that I had lowfat bacon. And so then I consulted the internet. Now, this recipe got rave reviews, but the thought of using mayo grossed me out, I have no canned beans in the house, and I had a whole head of cabbage that I needed to use. And thus began the experimentation.

Here's what I ultimately came up with:

Ingredients:

• approx. 10 slices center cut bacon (I presume one could use turkey bacon as well).
• dressing made from olive oil, dijon mustard, balsamic vinegar, and approx. a tablespoon of splenda. Medusa always complains that I don't give proper measurements, so I won't even pretend here. I just made what seemed like enough, to taste.
• approx. 3/4 cup dried black beans, soaked and cooked.
• approx. 1 1/2 cups dried great northern beans, soaked and (tragically slightly over-)cooked.
• 1 head cabbage, shredded (or just cut with a knife in a not terribly conscientious way, as I did).
• 4 ribs of celery, chopped.
• 1 medium onion, diced.

And, like 7 hours later, here's what I ended up with:


I have to say, it tastes better than it looks. Were I to do it again, I'd use either red cabbage instead of regular or red beans instead of white. But the cabbage and celery and onion is pleasantly crunchy, and the beans are pleasantly creamy, and bacon is pleasantly bacony, even though I do believe that this recipe I've constructed makes approximately 8 servings or so, so there really isn't very much bacon.

Actually, the more I eat, the more pleased I am with this experiment. Mmm. Yummy. Sweet, and salty. Slightly spicy with the dijon. I should totally go on The Next Food Network Star (even though none of them typically becomes an actual star.... as BFF and I noted, it's really "the Next Person We Might Give a Chance in Hell by letting 6 episodes of a show air on Sunday morning"... and even if I did get on, I couldn't, like, open a coconut or debone a chicken or whatever, so I'd be out in like week 3 at the latest).

So yeah. That's what has been happening at the House of Crazy. Experimental salad creation.

I have not, tragically, worked at all on the Online Class that I Clearly Am Avoiding. Tomorrow? Perhaps.