Earth Day

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I ended up with my mother’s cast iron skillet. It’s in the garage right now; it needs to be cleaned up and seasoned. Maybe I’ll do that in honor of Earth day. And then I might make wilted lettuce ’cause it’s so earthy.

I stumbled across a recipe for it in a book about growing up on an Iowa farm during the Depression, called Little Heathens.  Mildred Kalish came from a time and place where every meal was equal measure of labor and love.

Pick, wash and dry a large bowl of leaf lettuce. Fry about 8 slices of bacon in an iron skillet until crisp and brown. Crumble over lettuce.

Pour all but 3 tablespoons of fat from the pan. Add 1/2 cup water, four chopped green onions, 1 TB sugar and 3 TBS apple cider vinegar. Bring mixture to a boil while scraping brown bits from bottom of skillet.

Pour the mixture over the bacon and lettuce which will wilt the lettuce. Stir and serve immediately with some good bread.

Mildred’s family aren’t the only ones with a soft spot for wilted lettuce: I found 174,000 entries when I searched recipes. Though I didn’t read every one of them — it looks like there are only a few variations to the bacon, vinegar, boiling-mixture-over-lettuce-formula.

I did bookmark a blog so I can find my way back to it. It’s called Mixed Greens, lots of really good photographs, and ideas/recipes for taking advantage of local and seasonal food. Happy Earth Day.

0 thoughts on “Earth Day”

  1. So what about pineapple ~ upside -dpwn cake in that skillet..that’s a good one too!!!So my earth day offering is: “Scat on the squirrels ~ be gone from my bird feeder…Spam is on the way!” The squirrels have been climbing up my bird feeder pole and knocking it down for a real banquet!!…so I sprayed the pole with baking-oil spray… it has a little flour to it. so really sticks! .and..wowza…the bird feeder is still hanging there for my cardinal and other bird friends…those squirrels are just slipping off the metal pole!!!! I’m going to send it in to Real Simple next!!..but you heard it first here!

  2. That is a great idea! Too bad for the squirrels — but on the other hand you just created a mini amusement park for them, they should be grateful.