As written on a previous post cooking has been a significant part of my life since I was 10 years old. That was when my mother left us for greener pastures. I started cooking some of the weekly meals for Dad, my younger brother, and me. Dad was a cook in the army, so he learned how to make milk gravy and pork chops. That was his specialty. I kinda winged it from there. I worked in the dormitory cafeteria during my five years of college, and much later volunteered in a local soup kitchen for about 10 years. So, cooking is part of who I am.

I have done most of the cooking in my married life going on 36 years now. It was mostly what my wife liked which in my mind was pretty bland stuff, but sometimes I expanded her dietary exposure to the margins. Now in her 9th decade of life she has pretty much limited her meals to liver worst, Spam, Karo syrup, cereal swimming in milk. So, now I am back into the experimental mode of cooking for just myself.

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The first installment in this new series of “Recipes from the margins” I give you BS Salad, otherwise called brussels sprouts. Now before you turn up your nose, hear me out. It’s really pretty good. I wouldn’t want it as a daily thing but it passes the muster for “once in a while”.

Here is the ingredients:

• 1 lb Brussels Sprouts thinly sliced
• 1 small onion thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup of dried cherries, chopped
• 1/3 cup of chopped pecans

Dressing:

• 2 tablespoons vinegar
• 2 tablespoons Dijon Mustard
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil

The recipe I started from only used half the dressing quantities, but that just didn’t seem enough to even wet the sprouts, which are kinda dry. The original recipe called for Olive oil but since the dish sits in the refrigerator for a few days vegetable oil works better. Put all the dressing stuff together and briskly wisk until it is thoroughly blended. If you keep your honey in the refrigerator that might take a while.

Slicing the sprouts is somewhat tricky, but this is how I did it. The original recipe said to cut them in half, but I thought it was better to leave them whole, so I could get a good grip on the stems during the slicing. Use a large kitchen knife and don’t bother with the last third of the sprout, just toss it after you are done. It’s safer that way. 🧐 Beside that part of the sprout is chewy anyway.

A little clue is that I got the dried cherries from CVS. You can buy them online, but they are way more expensive. The flavor was a little to sweet for me, so I will use less honey the next time. One other suggestion is that if the dish will only be eaten by one or two people, maybe you should halve the quantity. It’s good in the refrigerator for five days or so but gets a little mushy after that.

Wrapping it up, if you are tired of the same old mainstream things for your meals, shake it up with some BS salad.