Sawmill Salad

This is one of those old family recipes that I fix every year for my husband. Usually about this time of year. It's a version of what most southerners know as wilted lettuce. According to family lore Grandma Thornsberry cooked for the sawmill hands at the family sawmill that they owned on the Grande River here in North Central Missouri. They had moved here from Miami, Missouri where Grandpa was a riverboat captain on the Missouri River. We even have his original captain's license .  

Grandma was  quite the woman cooking for all those hands and canning and raising kids. She was the local midwife for miles around. Around this time of year she made this salad by the dishpans full to feed the hungry sawmill hands and her ever growing family as well. 100 years later we are still using her recipe with a few extras added in. 

You see about now is when the lettuce starts getting ready to pick. And the spinach and other greens need thinning. You start out with about 6 cups of fresh greens washed, trimmed and drained. Our favorite for this is Black Seeded Simpson lettuce or baby spinach.( I use my salad spinner after rinsing)

I threw about a dozen spears of asparagus that I raided out of the asparagus patch into a skillet with a little olive oil and cooked just a couple minutes. You want it still a little crisp! Don't cook it to death.... Then set aside.

Now throw about 2 pieces of that farm raised bacon from last fall that's in the freezer that has been cut into small pieces in that skillet and start to brown.

Throw in about half an onion sliced thin. Right in that skillet with that bacon. You are lightly caramelizing the onions in the bacon grease. ( Yes this is not a recipe for the faint of heart...now you see why we have this only rarely......) Grandma lived to be 96 and Grandpa live to 98 : )

Now remove the onions and crunchy bacon bits from skillet and turn skillet to real low heat.

Now pour 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup vinegar in that bacon grease on low. Add 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and 1 Tablespoon sugar. Turn the fire up a little.

Heat to boiling stirring constantly...now turn it back down to low.

Take one egg from the chicken house and break into a small bowl and beat well. Now dip by spoon fulls some of that hot liquid from the frying pan into that beaten egg and continue beating and adding hot liquid until egg mixture is hot. (This is called tempering) 

Now add the hot egg mixture back to the remaining liquid in skillet slowly stirring constantly as you add it. (Otherwise you get scrambled eggs) Notice in the picture above that it makes a nice creamy liquid.

Simmer the liquid until it starts to thicken slightly then add your onions and bacon back
into the skillet and stir. Turn skillet off.




Now take that fresh lettuce that you picked and add it to the hot liquid and stir until lettuce wilts slightly.

Now add what's in season on top. Chopped boiled eggs fresh from your hens. Those asparagus spears that you cooked and set aside earlier. Maybe some fresh green peas. (Mine aren't ready yet so I had to take some from the freezer) And there you have it Sawmill Salad.

I served mine with some blackeyed peas with ham chunks thrown in left over from that Easter ham and frozen.

Some Hot Buttermilk Cornbread

And I went out and picked some rhubarb for a cake for dessert.

So next time you need lots of food cheap to feed a bunch of sawmill hands. Just grow some lettuce, onions, asparagus and peas, kill a pig, raise some chickens and you're all set. In your spare time you can go deliver babies and help at the mill toting wood : )  

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Making Egg Salad

A dear and faithful follower made a request recently for a post on Egg Salad as it seems it is one of her husband's favorites. So Linda this is for you and thanks for all those comments. What a trooper! Boiled eggs are one of those things I pretty well always have in my refrigerator. With my own chickens eggs plentiful most of the time boiled eggs at hand are a convenience when the dogs need a treat or Baby O needs a quick snack or we are looking for a quick breakfast. Lunch is always just a step away with boiled eggs also because it only takes a few minutes to mix up a salad. Egg salad is one of those things that is subject to your family and their taste. Kind of like potato salad. Some people like more mayonnaise like my family, some prefer less mayo and more mustard. Some like finely diced onions in theirs. Some like dill pickles and some prefer sweet. So feel free to adjust this recipe to your families personal preferences. This is meant as a guide only.

EGG SALAD

Ingredients:
1 dozen hard boiled eggs
2 Tablespoons mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon prepared mustard
1 teaspoon dried dill weed
3 Tablespoons chopped pickles (sweet or dill)
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
Paprika for garnish
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Place eggs in a large pot and add water to cover and a teaspoon salt.

Bring water and eggs to a full rolling boil. Turn off heat and cover pot with tight fitting lid. Allow to stand undisturbed for 12 to 15 minutes.

Pour the water off and run cold water over eggs and add ice cubes. Allow eggs to stand in ice water for atleast 10 minutes. Replace ice as it melts.

Peel Eggs and slice in half. Place yolks in separate bowl and set aside.

Put the cooked egg whites on a plate and with the tines of a fork mash until in small chunks.

Put in mixing bowl and set aside.

Now take yolks that you set aside earlier and mash with fork tines in the same way. 

Now start now start mixing mayonnaise 1 Tablespoon at a time into mashed egg yolks until they are the consistency of thick mashed potatoes. This may take more than the 2 Tablespoons in the recipe depending on the size of your eggs. The eggs I used were medium. If you have large or even extra large eggs it is going to take more. Stir well because you want to break up those yolks good and the more you stir the smoother they will be. 

Now add mustard, pickles of your choice (sweet or sour) onion powder and if using dill pickles I add dried dill weed. If you add sweet pickles leave out the dill.

Mix the yolk mixture again until smooth and then add it to your whites and stir well to mix.
Add salt and pepper to taste.

Put your salad in a serving bowl and sprinkle with paprika and a little dill weed on top. 

I served mine on fresh homemade sandwich bread.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop Link

Broccoli Noodle Salad

With both Broccoli and peas coming in fresh right now we are eating lots of salads. This is one of our favorite.  I have added additional add ins such as chopped black olives, diced ham, chopped zucchini or tomatoes. Get creative and add whatever your family likes!



6 ounces uncooked multicolor Rotini (about 1/2 of a 12 ounce box)
2 carrots shredded
1/2 small onion finely diced
1 head of broccoli finely chopped
1 cup frozen peas
3 hard boiled eggs finely chopped
crumbled crisp bacon to taste (for garnish)

Dressing

1 cup mayonnaise
3 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
3 Tablespoons honey
3 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup half and half
Salt and Pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions eldente.  ( DO NOT OVERCOOK)
Drain pasta and place in large bowl
Add peas, shredded carrots, diced oniopn, broccoli and chopped eggs.
Toss and set aside
In a separate bowl mix dressing ingredients and stir well to mix.
Add to pasta vegetable mixture and toss well.
Refrigerate for atleast several hours and serve.

 Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Honey Salad Dressings

Yes again we are eating fresh salads. Nothing beats the first leafy greens of the season and we have been enjoying salads almost every night. Just greens maybe with a little boiled egg on top. It has been wonderful.

We plant lettuce in successive plantings about 2 weeks apart to keep us in lettuce until it gets too hot. I experiment with salad dressings during this time and rarely buy dressings any more. My newest dressings are from Thy Hand Hath Provided Blogspot and are made with honey. That's right no sugar! It's a great recipe and well worth making your own. While you're there check out her blogspot as it is pretty wonderful too.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter