Hey, What's for Dinner? (and a quick recap.)

Hello kiddies. It's been a while I know. I apologize. Let me just say that nothing entirely interesting has happened, except of course that I lost another dog. This time though, I actually lost her, well actually, she ran away, but still she is gone. So I have decided to take a break from being a dog owner. It is obviously not my time. This saddens me a little, but that makes 5 dogs gone in one year. I'd say i've filled my dog quota for a while.

Lent was mostly successful. I felt all sacrificial and successful (mostly). I think that overall it was a good experience, although i'm not sure it brought me closer to, or showed my devotion to God since I am not a very religious person and I think that is the point of Lent. . .

Also, we're edging closer and closer to the end of the semester and I have been very busy. Mostly with school work, I am pleased however to report, that my last group project was completed a few weeks ago. It should be fairly smooth sailing for the remainder of the semester, that is if you consider story workshop (my second story), papers and exams smooth sailing.

Also, tonight I would like to introduce a new segment, a segment I like to call What's for Dinner. In this new segment I plan on sharing some of my more successful recipes, hopefully you'll try them.

Tonights recipe is Pea Salad. For a few weeks now, since apparently pea salad is abundant in magazines in the springtime, my Grandma has been casually mentioning how much she likes pea salad, and how long it has been since she has had any, I took this as her way of hinting that I should get my butt to the kitchen and figure out hoe to make her some, or find it in a store. Let me start by saying that I had never really had pea salad. I'd seen it at potlucks, and in buffet lines, but had never had any, let alone made any. My first idea was to look up a recipe, but that was unsuccessful in that many traditional pea salads have cubes of cheese (YUCK). So I made my own version, which my grandma raved over and ate two bowls of. Here is the recipe:

Karin's Pea Salad:
1/2 bag frozen peas (you could also use fresh if you'd like)
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 tbsp yellow mustard (this is all I had, but I would love to try a dijon, or some other brown mustard I'm thinking one of these from Sierra Nevada Brewery)
2 tbsp olive oil (use a good one.)
1 shallot diced
1 cup cubed ham (I used leftover spiral cut from Easter)
1/2 tbsp honey
pinch of salt

Defrost, but do not cook your peas. They should be cold (I wanted to defrost them quickly so I put them in a colander and ran warm water over them. Then before draining and moving to a bowl, I ran cold water on them.) Dice your shallots (A shallot is like an onion, only it is more delicate in flavor, sweeter and has a richer flavor. I love to use them, and prefer to put them in cold things which will not be cooked in lieu of onion, as I think onion can be over powering. Do not confuse a shallot with a scallion, or a green onion.) and ham and put in the bowl with the peas.

In a small bowl, blend your dressing which will be the flavor base of your salad. Mix mayonnaise, mustard, olive oil, honey and salt until blended and dressing-like. I used a whisk to whip it a little bit and followed with a rubber spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl.

Stir Peas, Ham and Shallots just to blend. Add in dressing slowly, and stir. Chill for a bit before serving. This will allow your flavors to blend.

My grandma suggested that next time I would consider adding a chopped hard-boiled egg, some chopped bacon. I've also heard of other things you could mix in, but I thought that my version was pretty damn delicious. Try it if you will, and let me know what you think.

Bon Appétit!