BLT WITHOUT THE SANDWICH

RECIPES THAT GIVE YOU THE FEELING THAT GOD IS IN HIS HEAVEN AND ALL IS RIGHT WITH THE WORLD.

What could be simpler or easier than a summer salad made with tomatoes fresh from the garden and crisp green lettuce? If you love a good BLT, and I don't know anyone who doesn't, then this will be one of your favorite salads. Cooking the bacon isn't really that bad and yes, you do have to have bacon for this salad; otherwise it falls flat and doesn't accomplish the purpose for which it was intended which is to replace a good BLT in a healthier way but still give you the feeling you're eating one. Although the salad in itself is good, it's actually the dressing that sets it apart and gives it an out-of-this-world quality. I came across the idea for making this dressing quite by accident as I was looking up something quite different on the Internet and just happened to see this and decided to try it and the rest, as they say, is history--I was hooked! It has a superb tang to it and would probably be good on any salad, but it is exceptionally good on this one. So, let's get started and see if you don't agree that this is one of the best salads you've had in a long time:

1/2 head of Iceburg lettuce, washed and chopped

2 large fresh tomatoes

4 pieces of bacon, fried crisp and well drained then crumbled

1 ripe avacado, cut into slices

1/2 C. cheese for garnish

1 V & O salad dressing (below)

1. Prepare the lettuce and set aside. This salad is not made in a bowl but on the individual salad plates.

2. Wash and slice the tomatoes crosswise

3. Fry the bacon and after draining and crumbling, put in a small bowl.

4. Peel and slice the avacado.

5. Grate the cheese.

6. Pile the lettuce on the plates, the put the tomatoes on the lettuce, then the avocados, then sprinkle on the bacon and finish with the cheese.

Vinegar and Oil Salad Dressing:

In a blender, put the following:

1 C. canola oil

1/2 C. extra virgin olive oil

1/4 C. balsamic vinegar

1/4 C. white sherry vinegar (or you can use half white cooking wine and half salad vinegar)

1/4 C. soy sauce

1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard

2 cloves of garlic, peeled

1 green onion

1 tsp. grated fresh ginger

Blend well. It keeps in the refrigerator for at least a month.

To make it easier to remember, though, buy a small plastic bottle with a removable lid and write the ingredients and the proportions on the outside with a permanent marker, as below. This way when you run out, you'll have the bottle right there to tell you how to make it again and, trust me, you'll definitely want to make it again.