Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato Salad

Red, ripe tomatoes, fresh from the garden.  Yum! One of the nice things about tomato season is Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato Sandwiches.  Most of the year, we don't buy bacon, but come August....

Since we are trying to reduce the amount of bread we consume and at the same time increase the amount of greens we eat, salad seemed the way to go.

So here's how I make a 

Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato Salad

1 head romaine (or any lettuce that looks delicious), ripped or chopped into bite sized pieces

6 slices bacon, (regular, turkey, or vegetarian equivalent) cooked crisp and crumbled

3 hard boiled eggs, chopped

2 - 3 tomatoes, chopped

1 cucumber, peeled and seeded if necessary, and chopped

1 avocado, diced

Dressing:

2 Tbs mayo, or similar sandwich spread

2 tsp mustard

2 Tbs  milk or non-dairy alternative

Whisk the dressing ingredients together.

Toss the lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, and avocado with the dressing. Top with the eggs and bacon.

This makes a pretty, delicious main dish salad.

Butternut Casserole

We've had a hard time growing winter squash in the greenhouse.  Between the heat, the squash bugs, the cucumber beetles, and the diseases associated with all of the above, we've never had a good crop until this year. The guineas killed the bugs. But most importantly, we got some extra special seeds from the fantastic folks at the local seed company, Commonwealth.

Butternut Casserole

1 medium butternut squash (2 pounds, more or less)

2 eggs

3 Tbs maple syrup

1/4 c cream (or milk or the milk substitute of your choice)

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp powdered ginger

1/4 tsp salt
nutmeg

Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds.  Put the squash, cut side down, on a baking sheet with sides. Bake for 40 minutes (more or less, depending on the size and shape of your squash) at 375 degrees (more or less, depending on if you have something else in the oven at a slightly different temperature) until it feels cooked  when you poke it with a fork. Let cool at room temperature until you can handle it. (I sometimes do this the night before.)

Preheat oven to 350.

Scoop out the squash pulp and mash it with your favorite mashing method. Potato masher, electric mixer, stick blender, food processor.  Any of them work.

Add the rest of the ingredients except the nutmeg, and mix well. 

Pour into a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish and sprinkle with nutmeg. Bake for 45 minutes or until it seems cooked when you wiggle the dish.

It's mildly sweet, and a perfect fall side dish.