-=> Ruth Haffly wrote to Dave Drum <=-

 RH> brought out. They were generally a tossed salad--heavy on the iceberg
 RH> lettuce, 2 or 3 cherry tomatoes, a few pieces each of cucumber and
 RH> julienned carrot. Nothing fancy; the entree was the feature of the meal

 DD> Those pre-set salads sound like the Dole pre-bagged salads down the
 DD> market. Add your on tomatoes - which I do, as well as some sunflower
 DD> kernels, or, if I have them (seldom) pine nuts, and maybe some cheese.
 DD> I have been known to take a tarted-up bagged salad, put it in a BIG
 DD> bowl and make that my supper.

 RH> We've bought them too, Sam's Club usually has a good assortment. Their
 RH> sweet kale one got Steve to like (raw) brussels sprouts; he still
 RH> doesn't like cooked ones. My favorite one has greens, apple, Cheddar
 RH> cheese, raisins and bacon bits with a cider vinegarette dressing--sort
 RH> of sweet/sour.

I've not seen pre-bagged salads w/apples or fruit. But, then, I don't do
anything tainted with WalMart affiliation. And seldom buy bagged salad
in any event.

 RH> My parents usually went for bleu cheese, and most often it was a low
 RH> quality one. For years, Dad wasn't much of a salad eater but back in
 RH> 1974 a medical issue hospitalised my youngest sister for several months
 RH> about 75 miles away from home. Mom and Dad went to see her about every
 RH> other day, usually having supper out. Dad ate enough salads (free, with
 RH> the meal) to begin to enjoy them. After that, they appeared on our
 RH> dinner table on an irregular basis.

 DD> One of the things I like about the local truck-stop's restaurant is
 DD> that any non-breakfast meal you order comes with a chice of one of the
 DD> soups of the day (they always have two except Sunday - when it's
 DD> Creamy Chicken Rice soup only) or you can take a "side salad" with
 DD> lettuce, shredded carrot, some sliced or diced tomato and a couple
 DD> nice slices of cucumber. Even a burger & fries comes w/that choice.

 RH> Sounds good to me; I'll most likely take the salad, especially if htey
 RH> have 1,000 Island dressing.

Oh, they do.

 DD>      88

 DD> Most of the Thai places here (we have several) offer mild, medium, or
 DD> hot heat levels. If it's a new-to-me venue I start with the medium
 DD> heat then adjust up or down on future visits.

 RH> I'll start with the mild. The Korean place we went to last month listed
 RH> their seafood "casserole" (more of a soup/stew) as mild, medium or hot,
 RH> said their medium wasn't that hot. We ordered it for both of us,
 RH> medium, and the broth was too hot for me. Thee ban chan and rice helped
 RH> cool my mouth down. (G)

When Magic Kitchen came to town it was the first Thai place here. They
lady who ran the front of the house had been a missionary and she got
married to a Thai chef. I ordered garlic-pepper pork and was going to
get it "hot" when she warned me that was "Thai Hot" nor "round-eye hot".
So i ordered medium and it was about at the top of my heat tolerance.

Some time later I was having lunch. Magic Kitchen having become one of 
my regular stops. A cople of guys I know from the race track came in to
"try it out". They ordered their dishes hot even though she warned them.

I watched ot the corner of my eye as they sat at their table glaring at
one another. I could almost hear te "macho-mindset" thoughts ... "He's
gong to take another bite. Which means I'll have to take another ... "

I ran across one of the guys later and asked (facetiously) how he liked
his lunch. He said, "Shoulda listened to her and let Steve be a "Hero"
by himself."

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06
 
      Title: Garlic Pepper Pork
 Categories: Pork, Vegetables, Herbs, Chilies
      Yield: 4 Servings
 
  1 1/2 lb Lean pork; in small strips
      2 tb Oil
      3 lg Garlic cloves; chopped fine
      1 md Onion; diced
    1/2    Red bell peppers; diced
      2    Prik kaleang chilies,crushed
           +=OR=+
      6    Prik kee noo suan chilies;
           - crushed
      6 sl Fresh ginger; quarter-sized,
           - cut in matchsticks
      1 tb Fresh ground black pepper
      2 tb Nam Pla fish sauce
      2 tb Oyster sauce
      1 tb Soy sauce
    1/4 c  Stock or water
 
  Heat oil to medium-high; stir-fry garlic, dried chile,
  and pork, about 3-4 minutes until pork is nearly done.
  
  Add onions, ginger, bell pepper, and stir-fry 3 minutes.
  
  Add black pepper and remaining liquids and stir-fry
  another 1-2 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings.
  
  Serve over white rice.
  
  Servings: 4
  
  RECIPE FROM: https://hot-thai-kitchen.com
  
  Uncle Dirty Dave's Archives
 
MMMMM

... How long have you been fondling your keyboard like that?
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52