Wilted Lettuce Salad

Yesterday was May 1st (and yes I did go outside barefoot for a while). It was kind of a windy May Day, but a beautiful day. And a great time to get my garden planted. I love digging my hands into that fresh tilled soil as we planted cucumbers, squash, tomatoes, peppers, and dill. Melon and pumpkin planting will come a little later. And to celebrate May Day, I picked some early lettuce, sweet radishes, and green onions out of the garden and made a wilted lettuce salad for supper. Wilted lettuce is a treat for Southerners. If you haven't tried wilted lettuce, you must try it, but it can only be made with fresh vegetables out of the garden to be called a true Wilted Lettuce Salad. Here is the recipe.

INGREDIENTS: Garden Lettuce (I planted purple lettuce this year) Garden Radishes Garden Green Onions Bacon Rice Wine Vinegar Salt & Pepper Bacon Drippings DIRECTIONS: Soak lettuce in water for about 15 minutes and then wash thoroughly. Wash and top radishes and onions. Place lettuce in salad bowl and top with sliced radishes and sliced onions (tops and greens). Sprinkle with salt and pepper and pour two tablespoons vinegar over the top. Set aside.

Fry one strip of bacon per salad. Drain bacon on paper towel, but keep the drippings hot on low heat. Crumble one piece of bacon on top of each salad and pour hot bacon drippings over the top. It will sizzle and pop and wilt the lettuce (I love the sound of the sizzle and pop). Eat immediately while drippings are still hot. Enjoy!