ASIAN COOKED SALAD MESS

Before I post anything on this blog, I like to try it out first.

I found a recipe online for a cooked salad, and thought I would like it. Asian dressing, marinated chicken, pork or shrimp. Cabbage, kale, bok choy, onion, carrots, leeks. I thought it would be a great way to get a whole lot of vegetables at once.

I couldn't wait to try it. Unfortunately due to some unforeseen events, including me forgetting for several days to marinate the shrimp in time, I didn't get to make this salad for five days after my husband went out to buy the ingredients for me. Also unfortunate was that he went to Costco to buy all these vegetables, meaning that for almost a week, a gigantic pile of kale was taking up a ridiculous amount of space in the refrigerator. It still is, as I was only making salad for myself, and I am a smallish girl, so the kale may be taking over the fridge for a while. But finally, one morning I remembered about the shrimp and marinated it for a couple of hours in a Japanese sauce.

I was very excited about making this. I haven't had a salad in many years. I had a good time chopping up all these vegetables and throwing them in the frying pan. The shrimp made a delightful whooshing noise when it hit the pan. Fabulous, right?

My brother phoned me during this whole process. He quickly became engaged in chit chat while I finished cooking. I informed him that I would be eating my lunch in his ear, because there was no way I was letting this get cold. He said it was fine...we had nothing important to talk about, it was just an "I'm bored in traffic and need someone to keep me company" kind of phone call.

So, I get all comfortable at the table, holding the phone in one hand and my fork in the other. I take a bite, and...well it is just lucky I didn't drop the phone right into the salad! It was truly awful...one of the worst things I have ever eaten, and definitely the worst thing I have ever made, and that includes the applesauce cake with the blobs of salt added after the fact (that is another story). It was excessively salty, just a dripping, gooey, soggy mess. After two bites I decided that all I could possibly eat of it was the shrimp. Of course I had to explain to my poor brother what was happening on the other end of his phone call...he offered the appropriate amount of sympathy and then quickly got off the phone. :)

Ugh. It was disappointing, to say the least. The kale is still there, along with the 12 bunches of bok choy, and two massive leeks. I have no idea what I am going to do with any of it!