Manang's Garden Salad

I had several vegetables planted in my garden, some I planted rows of, some are just one or two.

I had two cabbages (thanks to my SIL). I harvested one of them earlier than the other. It was so big (bigger than my head but a little flatter), so I had to think of ways to use it fast.

One suggestion from my FIL was the coleslaw, but since it is so common, it had no appeal to me, plus I had other veggies from my garden that I wanted to incorporate, hence the name I gave to it.

And this is one of my five basil plants (from my other SIL). I just got a handful of young leaves from those stems where there were no flowers yet.






I also picked a handful of red cherry tomatoes to add color to my salad.







I dug out one of my carrots and chopped them finely.








I also got a handful of peas, shelled them, and had about 1/2 cup of peas which I boiled together with whole eggs.

I prepared the dressing using:

1 cup mayonnaise
1 finely chopped carrots (as above)
1 medium onion finely chopped
a handful of fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
1-3 tbsp of sugar (according to taste)
salt and pepper to taste

Let sit the dressing for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, wash and shred the cabbage and layer them on the dish (I used a 2-qt dish which I filled to 3/4 level). Set aside in the fridge.

Cook 3-4 strips of bacon until crunchy. Let cool then crumble. Set aside.

Next, prepare the eggs by peeling and slicing. drain the peas. Wash the cherry tomatoes. Place in the fridge.

Assemble the salad 30 minutes before serving.

Pour the dressing on top of the cabbage leaves. Sprinkle with crumbled bacon. Distribute the egg slices on top, and scatter the cherry tomatoes and peas on top.

It was such a big hit to my kids and hubby, so I thought I would serve it again for my son's birthday celebration (I was not sure, though, if hubby just did not want to hurt my feelings, so the ultimate test would be to serve it with the rest of his family). Everyone liked it, so much so that some of them had second servings, but they were kinda trying to suppress the urge to get more because there was not much that was available (I was afraid only a few would like it).

I definitely would make this a part of tradition. Yearly, from my garden, I will make this delightful salad during my first son's birthday.