Crunchy Broccoli Salad

"Eat your veggies," said my mother as my brother and sister and I were growing up. Of course, in the 1970's, most of the veggies came from a can. Canned corn, canned peas, canned green beans and even canned asparagus were always served. Due to the expense involved, there weren't many fresh vegetables at our table unless it was summer and they came from our garden or some local farmers.

As an adult, I strive to eat lots of veggies and try to have something green at every lunch and dinner. My friend and colleague, Mother Debra, always asks me, "And the green is?" when checking in on my meal plans.

Since raw vegetables contain so many nutrients, I seek to make fresh green dishes - and not simply a plain leaf lettuce salad. This Crunchy Broccoli Salad is going to pair well with my Buffalo Turkey Meatloaf. It would also be good for a picnic (be sure to keep it cold) or a potluck. It has all the ingredients that Kerry and I love - blue cheese, bacon, scallions, walnuts, grapes and, oh yeah, the broccoli.

Ingredients

¼ pound of bacon (pan fried and crumbled)
2 cups broccoli floretts (stems removed)
4 scallions (sliced - I use the white and green bits)
2 stalks of celery (diced)
½ cup of seedless red grapes (cut in half)
⅓ cup walnuts (chopped)
½ cup of Blue Cheese
¾ cup Mayonnaise
¼ teaspoon celery salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
A dash of cayenne pepper
1 ½ teaspoons white wine vinegar

Directions

Place the bacon strips in a cold skillet, raise heat to medium, and fry until the bacon is golden brown and crisp. Remove the fried bacon to a paper-towel lined plate to soak-up the grease. (I reserved the bacon grease for use with sautéing diced onions.)

Remove the stems from the broccoli head and cut into bit-sized florets and place in a large bowl.

Add to the bowl the sliced scallions, diced celery, halved grapes, chopped walnuts, blue cheese and crumbled bacon.

In a smaller bowl, combine mayonnaise, celery salt, ground pepper, sugar, cayenne pepper and white wine vinegar.

Mix in the mayonnaise mixture with the broccoli base. Make sure you evenly coat all the broccoli.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour to chill. Serve cold.