The first time I made money in the food industry, I was hooked.  It all started purely by accident when I was nine years old. We lived in Buffalo, New York.  There was never a lack of snow in Buffalo and for a nine year old highly active boy, it’s just not possible to have too much snow!  We lived in a rural community that was close to a hill with a dirt road that led to stables. When the dirt road was snow plowed it created a large mound of snow at the bottom of the hill and then the freshly plowed road turned to the right and headed for the stables.  During the snowy winter months, this road was perfect for sledding. We would line up at the top of the road 4 to 6 sleds across and race to the bottom in a full on Olympic style, going for the gold, competition to find out who was the fastest.  We must have looked like a Norman Rockwell painting with our brightly colored hats, scarves and idiot mittens.  Idiot mittens had a strip of fabric going up one sleeve and down the other and they were attached to the mittens with stout alligator clips.  Idiot mittens were a very important part of outdoor wear for the children of the snow as they made the loss of mittens much more challenging.  One day there were 7 of us racing down the snow covered dirt road and I found myself on the outside lane.  We had all saved candle stubs from our families dinner table so we could wax the runners on our sleds to help the sleds reach their maximum speed.  We were waxed and all lined up to begin and someone yelled “GO”.  Off we flew.  I was in second place as my sled started to slide into the turn.  As we were all bumping into each other, I realized everyone was sliding and I was being pushed off of the road by the mass of sleds and would not make the turn. Sure enough, as I was quickly deducing, my American Flyer sled slammed to an abrupt stop into the pile of snow at the bottom of the road.  I flew up and over the snow pile and was air born in a matter of seconds.  As happens, everything appeared to be in slow motion as I flew through the air.  There was a bubbling creek below covered with thick brush and that is where I landed.  While I was thrashing around getting back to firm ground I saw a huge patch of watercress growing in the brook.  At the dinner table that night, I was explaining why my face was scratched up and I must have mentioned the watercress. My father suggested I make lemonade out of lemons and sell the watercress door to door.  My father was retired from the USN (ex fighter pilot in WWII) and was climbing the corporate ladder and I was going along for the ride.  He birthed and inspired the young entrepreneur in me.  My definition of an entrepreneur is “one constantly seeking employment”.  The next day I took my red wagon to the creek and harvested the watercress.  I then went knocking door to door in our hood, selling watercress.  No one had the heart to say “no” to a 9 year old pulling a red wagon loaded with fresh, crisp watercress.  It was a goldmine. The next day I used rubber bands to bunch up the fresh picked watercress.  I went to a different street and sold out in 2 hours. I did this for several months  until the watercress supply was depleted.  I took my earnings and bought a junior chemistry set.  My odor du jour was rotten eggs.  I have never lost my flavor attraction for watercress or my love of success.  Below is a great Watercress Salad.  Watercress can’t always be found so use baby arugula as a substitute. It has a similarly peppery flavor that you find in watercress.

Watercress & Pear Salad
This is one of my favorites with a drizzle of vinaigrette and a sprinkle of Maldon’s Sea Salt flakes.
It is simple but explodes with flavor.

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 oz. blue cheese crumbled
1 ripe pear, use a mandolin to get thin and even slices. 4 slices per salad
4 ounces of homemade vinaigrette (recipe to follow)
8 slices of heirloom tomato
4 bunches of crisp watercress.
1 bulb of fennel, using a mandolin to slice thinly.  3 slices per salad
4 pinches of Maldon Sea Salt flakes

Method
To assemble the salad start with 2 slices of tomato per salad.  Top with a bunch of watercress.  Place the pear slices and fennel on top of the salad. Sprinkle the blue cheese evenly over the salad.  Drizzle 1 ounce of the vinaigrette over the salad.  Sprinkle with a pinch of Maldon Sea Salt flakes.

 

 

Everyday Vinaigrette
Here is a simple salad dressing that will hold in your refrigerator for weeks and you know exactly what the ingredients are.
I make it in a glass mason jar that I can shake.  Shaking blends better than stirring.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons of Dijon or whole grain mustard
2 tablespoons of minced shallots
1 tablespoon of minced garlic
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
2 cups of sherry vinegar (good quality)
5 cups of extra virgin olive oil (the better the oil the better the taste)
1 teaspoon sea salt

Method
Place all ingredients in a large glass container & shake. Store in the refrigerator.