Carrots, Raisins and Walnuts in a Healthy Salad

Sometimes when I dig through my files of old recipes that I've collected, I am amazed at some of their names. A few of those clever cooks of the past have given catchy titles to cakes, such as, "Sock- it -to-Me Cake"; "Better Than Sex Cake and Lazy Daisy Cake. In my community-type cookbooks (those great down-home treasures that are often sold by firehouses, churches and schools to raise money!), you can find even more personalized names that have been given to family favorites such as, "Shipwreck"; "Angels on Horseback"; "Daddy Says it's Good Casserole" and "Mama's Never-Fail Pie". Well, I have to say, that yesterday, as I looked through one of my "try-it-someday" files, I found a recipe with a very unusual name. I was on the look-out for winter salad ideas and I think this one sounds like a salad that I've enjoyed at Furr's Restaurants before.

When our family lived in Oklahoma we would sometimes eat at Furr's Buffet or Golden Corral on Sunday after morning church service. Family-style buffets are like the after-party of Sunday morning church. When I was a kid, a friendly joke was that, " The preacher better not be too long with his sermon, or we won't beat the Baptists to Bonanza!" (a popular steakhouse buffet). As kids we would go through the alphabet with this joke (none of the faithful were safe!). There was, "Beat... The Presbyterians to Ponderosa; The Methodists to McDonald's...you get the idea. Hey, was there a Larsen's Cafeteria, maybe in the 60's or 70's? Does it still exist? Maybe some of you will know. Oh! if so, we'll have to..."beat the Lutherans to Larsen's"!

Larsen's Anti-Sneeze Salad
1/2 C chopped walnuts
4 to 5 medium-sized carrots, unpeeled
1/2 C raisins
1/4 C mayonnaise

Measure walnuts, chopped coarsely into a serving bowl. Cut carrots into 2-inch chunks and drop them into your blender or food processor. Add raisins and hit the Low Speed button. When the carrots look coarsely-chopped, stop. (If you have trouble with these new-fangled machines, simply shred the carrots by hand, add raisins and continue.) Toss raisin-carrot mixture into the serving bowl with the walnuts. Gently stir in the mayonnaise and chill for at least 30 minutes. Serve often.

Note: "new-fangled machines" ?! Wonder how far back this recipe goes?! After the creation of food processors, but before computers is my guess :0)

Swaps:
-Home is Where My Story Begins
-Designs by Gollum
-E Kat's Kitchen
-Comfy in the Kitchen
-Momtrends
-Ann Kroeker
-Amy's Finer Things
-Simply Sweet Home