Celebrate Daylight Saving Time with Pizza Salad!

Spring forward tonight!

Tomorrow morning at 2:00 a.m., it is that time of year that we change our clock by one hour. “Spring forward, Fall back.” I wondered how this custom started and in my research, discovered the mid-century era has a connection! Many people credit Benjamin Franklin for coming up with the idea originally, but others say that is inaccurate. They say it was a man named George Vernon Hudson of New Zealand who originally proposed it in 1895. In 1918, the U.S. adopted Daylight Saving Time, (NOT Savings with an S). Prior to the U.S., Germany and then a number of European nations adopted it. It was very unpopular and the U.S. abolished it right after WWI,. Several states continued to observe it. FDR reinstated it and called it, “War Time.” After the war it was up to the individual states to decide if they wanted to continue. This led to much confusion and so the “Uniform Time Act of 1966 became law. (There is the mid-century connection!) That is the DST we know today.

Arizona and Hawaii were exempt from this law. I always wondered why. According to my research, Arizona is exempt because during the summer, AZ is so hot that little is done during the day. People wait to go out until after the sun sets. The last thing they needed was more scorching, summer daylight! Hawaii is exempt because of their position so close to the equator. There is very little difference between the number of summer and winter daylight hours. THERE! Now you know more than you ever cared to know about DST! Don’t forget to turn your clock AHEAD tonight before you go to bed! Now on to the good stuff….Pizza Salad.

Everything in this book is a version of recipes I found in cookbooks dated from 1950 through the 1960’s, or were recipes from my family’s and friend’s mid-century files. Much of what I have written, I remember being served either at home or as a guest somewhere. I found the basis for this salad in one of my mid-century books. I don’t remember anything like this but I love the whole idea. This is a good way to get your tweens and teens to eat salad. They will eat anything with the word pizza attached!

I know the dressing sounds completely bizarre, but it is really good and the salad does taste somewhat like a pizza. I didn’t have tomato soup for the dressing, so I thought I would just replace it with tomato sauce. Don’t do it. I dumped it and ran right out and bought the soup. The dressing is sweeter and much creamier with the soup. Also, though it has nothing to do with mid-century, I MUST share with you something I discovered. Turkey pepperoni!! It tastes just like regular pepperoni and it is much lower in fat! Also, I have used both garbanzo and white kidney beans. We prefer the white kidney beans.

This is both a fun side salad or a nutritious entrée salad as well. I highly recommend you try this and then let me know what you think!

 Pizza Salad

Serves approx. 8 as a side or 4 as a meal

1 head of crisp lettuce, shredded

1 tomato, chopped

1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

½ c. sliced pepperoni

½ c. sliced black olives

1 c. garbanzo, cannelini or white kidney beans, drained

Pizza Salad Dressing to taste

Stack round pepperoni slices and slice into 3 pieces. In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients. Toss gently with dressing just before serving.

Pizza Salad Dressing

 ½ c. cider vinegar

¼  c. salad oil

¼  c. water

½ – 10½ oz. can condensed tomato soup

2 tsp. grated onion

2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

2 tsp. sugar

2 tsp. Italian seasoning

 ¼  teas. garlic powder

½ tsp. prepared mustard,

¼  tsp. paprika

Dash salt

Mix in blender

 Happy birthday to Barbie who was introduced March 9, 1959. We are the same age and are both blond. ( Though I think she is a natural blond.) That is where the similarities end! She met her future and long term boyfriend Ken on the set of a t.v. commercial in 1961. According to Wikipedia, his full name is Ken Sean Carson. Barbie is just, “Barbie.”

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