make it a sweet salad

let's make a fruit salad

as sweet as a ballad

specially when paired with a flan

so get a large tropical fruit cocktail can

& drain fruits with a strainer from its juice

this can take time like a noose  

on a big blanket, but this is key

to make this salad creamy, not soggy peas

in a bowl, combine fruits with all-purpose cream

and sweetened condensed milk (half of your dream)

merrily, you add more color & zest-

mix in peaches, cheeries - fruitfest 

how about corn kernels & tapioca pearls

added in, to make your feet twirl & swirl

measure to your stomach's delight,

chill & serve as a dessert, so bright

Note:   Our Christmas holiday is not complete without a fruit salad as our cold dessert.  There are many variations but the basics remained the same - drained fruit cocktail with cream and sweetened condensed milk.   Here is one.

Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - Rhyming Recipe.   Please join us when the pub doors open at 3pm EST.       Thanks for your visits and comments.   Happy Holidays and Happy New Year.  

French Onion Soup

When I made this soup in our first month of

marriage, it was a soggy soup of tasteless onions 

But you finished it all up anyway

Embracing me for my (lack of) cooking skills

Time was the best ingredient in the kitchen

I know that now after more than 3 decades of

family & raising the children

There is no perfect recipe to follow, but practice

makes it easier.   I didn't know that white, not

yellow onions, was the best for this recipe

That I needed to cut & stir the many layers of buttered

peeled onions (10 cups) for a long time (at least 40 minutes) in a pot

I did not know that the long caramelizing process

brings out the sweetness of the onions

Peeled away are silky translucent skin

Turning the color of char & slightly brown under the fire

Adding garlic, fresh thyme, wine & bay leaves 

Made this chicken stock richer, flavorful than I ever thought 

possible.   Pair with buttered bread and white wine

You sighed with delight over this (heavenly) soup

How is it possible that (you say) you have

never changed at all - you are still as beautiful 

when I met you.   I smiled at you and noted that you

are not wearing your glasses.   The french onion

soup made you giddy, I say.   I wipe away the

stains from my hands, now slightly wrinkled, bent & patient 

Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - Poetics - Peeled Away with guest host Melissa Lemay.    Join us when we talk all about onions when the pub doors open at 3pm EST.    And yes, I now know how to make this delicious French Onion Soup.