Last Night I heard some dreaded words come out of Jedd's mouth: “Ugh. I think I'm getting sick.”

No, no, no.

He works with big sharp tools for his woodworking, and I suddenly had visions of him impaling himself with a chisel after a particularly violent sneeze.

Or nearly as bad, Jedd having to miss a show that a friend of his is playing in Winooski. There's something kind of sad about being around a disappointed sick person.

So, I got proactive. I heated him up some leftover soup and made him a hot toddy. Then I preheated the oven to make some roasted vegetables from the CSA shipment this week. As I chopped the vegetables it dawned on me that they would be great with lentils, and that together they could create a ridiculously healthy salad. And because we also have some homemade horseradish from my mother in the refrigerator, I was inspired to make a head-clearing vinaigrette.

I can't guarantee that he's cured, but after eating the salad he said he felt better.

Of course that could have just been the hot toddy talking.

Either way, I'll put this salad in the “win” column.

I'm not a big fan of sweets other than fruit, and I'm also not a huge blue cheese fan. But, the combination of sugar-coated almonds and blue cheese in this salad elevates both ingredients. It's ridiculously good.

Ridiculously. Good.

I've been trying to really get into blue cheese for over a decade. Sometimes I enjoy it in a dish, and other times its power overwhelms the things it should compliment.

Jedd on the other hand is simply squeamish about the idea of eating moldy cheese, which isn't unreasonable. When the subject comes up he's been known to turn indignant. “It's moldy cheese! Why would you eat something like that?” And that always reminds me of our friend Emily and a conversation we had once about meatloaf. “It's a loaf. Of meat. Why would anyone eat a loaf of meat?!?”

So, I understand if you're not a blue cheese fan and the combination doesn't sound fantastic. But it is. Jedd wasn't even indignant, although he was wary. However, the salad won us both over. The cheese and bacon are salty and they play off of the sweetness of the apples while the brown sugar-coated almonds and the tart vinaigrette bind it together perfectly.

Another great thing about this salad is that it's a show stopper without showing off. There's just a few nuts and only about a tablespoon of cheese so the real star is the apples.

First, though, lets make those delectable almonds, which kind of turned me into a candy-snacking fiend.

Poor Demeter. Her daughter, Persephone, was taken by Hades and carried away to the underworld. Demeter was the goddess of agriculture and the earth withered as crops dried up because Demeter was only concerned with finding her daughter. The cries of the hungry forced Zeus to get involved, and he ordered Hades to release Persephone from the underworld and return her to her mother.

But, there was one small hitch in the plan.

Hades had tricked Persephone into eating four pomegranate seeds. Normally consuming food would destine someone to spend eternity in the underworld, but Zeus managed to convince Hades to release Persephone anyway, with one small caveat.

She had to spend a month back there for every seed consumed.

So when Persephone is imprisoned below earth, Demeter is so saddened that she can't concentrate on tending to crops and that's why we have four months of winter.

Or six, if you live in Vermont.

But, it's easy to empathize with Persephone. It's very difficult to resist the beautiful seeds of a pomegranate. And this salad lets them shine in a bright champagne vinaigrette.

Oh, pretty cabbage. You intrigue me with your purple, white and green leaves,

and when I cover you in vinaigrette, oh, how your pieces gleam.

You're peppery and hearty, and you make my brain all smarty.

But in this spicy salad your crunch reigns supreme.

When I woke up this morning, if you had asked me if I was going to write a little ode to cabbage I probably wouldn't have believed you. I mean cabbage isn't exactly the most interesting thing in the crisper, is it?

However after throwing this beautiful and spicy salad together this afternoon, I'm officially swooning over this member of the cruciferous family.