It was all a misunderstanding

Her name was Margo, but we all called her Gloria. When she first came to work at GSH&MC she was introduced to everyone by our very sweet (but most positively hard-of-hearing) co-worker, Alice.  As they trotted around from office to office, Alice would say, "This is Gloria."  And poor Gloria would say to her, "I prefer to go by Margo."  And Alice would smile and nod and turn around to the next office and repeat.  Of course, no on in the office caught on and dear Alice never understood what Gloria was whispering in her ear.  But, there was lots of smiling and nodding going on.  From that day forward, Gloria tried and tried to get people to call her Margo.  To no avail...the damage was done.  Anytime someone tried to call her Margo, Alice would say ''Who?"  It was all a misunderstanding.

Gloria was a wonderful secretary.  And, this was back in the 'olden' days when all the financial statements were typed (by Gloria) on an IBM Selectric II.  She was accurate, too, and never had much use for the correction tape feature on that fancy machine. She also was a great organizer.  And one of the things she organized was our occasional potluck lunches.  To top it off, she was also a wonderful cook.  We were fortunate that she was willing to share her recipes.  One of my favorites (and one that I've prepared many, many times as a take-along dish), is her Rice-Artichoke Salad.  I had never tasted anything like it before I met her.  It blew my socks off.

It's a sneaky salad.  It has ingredients in it that some people do not like.  But, somehow with this combination of flavors, you can slip those 'offending' participants past your picky-eater friends.

Example 1:  Miz Margaret will not eat anything with a bell pepper in it.  Not raw, and most certainly not cooked.  She claims she can taste a bell pepper if all it did was travel through the same serving dish five washes ago.

Example 2:  My husband loves a black olive.  But don't let a stuff green olive get anywhere near his plate.  This recipe has both - green bell peppers and stuffed green olives.

Oh! Almost forgot!  Example 3:  Me.  I don't like a raw onion in anything.  Doesn't matter if it a Walla Walla Sweet, a beautiful red, a innocent looking leek, a fancy shallot, or a mild little scallion.  I don't like 'um.  This recipe has green onions.

All three of us love this dish, as do many others.  In fact, this dish alone is responsible for my husband's grand olive turn-around.  He now likes (perhaps even loves) a stuffed green olive. He has been know to order a stuffed green olive pizza.  Now, that's a turn-around folks.

And, Miz Margaret?  Ya, she ate a pile of it...raving the whole time.  You should have seen her face when I let it slip that there were green bell peppers in there.  Horror is not a strong enough description.  But, she took a second helping without batting another eyelash after she got over the initial feelings of betrayal.

I still don't like raw onions in any form.  But, I have never left them out of this recipe.  I put them in there and I eat them happily because it just tastes right that way.  And I certainly don't want to mess with success!

Is it a wonder-dish?  Perhaps not.  But, it is delicious!  Give it a try next time you need to bring along something a little different to your next get-together.  You can thank Gloria, um...Margo, when the compliments start rolling in.

Rice-Artichoke Salad

INGREDIENTS

1	pkg (6.9oz) chicken-flavored rice (like Rice-A-Roni)
4	green onions, thinly sliced
½	green pepper, chopped
12	stuffed green olives, sliced
2	(6oz) jars marinated artichoke hearts
¾	t curry powder
⅓	cup mayonnaise

1.     Cook rice as package directs, omitting the butter.  Cool.

2.     Add sliced green onion, chopped green pepper, and sliced green olives.

3.     Drain artichoke hearts, reserving ½ the marinade.  Cut artichokes in half.

4.     Combine reserved artichoke marinade with curry powder and mayonnaise.  Mix well.

5.     Add curry dressing to salad, until well combined.  Add artichoke hearts and toss well.

6.     Chill.  Best made a day ahead.

Serves 6-8