Cook bacon in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 1 teaspoon drippings in pan. Crumble bacon; set aside.

Heat bacon drippings over medium-high heat. Add shallot, and sauté 1 minute. Remove from heat.

Bring apple cider to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat; cook until reduced to 1/4 cup (about 15 minutes). Remove from heat. Add shallot mixture, salt, and pepper. Place cider mixture and cheese in a blender or small food processor; process until smooth.

Combine cabbage and bell pepper in a large bowl; drizzle cider mixture over cabbage mixture, tossing well to coat. Top with crumbled bacon. Serve immediately.

Don't bother peeling the apples unless their skins are really unattractive. Cut up 3 or 4 of them, until you get about 2-1/2 or 3 cups of chopped apples. Sprinkle the lemon juice over the apples. The acid in the lemon juice prevents the apples from turning brown. The raisins will taste best if you plump them first. Do this by measuring them into a cereal bowl and adding enough warm tap water to cover them completely. Allow them to sit for a few minutes, absorbing the water, and softening up. Drain them very well when you need them. I actually squeeze them to make sure they are very dry. Chop up the celery, it should take about 2 stalks or so. I add black walnuts because I get them for free, but you can use regular walnuts or omit them completely if you don't have any handy. Mix everything together in a medium sized bowl with the mayonnaise and sugar, coating all of the ingredients with the mayonnaise. It is now ready to serve, or you can chill it overnight and serve it tomorrow instead. This is so crunchy and chewy, it is perfect contrast for a meal which is soft, or easy to chew. This recipe serves 6.

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.

2. In the top of a double boiler or in a small heavy saucepan over low heat, melt the chocolate chips and the margarine. Remove the pan from the heat and stir the mixture until it is smooth. Set it aside.

3. In a medium bowl, combine the oats, wheat germ, dry milk, baking powder, salt, and nuts. Set the mixture aside.

4. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs and mix in the brown and white sugars and the vanilla until the mixture is thick. Stir in the melted chocolate mixture. Fold in the oats mixture until it is just blended. Pour the batter into a greased 8-inch square baking pan.

5. Bake the brownies for 20-25 minutes or until the top is crisp but a toothpick inserted in the center of the pan comes out slightly moist. Set pan on a rack to cool completely before cutting the brownies into 5 strips in each direction.