Aisha's Potato and Cervelas Salad

Cervelas, the national sausage of Switzerland

When we found out that Aisha was pregnant with our daughter Kharisma it was one of the happiest moments in our lives. Unfortunately it didn't last long as Aisha suffered from shooting pain on her feet which literally happened overnight. And, it lasted for over a year throughout her pregnancy and several months after birth where she had to be rolled around on a wheelchair. Even in resting position the shooting pain never stopped. It really took a toll on both of us. I had to work at night while Aisha had to stay alone, and the fear of her getting into a domestic accident and the possibility of losing our baby was unbearable.

After over a year of medical visits, physiotherapies, hospitalizations and all of the advanced medical technologies that exists, not to mention thousands of Swiss francs that went out the window for nothing, no one could figure out what was wrong with her feet. About four months ago Aisha decided that she had had enough and refused to go to the doctors anymore. Our baby is growing so fast and we realized that if Aisha was not able to walk anytime soon, she would be in a lot of trouble trying to keep up with Kharisma. So, she was determined to be able to walk again even if she had to chop her feet off herself.

I have never met anyone as strong and as determined as my darling wife. Slowly but surely she learned to walk again, forcing herself, fighting the excruciating pain. She can now walk again, still with shooting pain, but she learned how to cope with it. For those who had not seen her during her ordeal, Aisha is walking normally and they would never believe that just a few months back she was still going around on a wheelchair.

During the time when she was not able to walk she always said that she missed cooking for me. We joked around now saying that what she really meant was that she's tired of my cooking. Aisha can walk again now, but to standup for a long period of time it's still difficult for her.Yet yesterday she surprised me by cooking a meal for me. Before she went to bed she called me at the office and said that she prepared something to eat for me when I come home from work. She didn't say what it was; she just told me that she left it in the fridge. Strangely as she was talking to me a picture of a bowl of potato salad popped in my head but of course I brushed it aside thinking that it was probably something that my stomach was craving at that time. I thanked her for what she did and went back to work.

Aisha's potato salad with cervelas, simple and delicious...

When I came home from work I was expecting a sandwich waiting for me in the fridge. When I opened the fridge...lo and behold.....a big bowl of potato salad with chopped cervelas. The cervelas was not the traditional one made from porc, the one that Aisha used was made from poultry meat. I know it was something simple to make but even making something simple is usually a bit too much for Aisha's feet especially after dealing with Kharisma on her own for several hours, I was really surprised that she made it.

As for the image of the potato salad that popped in my head at work. That was not the first time it happened. Aisha somehow always knew what I wanted, what I liked and surprised me with something like the potato salad that she made just as I was thinking about it. Because of it, I love her to pieces…

The potato salad was simply d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s. Aisha got the recipe from my mom who got it from my dad who was a chef. I myself don't know the recipe but from what I saw and taste the ingredients are simple. It has boiled eggs, sliced onion, chopped tomatoes, mayonnaise, dijon mustard, salt, pepper, chopped cervelas, and of course potatoes.

Even though it was late at night, I, who usually eat fast deliberately slowed down and enjoyed each and every bite. The potato was firm enough to enable a fork to pierce it without it breaking apart, yet it melts in your mouth. The dijon mustard gave it that familiar "zing" but the mayonaise acts a bit as a buffer and mellow that "zing" down a bit so that it was not overbearing. Together with the egg yolk they gave a very nice creamy texture to the salad. The tomato and the onion added a touch of sweet and sour to the mix (and that ever so familiar "dragon" breath that won't go away even after you brush your teeth). The cervelas gave the salad that extra delicious protein "umph". All in all it was a late night meal fit for kings.

Aisha and I love this salad. She had it before quite some time ago and asked me to make it once, but I don’t know the recipe. So she had to wait until my parents came to visit. The last time we had some was....not last weekend but the weekend before that when my mom made it for us and of course Aisha asked her the recipe. Since my parents left Aisha and I were craving it and she made it for me as a surprise. There was a lot of leftover so she had some for lunch today and I saw there was still some leftover in the fridge. I hope Aisha will leave it alone and let me have it for tonight. We love each other to bits, but when it comes to food...we usually don't leave any prisoners! :-D