Egg Salad Cheat

No, this is not "mock" egg salad (I'm generally afraid of a recipe that uses that term).  It uses real eggs, but cooks them in a different way if you don't feel like hard boiling and peeling them or just don't have the time.  And no one will know the difference.  *smile* 

So what's the cheat?  Poaching.  

Simmer some water in a skillet, crack the eggs into it, cover the pan, and gently steam until you can tell (with a gentle prod) that the yolks are cooked.  This takes about five minutes.  Slip the eggs onto a plate and cool in the fridge or freezer if you want to use them immediately.  NO PEELING NECESSARY!  Just chop the eggs on a cutting board and make your salad.  Easy, wasn't it?

Buttery Sauteed Cabbage

I made this cabbage (with spinach) to go along with my St. Patrick's Day meal of Irish stew and soda bread (see previous post).  I really liked how it turned out and thought it complemented the stew nicely.  Plus, it was a cinch to throw together.  And it was buttery.

Buttery Cabbage

1/2 head cabbage, thinly knife-shredded
few cups spinach, washed and roughly chopped (optional)
2 - 3 TBSP butter
generous pinch ground nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste

In a hot skillet, steam cabbage in a little water--covered--until tender (about 10 minutes).  Remove lid, add spices and butter and spinach if using.  Cover again and let sit a few minutes for butter to melt and spinach to wilt.  Stir, taste, and add additional salt and pepper if desired.  That's it!  Serve in a pretty bowl.

P.S.  My taste-tester (the adult one) really enjoyed this too!

Meze Plate

I had to go back a ways to find this.  All the way back to August 23.  It's not that I haven't been cooking, it's just that I've been doing too many other things I guess, like moving and traveling and celebrating my child's first birthday.  You know.  

So back in August I made some killer hummus.  No, I did not write down the recipe, but it had plenty of lemon juice and tahini and not too much garlic (my usual downfall).  I restrained myself and was very pleased with the result.  Unfortunately, I decided to serve it up with dollops of pesto and hot pepper paste which makes it look like a weird mask in the photo and really overpowered my hummus.  Ugh.  Live and learn.

I added some toasted homemade flatbread, colorful local carrots, cucumbers, a roasted squash salad and some marinated mushrooms for a quite satisfying lunch. 

I've also got a great idea for a fast healthy food restaurant.  Meze.  That's the Turkish word for appetizer.  Serve a great basic core of Mediterranean meze (flatbread with hummus, tabbouleh, baked goat cheese, olives, stuffed grape leaves, spanakopita, etc.) and add seasonal salads during the summer.  Customers pick a plate of 3-5 meze and it's a meal!  I would eat there.  As long as they didn't muss up the hummus.

Vietnamese Noodle Bowl

So I used to work at this great cafe that made all sorts of yummy food from fresh, local ingredients, and my favorite was the noodle bowl.  Rice noodles layered with lettuce, herbs, carrots, and chicken and soaked with a sweet/sour/tart/pungent sauce.  YUM.  YUM.  I crave it.

Then I found a Vietnamese restaurant that made a killer noodle bowl (they should, right?) in a deeper bowl with smaller noodles, more finely chopped ingredients and marinated beef.  Oh wow.  I LOVED it!  

Well, too bad that the Vietnamese restaurant closed and I moved away from that town anyhow.  Sigh.  Here in central PA not so much Vietnamese food unless I want to drive an hour.  

As with the Chinese food, it's time to make my own.

Of course, I did what I always do and scoured the internet for recipes then made my own version of a noodle bowl with what I had on hand.  It turned out AWESOME!

Here's what you do:

1. Make the sauce (Nuoc Cham or Nuoc Mam): lime, water, sugar, fish sauce, garlic and a leeetle bit of sriracha

2. Cook the rice noodles, drain & rinse (you end up eating this at room temperature).

3. Cook any meat you want (I marinated some chopped pork tenderloin in a ginger/garlic/soy marinade and pan fried it)

4. Chop, slice, shred, crush, etc. the other ingredients and start layering:

    Noodles
    Lettuce (shredded--I think bok choy would be nice too)
    Cilantro, Mint (and Basil if available!)
    Carrots (shredded)
    Cucumber (shredded)
    Green Onion (sliced--I forgot to add it, and I could tell it wasn't the same!)
    Meat
    Nuts (I used toasted sesame seed, but peanuts or cashews would be     
          yummy too!)
    Nuoc Cham  (I used this recipe and added sriracha and garlic)

I'm going to make this again sometime this week using marinated venison on top.  And I won't forget the green onions!  Let me know if you try making it and what you think.

Cran-Cayenne Jam

After an early snow and frost, I had to salvage what hot peppers I could quickly. Their texture was no longer good for canning as rings in sauce, so I came up with this sweet, tart, spicy jam instead. YUM! And the color is absolutely stunning. Now it sits in the fridge, just waiting to be processed in cute little jars (for Christmas presents?) . . .


Cran-Cayenne Jam

2 pkg. fresh, whole cranberries (24 oz.)--sorted and washed
1/2 c. lemon juice
1/4 c. vinegar
3 c. (1/2 lb.) fresh, whole cayenne peppers
3 c. sugar
1 pkg. (1.75 oz.) powdered pectin
water (as desired to achieve the consistency you like)

In a food processor, chop (or grind as fine as you like--I personally like a little texture to my jam) the cranberries and peppers. Combine in a large stock pot with the remaining ingredients and cook until the mixture thickens to the consistency you like (it will cook another 15 minutes later if you process it by boiling water method). Taste and correct sugar/lemon juice/water according to your taste. That's it! Not sure of the yield as I've used a good bit already and haven't canned the remainder yet.


Cook's Word: This is spicy!!! by itself, but less so on bread. In the picture above I served it with bread and cream cheese, placed under a broiler until slightly toasted before adding the jam. I briefly thought about adding some apples to the jam too for more sweetness without using more sugar, but I liked how peppery it was, so I let it be in the end.

Long Beans

Here's one from the "archives" (of pictures I hadn't sorted and made use of yet). Long beans which I found at our local farmers market back in November. And cooked shortly thereafter. They were too beautiful to resist (though they look a little snake-y in the pan)!

I didn't want to break them up, because that would make them look just like normal green beans. So, into the pan with a little oil, then pesto. If you remember my post a while back on pesto, I had forgotten to mention that one of my favorite ways to use it is on green beans.

Sprinkled with a bit of parmesan cheese and served up with some steaming "black bean-butternut-rice-etc. casserole" and mixed greens.

Cook's Word: A bit crunchier than your normal green bean--I kept cooking them but they never got truly soft. Which is okay, because I don't mind an "al dente" bean. The length definitely made them a bit of a choking hazard, though, so I would probably cut them into small pieces next time. The flavor combination of beans with pesto? Winner!

Salad in Season

The plot. I am assigned to bring salad for a dinner with two friends.

I headed to the farmers' market on Saturday with pretty low hopes for finding salad greens. And my hopes were met. Only arugula and kale. Hmmmm . . . I tasted and was offered a deal for two bags. I picked up a bag of each plus some radishes and broccoli. A bit letdown, I was.

At the grocery store later, I found some beautiful red pears, green onions, a bit of bleu cheese, and pecans (for pie, but I thought I could steal some for salad).

Assembly time. The stems of the arugula and kale came off, and the leaves torn a little. I threw these into my shallow blue bowl with fancy rim. Next, a layer of thin radish slices and broccoli florets. Finally a swirl of pear slices and sprinkling of toasted pecans, chopped up a little. I waited to add bleu cheese until I was sure my friends would like it.

Dressing. This I got from my friend Barbara. Simple. Not the healthiest, but delicious and all-purpose. Two parts mayonnaise (I use "lite") to one part each of sugar and vinegar. Yum! I added a bit of freshly-ground black pepper too.

And don't you know. That salad was a hit. And I'm seriously thinking about re-creating it right now . . .

Southern Summer

Now if fried green tomatoes and corn cakes don't make a grand southern summer-time meal! And the smell of frying! I've got kind of a love/hate relationship with that smell. I love it fresh when I'm snitching hot fried green tomatoes from the draining plate, but after an hour or so if I leave the kitchen and get a whiff of that burnt/fried smell in the air, it can about turn my stomach. Ugh.

The corn cakes are topped with some homemade yogurt and salsa, while the fried green tomatoes are accompanied by some of my tomato chutney from earlier in the summer. This meal, while somewhat deficient in color and variety, was chock-full of veggies (corn, tomatoes--red and green, onion, green pepper). I started off by just making the fried tomatoes, then used the leftover soaking mix (milk, egg, salt pepper) and dredging mix (cornmeal, flour, cayenne) as a base for some corn cakes. They were a bit too wet, but delicious none-the-less. Thanks, Tabitha, for the inspiration!

One parting shot of the 'maters. . .




Now, doesn't that plate of fried food and bright yellow table look just like a true southern diner?

Zippy Roasted Sweet Potatoes

While waiting for the pictures of my sweet potatoes to load, my spider solitaire win rate took a one percent dip. Grrrr . . .

But here I am in my cozy little house, the dishwasher humming in the kitchen from company dishes last night and a rapid-fire dinner put together this evening in honor of the half bottle of wine that was left over. But more about that another time.

For now, I want to talk about sweet potatoes. Peeled, cut, tossed with butter and spices and roasted for about 30 minutes. Delish! I served them up with some tomato and basil sauce-less pizza and a bowl of olives. No plates. No utensils. Just fingers and good food!

Pre-cooked

Cooked

Let me attempt a recipe:

2 cups peeled and cut sweet potatoes (mine were like thick home fries)
2 TBSP butter, melted
1/4 tsp powdered rosemary
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
2 cloves garlic, crushed
salt and pepper to taste

Toss all that, add some fresh oregano or thyme sprigs, and throw it in a 350F oven. Check them periodically with a fork to see if they're soft enough. I think mine were in about 30 - 40 minutes. When they're cooked through, broil them a few minutes for some crunchiness. Let them cool a bit, then dump into a bowl and have at it! Forget the forks.

Beet the Heat

We've been throwing these in a pot, cooking, peeling, and slicing them to put in the fridge and eat on over the course of a few days. Great alone or with a little salt. I love beets! Today I fancied them up a bit with extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, black pepper, and fresh oregano. Mmmmmmm . . . perfect afternoon snack for a hot summer day.

Patio Picnic

Sunday night, my husband conceived of a torch-lit back patio picnic in which we would have various friend over, cook al fresco, and talk late into the night. We got two takers, and David and one of them did indeed talk late(ish) into the night by flickering torch and candle light.

We spread quite an impromptu feast on our elegant folding table turned buffet: chicken, pepper, and onion stir-fry (which David cooked al fresco over the Coleman camp stove); fresh tomato-basil bruschetta (a cooperative effort between me and Tabitha); leftover fried rice; black olives; pesto potato salad (more about that later); delicious local watermelon (compliments of Tabitha); and party mix (leftover from a movie night I put on last week with some friends).

David dishes up

scary blurry pic of me

mood lighting

So, this is a post about pesto. See, I don't forget my promises. These past few weeks (before my friends re-claimed their generously long-term loaned food processor) I'd been having quite a time of it with the pesto, throwing a handful of basil, a glug of olive oil, some garlic and what-not into the processor and banging out a batch every few days. I added parmesan cheese once, but I like to keep things simple (and inexpensive), so it was mostly the short list of ingredients: basil, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and nuts (usually walnuts).

The most recent batch I made, I took pains to actually write down amounts so that I could post it here. But each time is truly a new and unique manifestation. Cheese may be added. Your taste for garlic may not be as pungent as mine. Perhaps, the more traditional pine nuts appeal to you. Go for it! But for the record, here's one incarnation:

In no particular order, place in your food processor:

4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 1/2 cups basil
4 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup toasted walnuts
1/4 tsp fresh-ground black pepper

Whiz until smooth! You may have to scrape down the sides a time or two. If you prefer a wetter pesto, add more oil.

I've found lots of delicious ways to use pesto, and it doesn't last for more than a couple of days in our fridge. Spread on bread and toast. Add a tomato for a twist on the classic summer tomato sandwich. Stir into pasta for light summer fare. And my favorite so far this year: use as a "dressing" for potato salad. As in, cook diced potatoes, drain them, and add pesto. No more needed! Got any other great ideas for pesto uses?

*I added the label "CSA Dinner" to this post because the peppers, onions, and potatoes were all from our CSA box! This week we got a pumpkin that I'm looking forward to cutting into--I just have to decide whether to turn it into pie or curry!

Squash Blossoms

About a month ago when it seemed that all our volunteer vines were only going to produce ornamental gourds, I picked off a few handfuls of blossoms to cook and eat. Not really knowing how to prepare them, I looked to the internet for recipes. Most of them called for copious amounts of cheese and frying. Not really my style. I whipped up my own mixture for the filling: labane, an egg yolk, cooked and grated beets, raw grated zucchini, and salt & pepper.

Slitting the washed blossoms open down one side, I removed bugs (three bees! and a few little stripey guys) and reproductive parts then spooned in about a teaspoon of the mixture I'd made. I closed the blossoms and placed them into a small baking dish.

When it was full, I brushed the blossoms with the egg white, sprinkled them with bread crumbs I had on hand in the freezer, and chucked them in the toaster oven at 350F for about 12 minutes.

I was truly amazed when they came out at how firm they set up! I half expected the labane mix to ooze out and make a total mess of this dish, but the labane stayed inside the blossoms, and they were easy to pick up and eat as finger food! (I have some very game friends who helped eat all these).

Cook's Word: Would I make these again? Sure! I couldn't really taste the squash blossoms themselves, so I think I'd add a few more spices to the filling for better overall flavor. I loved the magenta color that the beets added!

Chop Salad

Two bits of inspiration here:

1. A real foodie of a co-worker who's always saying "Alton Brown-this or that" reminded me of my favorite TV chef, Jamie Oliver (okay, so I don't watch TV so it's not a high honor, but I like his style).

2. Hordes of lettuce in the garden. No kidding.


So I went online to watch some Jamie Oliver cooking videos for some culinary inspiration (which, as you can see from the infrequent blogging, had been somewhat lacking around here). I watched a few, including a video for "chop salad". If you want to watch click here. So cute! I love his expressions, especially "It looks like a bit of a dog's dinner" about the salad because it's not very pretty!

If you don't watch the video, the idea is just to get all your salad ingredients together on a big cutting board and start chopping them together. I did this for my home group and had a few avid onlookers.

Once you've given everything a first, rough chop, you add the lettuce and do a fold-chop-fold-chop deal until you have the consistency you want. Dress it, toss it with your fingers, slap it in a bowl and eat! Not much to it, but delicious with all the fresh garden veggies coming in now and fun to make!

Late Summer Salsa

There is a tree just around the corner from my house whose leaves have turned yellow-brown and are falling at the slightest provocation. I've gotten out the sweater socks and swapped the summer quilt for a thicker one. Yep. All signs point towards fall. I've almost committed to this being my favorite season. I love the air nipping at me and getting cozy with warm blankets, hot tea, and hoodies. And scarves. I simply relish the smell of decaying leaves and the way cooler air seems to sharpen that sense of smell.

By winter, coziness has lost its charm, and I pine for spring. The thrill of crocuses and daffodils! The glory of budding dogwoods and redbuds! The delight at tossing off winter coats and daring to go barefoot again! And so I just can't quite commit completely to fall.

But it is one of my top seasonal loves. In Number One spot for the time being. For better or for worse, fall is about here and there's no chance to preserve any more of summer (unless I do some sun-dried tomatoes yet). Our four plants (yes, all tomatoes) are slowing production, and in a few short weeks a good frost is going to nip any remaining buds. This evening I was seized by a nostalgic urge to make the most of the time I had left with my backyard produce. Inspired by some in-laws, I decided to make salsa (sans cilantro), using just what I had in my own backyard.

Colander in hand, I headed out to the tomato patch for the main ingredient--green and red roma's and golden nugget tomatoes yielded to a slight tug. I added two small bell peppers (we did plant some peppers, they just got--literally--overshadowed by the tomato plants). Next stop: herb patch. Basil, chives, rosemary, lavender, and marigold. And in the front flower bed, a tiny jalepeno that survived a slug-crunching early in the growing season. A quick rinse, a shake, some dicing and chopping, and viola! Salsa. It doesn't get much more local than this, folks! Below is a rendering of what I came up with.


Anita's Late Summer Salsa

2 cups diced assorted tomatoes
1 small bell pepper, diced (about 1/3 cup)
2 tsp minced fresh chives
2 tsp minced fresh basil
1/4 tsp minced fresh rosemary (I don't like a strong rosemary flavor)
1/4 tsp lavender flowers (careful not to add too many of these!)
1 pathetically small jalepeno, minced
Petals of one marigold
not from the garden:
1 tsp olive oil
juice from 1/2 a lemon
salt/pepper to taste

Instructions: are any needed? Stir ingredients together. Eat.

Served up with some fried plantains
(also not from our garden!)

Happy Last Week of Summer!

Salsa, Salsa!

I had a day off this week, so what did I do? Spent the whole day on my feet turning our garden roma tomatoes into salsa. I wished I'd planted some green peppers and onions to go into it. Maybe next year . . .

I started with my mom's salsa recipe and another one I found online, making up my own version as I went. Several hours and loads of sweat later, I ended up with about 16 pints. Yay!!!

Anita's Salsa Picante

Yield: about 16 pints

26 c. chopped roma tomatoes (skins, seeds, and all!)
4 1/2 c. chopped onion
4 c. chopped bell pepper
6 jalepenos, chopped (seeds and all!), plus two dried cayenne peppers, minced
2 TBSP sugar
4 1/2 TBSP salt
2 TBSP cumin
10 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 (10.75 oz.) can of tomato sauce
1 (6 oz.) can of tomato paste
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 bunch cilantro, chopped fine

I basically put everything in a pan and simmered until it was the right consistency and taste. I think I overcooked it, though, because everything got mushy. I added the vinegar, lime juice, and cilantro right at the end, did a quick taste check, and it was ready! Another time, I think I'll cook the "sauce" ingredients (tomato paste and sauce, spices, vinegar) and add to the tomato/onion/peppers mix without further cooking. Once you process them for 25 minutes in a boiling water bath, they'll probably get thoroughly cooked!

It's spicy!!!

Sweet Zingy Slaw

Quite a supper tonight. After a weekend away (and very little cooking on my part) I was ready to get creative in my kitchen again. Before we'd left for our trip, I preemptively whacked the basil way back to prevent it from flowering while we were gone. They look a little sad. BUT, I've got this mound of basil all bagged up in the fridge, so pesto-something was in order.

We were also gifted recently with some lovely summer squash, and I'd bought a bag of shiitake mushrooms from Mom and Dad. Now how to get all these foods to the table . . .

The pesto was pretty straight forward. I used this recipe (1 cup basil leaves, 1/4 cup walnuts, 2 garlic cloves, olive oil, and a squeeze of lemon), whirring each ingredient separately in my mini-chopper and then stirring them all together with the oil and lemon juice. I added the Parmesan cheese right to the spaghetti when I stirred the pesto into it.

Next, mushrooms. I had some Stilton cheese leftover from a splurge purchase, so I combined that with some oatmeal, ground flax seed, and the mushroom stems (chopped fine) as a stuffing for the caps. Nice flavor, but a little dry.

And finally, the squash. This turned out to be my favorite dish of the meal, so I'm including the recipe (I actually measured all the ingredients this time!). Each bite was initially sweet, followed by the delicious burn of cayenne pepper.





Sweet Zingy Slaw

1 medium-sized summer squash
1 carrot
2 TBSP virgin olive oil
2 TBSP white vinegar
1 TBSP brown sugar
I tsp minced fresh dill
1 cayenne pepper, minced*
salt to taste (a few dashes for me)


Shred the summer squash and carrot into a bowl. Mix the remaining ingredients and pour over the veggies. That's all! The "*" is because this was quite spicy. I threw in the whole pepper, seeds and all. I suggest starting with maybe a 1/2 pepper or discarding the seeds if you don't like that much bite. Alternatively, you could probably leave the pepper out altogether and cut the brown sugar in half for a sweet/tangy vibe.

Pizza Night

Somehow, I always think pizza will a fast supper. You only have to let the dough raise 20 minutes! It seems I forget about all the rolling, cutting, chopping, spreading, and baking that's involved. In any case, it's a delicious--if not quick--supper.

This week I made what I think is my favorite pizza to-date: goat's cheese with fresh basil and a little parmesean.

My taste-tester preferred this variety with sauteed summer squash slices, chopped green pepper and mozzarella cheese. I also mixed some BBQ sauce in with the pizza sauce which adds a nice flavor.

I also made some minty tabouli for added greens. I actually think I overdid it on the mint, but we gobbled it up anyway!

And just because it makes us happy . . .

our first garden produce! I don't really like eating little tomatoes, but it's so wonderful so see a small plant grow and flower and develop something edible!

Pasta Primo

I have vague memories of making pasta with my mom when I was a kid. Mostly, I remember the strips of noodles hung out to dry over clothes-drying racks. So, although I've helped make pasta in the past, I will consider this my maiden attempt.

I've thought about making pasta before, but the idea finally came to fruition due to a mint-picking romp through my mother's garden. Driving home, the smell of fresh mint awoke a desire in me for pasta with mint. I went in search of a recipe for fresh pasta. Several cookbooks and websites later, I came across this, which I basically halved.

Pasta Primo
(makes about 6 servings)

1 cup semolina
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 small eggs
1 TBSP olive oil
1/4 tsp. salt
Water as needed (to bind dough)

I made a mound of the two flours plus salt on the kitchen table. I formed a well in the center into which I cracked the eggs and poured the olive oil.

The several recipes I read had instructions for using a fork to simultaneously break the eggs and incorporate the flour. I gave up on that pretty quick as the flour spread in an ever-wider circle on my slick formica table top. I dug into the mess with my hands, adding a little water to help the dough bind to itself.

The ball of dough got wrapped in a piece of plastic and stashed in the fridge for use at dinner time. But not all of it lasted that long. I couldn't resist trying a little sample batch. I rolled out a small piece of dough as thin as I could get it on my grandmother's bread board, dusting generously with flour to prevent sticking. When my arms tired, I folded my rectangular piece of dough over on itself twice and cut it into strips with a pizza cutter.

The noodles cooked in boiling, salted water in a matter of minutes (3-5). For this sample, I simply doused the cooked and drained pasta with some virgin olive oil, and sprinkled with fresh, chopped mint and parmesean cheese. Wow! A great 10am snack!

In the evening when I prepared it for my husband, I dressed it a little differently. I heated a few tablespoons (TBSP) of olive oil in a frying pan and gently sauteed a minced clove of garlic and a finely diced tomato in it. Salt and pepper to taste. Fresh, chopped basil! And parmesan cheese again.

We had our dinner al fresco, paired with a lovely mostly green salad made of lettuce, cabbage, parsley, mint, green onions, and radishes. The salad was dressed in my favorite salad garb: lemon juice, virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper.

My taste-tester evaluates the dish . . .

I think he liked it!

Cook's Word: besides rolling out the pasta dough, quite a simple dish to make. I love all the fresh herbs that can be paired with a good pasta. And it will be extra yummy later in the summer when we've got some of our own garden-fresh tomatoes! The noodles were considerably thicker than "boughten" ones or noodles you might make with a pasta machine, but they were still delicious and soaked up the tomato juice very well.

A Tale of Two Salads

Summertime. Salad Time. We helped a friend move from one apartment to another last weekend, and I naturally wanted to know if lunch would be involved and "could I bring anything?" We discussed a simple menu over the phone. She would do BBQ ("sloppy joe") sandwiches and chips. Perfect opportunity for some salad-ing. "I'll cover the vegetables," I promised.

Of course, being from the South, I had to make some slaw to go on those sandwiches. And what kind of picnicky-type lunch is complete without potato salad? Never mind that my parents-in-law were down for the weekend too (and staying at our house). It seems like every time they come, I'm up late cooking/baking up something or other. It gives mom-in-law and me a chance to talk food.

After perusing some of my cookbooks for slaw recipes, I decided to wing-it (especially with Mom C's expert advice on hand). Finely cut cabbage (I don't have the patience to hand-grate it), grated carrots, minced onion, a little fresh parsley (from my own herb patch!), and a dressing with . . . well, I don't exactly remember what. Light mayo, a little mustard, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper?

The potato salad went together with a little more consideration. I think I can actually assemble a recipe. I initially thought to call it BP Salad after the four main ingredients, but then it sounds like it came from a gas station . . . not really the feel I'm going for.


Anita's Potato Salad

4 medium-sized potatoes (I used red-skinned because they're pretty)
1/2 bell pepper
4 strips of bacon (I had turkey bacon on hand)
1/4 med. onion, minced (about 3 TBSP)
Fresh Basil, to taste

Dressing:
1/2 cup light mayonnaise
2 TBSP prepared mustard
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
sugar, to taste (go tsp. by tsp.--I think I used 2-3)
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp. prepared horseradish (optional)

Dice potatoes (I leave on the skins), cover with water, and boil over medium heat until soft. Meanwhile prepare other ingredients: dice pepper, mince onion, chop basil, and fry and crumble bacon. Mix dressing ingredients until smooth. When potatoes are soft, drain and return to pan. Pour dressing over warm potatoes and stir to coat. Once potatoes are cool, stir in other ingredients. Yum!


Cook's Word: I wasn't too impressed with the slaw. I think some poppy-seed would have helped. It was improved by serving over a BBQ sandwich, though! The potato salad did not originally include basil, but my taste-tester and I agreed that it added a lot of flavor. I also noted that I used turkey bacon which was hard to taste. I think using regular pork bacon would increase the flavor (along with the fat content!).

Labane 2

I first encountered labane in a small cafe in Gaziantep, Turkey. The owners of the start-up business were excellent hosts. They made us a delicious herbal tea (their own mixture) and served flatbread with labane. They made the kind of labane that I described in the previous post, the creamy type laced with garlic and herbs. It was love at first taste.

Then, a few years later, I re-discovered labane in Nazareth, Israel where it is almost ubiquitous at Arab meals. They would spread their labane in a dish, drizzle it with olive oil, and sprinkle za'atar on top. My North American roommate and I kept it in our fridge at all times. It was in Israel that I also encountered the type of labane that has had more of the liquid strained off. This kind can be rolled into balls and kept in olive oil. This is my "Labane 2" attempt.

I strained the yogurt for three days this time instead of just one day. You can see that the labane is drier, clumping together more than in "Labane 1".

I rolled the labane into little balls the size of walnuts. It was actually difficult because it was still quite "sticky". I should have let it strain longer, but we were leaving for Illinois the next morning at 4:30 am, and I was taking the labane as a host gift. So . . . At this point the labane was at room temperature, and refrigerating it probably would have made it easier to work with. I used this jar, adding a few peppercorns and a bay leaf. I poured olive oil over each "layer" to eliminate air bubbles.

A few days later in Illinois I taught my sister-in-law and her children how to make pita. We used some of the labane as a topping for the flatbreads. At dinner, her husband exclaimed: "You made these!?! They look store-bought!" We're taking that as a compliment.

More later on pita . . .

Cook's Word: Refrigerate the labane before rolling. In fact, as summer approaches, refrigerating it the whole time it strains is probably a good idea. For myself, I might just stick with Labane 1. It requires a lot less olive oil, and we'll end up smearing it on bread anyway!