Nicoise Salad

This salad was made by it's interesting combination of toppings & the fresh mixed greens.

A satisfying mix of crisp red lettuce, bitter-nutty frisee, & peppery arugula, though of course any mixed greens are called for. The egg, tomato, tuna, & nicoise olives played out well together.

The dressing was a pleasant balance of sweet mustardy acidity.

Whisk or shake well together: 1.5 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1 tbsp Dijon mustard, & 1/2 tbsp lemon juice. Then toss 4 cups of greens with the dressing.

Top with: 5 ounces canned tuna (drained), 3 boiled & quartered small potatoes, 2 hard-cooked eggs in wedges, one medium tomato in wedges, & at least ten Nicoise olives.

Favorite Song for today (led to in a more or less direct way by my favorite radio station):

Charles Bradley- The World is Going up in Flames

Garlic Potato Salad

We had our first grill out of the season, over at my Parents' place, last night. My brother grilled some pork chops to perfection, & some sweet corn on the cob. My Dad also provided us with root beer floats. This potato salad was my contribution.

Another smash hit from Simply in Season. Garlic, rosemary, & a pleasant undertone of balsamic.

1. Boil six diced red potatoes & set aside.

2. Chop up one cup of green onions. I used a little bit less than a cup of yellow onions instead.

3. Mince three cloves of garlic, or you can use garlic scapes. (As I am sure we will when my parents' annual crop of garlic arrives.)

4. Combine two tablespoons balsamic vinegar, 1/4 cup olive oil, one teaspoon rosemary (or two teaspoons fresh rosemary), salt & pepper. Then mix with onion, garlic, & potatoes.

5. Chill for at least three hours before serving!

After dinner we worked hard, especially my husband, to put seventeen small squash, zucchini, tomato, & cucumber plants into planters & or the dirt. We slept deep last night. The windows open & the fan blowing.

Favorite Song for today (led to in a more or less direct way by my favorite radio station):

Sparrow and the Workshop- I Will Break You

Also, here's some info about this group.

Minestrone

One of my favorite soups, much better fresh than from a can.

Saute one medium finely chopped onion in two tbsp olive oil. Add three cloves of minced garlic. Season with salt, pepper, & preferred Italian seasonings.

Add two cups of broth & one can of tomato sauce.

Add two chopped carrots, three small chopped potatoes, & four chopped stalks celery. Bring to a boil & then cover to simmer for an hour.

Add one can cannelloni, aka white kidney, beans. Stir in one cup chopped parsley.

About 5-10 minutes before serving, add a few cups of shell pasta.

Favorite Song (first heard on my favorite radio station): Ben Weaver- The Rooster's Wife

Greek Potatoes & Steak

Before my brother went back to his apartment & his last six weeks of college, we all went out to eat for a last celebration & for Greek food. Which is why a few days later, when I was cooking steaks for my husband & I, Greek potatoes came to mind.

Essentially to make Greek potatoes: peel & half potatoes, add olive oil/water mixture in a baking pan; toss potatoes in plenty of minced garlic, salt, pepper, & oregano.

For the steak I used a recipe from our local grocery store, "Chef Don's Skillet Steak & Mustard Sauce".

Begin by rubbing the steaks with Worcestershire sauce & browning them on high heat in butter. Once steaks are set aside add salt, pepper, one quarter cup finely chopped shallots, minced garlic, then carefully add one half cup red wine. Add one cup beef broth & bring to a boil for three minutes. Add one cup heavy cream & cook until sauce begins to thicken. Then whisk in two tbsp Dijon mustard. Return steaks to the pan & cook to desired rareness.

Nothing like Steak & Potatoes on a Midwestern snowy-type spring night.

Favorite Song (first heard on my favorite radio station): Lykke Li- Get Some

Green Soup

Also found in Simply in Season as "Velvety Vegetable Soup". This soup was not at all what I expected. I thought it would be crisp & light. Instead, it was more like a baked potato with wonderful herb & garden notes. I rather liked it, and went back for more. We had plenty of spinach for dinner!

The recipe makes about seven bowls and takes a little over a half hour to prepare.

I was especially happy that it featured leeks. I don't have them very often, but when I do... I like their sweet-vaguely onion layers. Washing them gently in a bowl of water. The feel, look, & smell appeal to me as much as the taste. Fresh spinach is also quite appealing.

1. Heat one chopped medium onion, four cups diced leeks, and a few diced stalks of celery in one quarter cup olive oil over medium-low heat for fifteen minutes.

2. Add two tablespoons fresh thyme & one tablespoon fresh rosemary (or thyme). Salt & pepper to taste.

3. Add four cups broth and three cups diced potatoes. Cover & simmer for fifteen minutes.

4. Add one chopped bunch of spinach & simmer for five minutes.

5. Blend in small batches in the food processor. Add one half cup milk if desired.

6. I garnished with celery leaves & plain yogurt. Some other suggestions were sprigs of fresh herbs or chive blossoms.

I also had the great luck of discovering the video below.

This has truly been a week of reawakening for me. Rediscovering what gives my life meaning. Being refreshed by the spring breezes, both the warm ones & the crisp ones.

I am enjoying the distractions the world offers from whatever-it-is that my brain typically thinks it's going to figure out through worry. Eternal life perhaps? When all around me there are reminders that life is a changing thing, not something I can keep in a jar.

I hope that wherever you are & whatever you are having for dinner, that you are able to breathe deeply & listen quietly-mesmerized from time to time.

Favorite Song (first heard on my favorite radio station): Hammock- Breathturn

Veggie Stone Soup

After discovering yesterday evening that I did not have all of the ingredients required to make what I was going to make, I was forced to improvise.

I literally went on a scavenger hunt through my kitchen, discovering small amounts of leftovers along the way and putting them into the pot with our leftover veggie juice.

I found four parsnips, a can of green beans, a can of black beans, two stalks of celery, one small onion, & two small potatoes. I simmered these with Italian seasonings, garlic, cayenne & pepper. For a little over an hour.

The veggies were firm but soft, not mushy which is what we try to avoid around here. The flavors were delightful. The parsnips really came out, and paired well with the acidity of the tomato based veggie juice.

All in all, a surprise success. After we ate our fill, we felt warm & merry. With 4-6 bowls still in leftovers. We set out into the cold night to hunt down some new ice cube trays. (We had only two and one of them broke.) We came back, as well, with flowers & the ingredients for tonight's dinner (the ones I was missing yesterday).

Favorite Song (featured on my favorite radio station website):

A Hack and a Hacksaw- Cerventine

Curried Bisque

A bisque as rich in spice as in creaminess! Another easy-pleasing soup for a dark winter evening.

I made a half recipe, that is about ten cups of soup. Plenty for us.

Saute in two tablespoons of oil: two tart apples, one carrot, one onion, one sweet bell pepper, & two stalks of celery. For ten minutes.

Then add: around two cups of broth, one chopped potato, one half cup of raisins.

Spice it up with curry (I used garam masala) , cardamom, & thyme.

Simmer twelve to fifteen minutes. Then allow to cool before blending with food processor.

About ten minutes before ready to serve. Add one cup milk, two cups broth, and some tomato sauce. Reheat over medium heat until hot, but don't boil.

I garnished with cilantro.

It was one of those nights where even the liveliness of the soup couldn't break us from our winter-drowsiness. Before we knew it, we'd spent the evening on the couch with both of our cats vying for attention.

Favorite Song (from my favorite radio station): The Bothy Band- Rip the Calico

Red Potatoes & Granny Apples

These pictures of the apples were taken a few days ago in the sunshine...

At the store I chose the most beautiful apples I could. I especially heart the granny apples. Sweetly speckled...

A good family friend gifted me this darling teapot candle!

After being spoiled on our weekend-journey with a romantic lunch at the Sushi House & a meal with good friends at the Lincoln Cafe, I still find this dish irresistible. I want to dive in...

I made a half batch, and I'm glad I did. This is easily 4-6 servings, which is plenty for us.

I julienned five small red potatoes & then sauteed them in two tablespoons of olive oil for three minutes (Salted & Peppered to taste). Then I added the two granny apples, thinly sliced. One quarter cup thinly sliced green onions. And one stalk of celery sliced diagonally. Then I covered it and left it on low heat for twenty minutes. Sprinkled cheddar on the top & allowed it to melt. Then served with vanilla-rose tea!

The green onions & cheddar are really a hit. The mix of apples & potatoes is a pleasant one. All in all a pleasant, & easy to prepare, side dish.

Favorite Song (on my favorite radio station during prep time): the unthanks- lucky gilchrist

Hutspot & Dilly Mashed Potatoes

I tried two recipes last night, from Simply in Season. Or maybe one & a half...

The Simply in Season Hutspot is basically a roast. You put the roast in water & salt, then simmer for two hours. Then add potatoes, carrots, & onions. Simmer for another 30 minutes. Then slice the roast & mash the rest.

I kept some of the broth for later use, & combined the other part of it with flour to make a nice gravy.

The recipe I used suggested you can cook the potatoes/carrots separately, which is what gave me the idea of trying the Dilly Mashed Potatoes instead of adding the potatoes/carrots to the roast. Since the feature of Hutspot is the mashing together of carrots and potatoes, & the Dilly Potatoes recipe also calls for that.

To make Dilly Mashed potatoes you boil the carrots and potatoes together until soft. While they are boiling you saute green onions & fresh dill in butter.

Then you mash the potatoes & carrots all together. Add the dill/onions. Then add one cup plain yogurt. Bake at 350 for thirty minutes. The recipe suggests as an option that you bake with some cheese on the top. I opted not to.

I also made my Mother a vegan version of the potatoes. I used olive oil instead of butter and left out the yogurt for her portion.

That's right! My parents joined us for dinner last night.

I must say, I enjoyed the combination of carrots and potatoes. And the yogurt really added richness to them. The roast was wonderful as well, tender & moist.

And after a satisfying well-portioned meal for four, we sat in the living room & chatted.

We chatted about the state of the union, debt, & even this blog. When they left the hour was late & the apartment felt sleepy without them.

Favorite Song (on my favorite radio station during prep time): Steve Tilston- King of the Coiners

Vegetable Vindaloo

Last night we sampled the Vegetable Vindaloo. It was a bit of exotic. We've been making curries for years with potatoes, ever since I figured out how to make a satisfying curry sauce out of tomato paste, coconut milk, and seasonings. Knowing our love for tomatoes, I opted to mix tomato sauce into the rice.

Since I was making a half recipe of the Vindaloo, I mixed up the whole amount of spices and put half of them into the tomato sauce. Ultimately this kind of dish is made by its spices. And this was a savory balance of spices: salt, chili powder, turmeric, cumin, cardamom (the recipe called for cardamom pods but I used ground cardamom), pepper & a cinnamon stick.

I served it with teacups of milk. Mind you, our chili powder is spicier than average. In fact, we purchased it at an Indian food store, and it was labeled there as "Extra Hot Chili Powder".

This recipe, from Simply in Season, was some-kind-of-sensational. It was simpler than my typical process, so much so that I allowed myself too much time for the project. But the vegetables were crisper than our typical fare. Our potatoes usually end up mashed, but in this recipe they held their form and crisped around the edges.

All in all this was a flavorsome variant on a household favorite, sure to warm up any night.

Favorite Song (on my favorite radio station during prep time): Seth Lakeman-Lady of the Sea

Togetherness: Veggies & Hummus

You can roast just about any winter vegetables & all together, provided you chop them uniformly & toss them with oil/seasonings.

I'm still working on uniformity in my chopping, & find it particularly hard with the multi-shaped root vegetables of various sizes.

In this case I roasted turnips, parsnips, rutabagas, carrots, & potatoes. I mixed them with two tablespoons of olive oil, basil, & marjoram. (I used marjoram only because we are currently & woefully out of oregano.) I added some onion about ten minutes in, following the recipe.

I received the idea of serving these vegetables with hummus, from my good friend in Buffalo. She roasted me up some carrots and beets while I was up there this winter, & served them with hummus & pitas. I especially like beets with hummus.

Turnips & rutabagas are new to us. We enjoyed the turnips in the mix, they were strong & complex. I felt they would be a bit too bitter for me to like on their own. The rutabaga was a nice treat. I enjoyed its creamy-peach color firstly. I also enjoyed its subtle spiciness, an almost radish-like flavor.

My husband drove home in the snow, & came in cold as a snowflake. This dish really warmed him up. The comfort, aroma & warmth of the roasted vegetables being pulled out of the oven as he sat down to dinner went a long way toward that. As did the interactive nature of hummus & pita, & the warm colors they provided.

For dessert we sipped Chai tea, & we spent the evening lazy in love.

Favorite Song (on my favorite radio station during prep time): Sailing over the Dogger Bank

Delightfully Dilly

I consider food a hobby. Cooking, food photography, and folk music... I intend to explore these here. I don't know much in any of these areas extensively. That's how I use the word "hobby". Something I casually learn in a leisurely way, & don't seek perfection in so much as interesting projects.

I made a half batch of the Dilly Bean Potato Soup, as instructed in "Simply in Season," last night.

I appreciate this book. It stays true to its idea of simplicity. Firstly in the ingredients list, which is generally fresh produce and not much else. I am a huge fruit & veggies fan. I find them attractive, refreshing, & diverse.

Another thing I appreciate about this book is the minimal instruction. Some things are relatively set, such as in this recipe "8 medium potatoes" or "1 1/2 cups of celery (chopped)". Many other things are dependent upon taste & availability, such as how long to sautee the vegetables, or how large of carrots to use. The instructions below the set of ingredients are usually limited to a short sentence, and the ingredients are bunched together in sections before these minimalist instructions.

Much of the preparation for this soup was chopping of vegetables. I am improving technique-wise in this area, but still need to improve uniformity and speed. All in all I was happy with my results, however. Most of the preparation consisted of boiling the ingredients in chicken broth. Happily we were able to use homemade broth that we produced last week.

It was richer, darker, & more flavorful than typical broth. I was a bit afraid that this would cover the dilly taste, but I need not have worried. The dill was subtle but pleasant. The vegetables were cooked to our taste, soft but not mushy. The potatoes were cooked as the recipe suggested, and were agreeably smooth perfectly short of a state of disintegration.

I felt that it featured the great northern bean in a way that many dishes do not. In fact, I've only ever had this bean in ham soups. Ham is one of my favorite foods, but not in soups. I liked this bean much better in this soup. Everyone went back for a second bowl, and one of us had a third.

The consensus was that the soup was a success, and we would all look forward to having it again. The creaminess was pleasant, & it lacked the thick heaviness that potato soup usually has to offer.

We ended up with about three bowls left over, perfect for lunch today. The recipe said it served twelve, so I halved it. I still think it could have served twelve.

The night was cold around us, but we filled our bellies with warm soup & our time with laughing company.

Favorite song (on my favorite radio station during cook time): Devon Sproule-Ain't that the way.