Dublin Potato Salad

Made with freshly-dug Yukon Gold potatoes, green onions and a freshly-picked head of cabbage, it just doesn't get any better than this!!

Source:  Mother

2 T. vinegar

1 t. celery seed

1 t. mustard seed

3 medium-large potatoes

2 t. sugar

1/2 t. salt

2 c. finely shredded cabbage

1 12-oz. can corned beef, chilled and cubed*

1/4 c. finely chopped dill pickle

1/4 c. sliced green onion

1 c. mayonnaise

1/4 c. milk

1/2 t. salt

Combine vinegar, celery seed and mustard seed; set aside. Meanwhile, pare (optional) and cook potatoes in enough boiling, salted water to cover for 30-40 minutes until done. Drain and cube. While potato cubes are still warm, drizzle with vinegar mixture.  Sprinkle with sugar and the first 1/2 t. salt; chill thoroughly. Before serving, add cabbage, corned beef, pickle and onion. Combine mayonnaise, milk and the second 1/2 t. salt. Pour over corned beef mixture; toss lightly.

* Note - roasted chicken breast works nicely as a substitute for the corned beef. 

Mandarin Orange Salad

From: OPL Co-worker

This recipe is always a hit! The candied almonds add wonderful flavor and crunch; the dressing adds the final touch.  I especially like to use green leaf lettuce from the garden - the oranges are so pretty among the bright greens.

 green leaf lettuce
1 can Mandarin oranges, drained

Candied Almonds:
1 c. sliced almonds
4 T. brown sugar

Dressing:
½ c. oil
¼ c. vinegar
¼ c. sugar or agave nectar
1 t. salt

Candied Almonds:
 In medium skillet, stir almonds and sugar continuously over medium heat until brown and coated. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store extras in sealed container for later use.

Dressing:
 Mix oil, vinegar, sugar and salt in jar or salad dressing bottle; shake until blended.

Toss lettuce, oranges, and almonds. Just before serving, add dressing and toss.

Quinoa with Asparagus and Preserved Lemon Dressing

This recipe is way more effort than I normally undertake, but it seemed fitting for the final recipe of the 2011 asparagus season - #18!  Plus, I was intrigued by the preserved lemon dressing - had never heard of such a thing, so wanted to give it a try.  I'm not sure why I couldn't get the dressing to emulsify (maybe because I used the blender instead of the food processor as instructed??), but the flavor was delicious none the less.

Source:  adapted from marthastewart.com

1 lb. asparagus, trimmed, cut into 2" pieces

2 T. olive oil

1 red onion, finely chopped

1 c. quinoa, rinsed and drained

1 1/2 c. water

1/2 t. sea salt

1/2 c. toasted pine nuts

1/4 c. thinly sliced fresh basil

Preserved Lemon Dressing (see below)

Steam asparagus until crisp-tender, about 2-4 minutes.

Heat olive oil in saucepan.  Add onion and cook, stirring, about 2 minutes.  Add quinoa, water and salt.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer until all water has evaporated, approximately 20 minutes.  Fluff with a fork.

Transfer quinoa to a serving platter.  Add asparagus and toss to combine.  Drizzle with dressing and sprinkle with pine nuts and basil.  Garnish with chopped preserved lemons.  Serve hot or at room temperature.

Yield:  6 servings

Preserved Lemon Dressing

1 lemon from Preserved Lemons (see below)

7-8 T. olive oil

1 t. ground cumin

1 t. ground coriander

1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper

Rinse lemon in water, drain and cut in half.  Removed seeds and flesh from half of the lemon and chop rind into little pieces; set aside.

Remove seeds from remaining lemon half and add to the bowl of a food processor along with olive oil, cumin, coriander, and pepper; process until pureed.  If dressing seems too thick, add water to reach desired consistency.  Stir in preserved rind.

Preserved Lemons

8 lemons plus more as needed

juice of 4 lemons plus more as needed

coarse sea salt

1/2 c. olive oil

Leaving one end in tact, cut lemons lengthwise into quarters.  Using your fingers, stuff about 2 T. salt inside each lemon, close them, and transfer to an 8-cup, sterilized, wide-mouth jar.

Measure lemon juice in a liquid measuring cup, add to jar along with half that amount of water, making sure liquid almost covers lemons.  Add more freshly squeezed lemon juice, if necessary.

Loosely cover jar and let stand, at room temperature, for 2 days, shaking the bottle each day.

If there is room, add more cut lemons with salt and add to jar, covering with more lemon juice, if necessary, and olive oil. 

To use lemons, rinse with water. Remove seeds and pith and discard.  Use peel as desired.



Warm Potato Salad with Goat Cheese

This is the perfect potato salad for goat cheese lovers!

Source:  Martha Stewart Living magazine, April 2010

2 lbs. red potatoes, scrubbed well and cut into 3/4" pieces

coarse sea salt and freshly ground pepper

2 T. white-wine vinegar

1 t. Dijon mustard

3 T. extra-virgin olive oil

3 oz. crumbled goat cheese (1/2 c.)

1 celery stalk, finely chopped

1 small shallot, finely chopped

2 T. finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Cover potatoes with water in a medium saucepan; season with salt, and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, and simmer until tender, 10-12 minutes.  Drain, reserving 1 T. cooking liquid.  Let potatoes cool for 5 minutes.

Whisk together vinegar, mustard, and reserved cooking liquid.  Add oil in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly until emulsified.

Transfer potatoes to a bowl, and drizzle with vinaigrette.  Gently stir in goat cheese, celery, shallot, and parsley.  Season with salt and pepper.

Roasted New Potatoes

Be prepared for heavenly smells....

Souce:  simplyrecipes.com

1 1/2 lb. new potatoes (red or yellow), cut in half or quarters

2 T. olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1-2 t. fresh rosemary

1/4 t. sea salt

pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Place potatoes in bowl; sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Add olive oil, rosemary and garlic.  Toss until potatoes are well coated.

Spread potatoes in a single layer on rimmed cookie sheet.  Roast for 40 minutes, or until potatoes are cooked through and browned.  Serve immediately.

Chicken and Vegetable Stir-Fry

My fellow gardening neighbors were heading out of town for a few days, so they rang the door bell this morning and handed over some sugar peas from their garden that needed to be consumed.  I planted sugar SNAP peas this year, but no sugar peas, so this was quite the treat!  This recipe is perfect for spring veggies, including these baby carrots:

Actually, the carrots never got a chance to grow up since I needed to pull them to make space for the yellow squash plant that is starting to sprawl into the carrots' territory! 

Source:  Adapted from allrecipes.com

2 T. cornstarch

1 c. chicken stock

1 T. soy sauce

1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into strips

5 c. cut-up vegetables (such as broccoli, mushrooms, carrots, celery, red or green peppers and green onions)

1/4 t. ground ginger

1 clove garlic, crushed

4 c. hot cooked brown rice

salt and pepper to taste

Mix cornstarch, chicken stock and soy sauce.

In a large non-stick skillet, stir-fry chicken in hot oil until browned.  Remove chicken.

Add vegetables, ginger and garlic powder and stir-fry until crisp-tender.

Stir stock mixture and add.  Cook and stir until mixture boils and thickens.  Return chicken to skillet and heat through.  Serve over rice.

Yield:  4 Servings

My Notes:

For the veggies, I used broccoli, baby carrots and green onions from my garden, some local mushrooms, and my neighbor's sugar peas - so very cool!  :)

For the chicken, I simply used a roasted chicken breast from the freezer.

And, the chicken stock was home canned.  :)