Russian potato salad

 I ate versions of this salad often when I was in Russia, and I have had a fierce craving for it lately.  It's mostly potatoes, with hardboiled eggs, carrots, pickles, and mayo.  Add in aromatics and meat if desired (ham is common). 

Ingredients

• 5 medium-large waxy potatoes (such as yukon gold)
• 3 carrots 
• 4 eggs
• peas - a can or thawed frozen 
• shallot or green onion or onion, finely diced 
• (celery if desired, cucumber, etc.) 
• ham or other meat (optional); I'll use some chicken sausage  
• pickles, 4-8 depending on size - lacto-fermented are best  
• mayonnaise (don't skimp); can substitute some of this out for yogurt or sour cream
• salt and pepper (check salt before adding, depending on pickles) 

Directions

Clean (and peel if desired) potatoes and carrots.* OR some say to let boil intact and then peel after.  Boil large pot of water, add potatoes for 10 minutes, then add eggs and carrots and boil another 10 minutes.  REmove eggs and vegetables and let cool.  

Dice potatoes and carrots.  Peel and dice hardboiled eggs and meat and pickles and any optionals. Mince onion and any herbs desired (such as dill). 

Stir everything together with mayo. 

 

*Note: some say to peel and chop first, others say to keep peels on and boil whole, others say to chill after boiling to make it easier to process them.  

whole wheat pitas

Since Trader Joe's stopped carrying the good whole wheat pitas (and replaced them with sugar-added, undercooked, higher calories, weird overly soft texture yuckness), I'm going to start making my own.  They are just so great for breakfast especially - a good fiber boost to the day, which I usually fill (or fold over, actually) with tuna or lentils.  

Here's the recipe I'm trying today.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup warm (105-115) water
• 2 tsp active dry yeast
• 1/2-1 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp olive oil 
• 1-1.5 tsp salt  
• 2 cup whole wheat flour + more as necessary

Activate yeast in water with sugar, let foam for 5-10 minutes.

Add other ingredients, stir in.  Knead lightly, add more flour as necessary.

Set aside covered for 2 hours.

Divide into 9 balls.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees with pan(s) in oven.  Roll balls out 1/2" thick, 3-4" wide.  

Bake on preheated pan for 12 minutes, flipping once halfway.   

 

zucchini taco lasagna

Here's what I plan to do with this Mexican-style zucchini taco lasagna, based on ideas from numerous places.

Ingredients

•  zucchini (3-4 depending on size, if smaller-medium)
• meat and beans (I'm using 1/2# of ground turkey and 1 can of black beans, drained (rinsed if commercially canned) - NOTE: I like the texture of ground meat in this, but I think I can do that with tofu (break it up small and bake it, then heavily season it).  
• onion
• peppers (using up some poblanos; canned chili peppers would be nice)
• garlic  
• corn (using about 1 cup of frozen corn, thawed; could be replaced with other vegetables) 
• salsa (using a pint of salsa - could also be partially replaced with some tomato sauce 
• ricotta cheese (15 oz container) - NOTE: I did not care for this.  I may replace with cottage cheese next time. 
• seasoning: taco seasoning and/or cumin, oregano, smoked paprika, pepper, salt, onion powder and garlic powder if preferred 
• 2 cups pepper jack cheese (8 oz) 
• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped (which of course I forgot ...)

Instructions

Thinly slice the zucchini length wise.  If very wet, salt and let sit half an hour and then drain and dry off.  Otherwise, just put it on a pan and roast for about 10-15 minutes at 350 degrees F.  Set aside.

Cook meat, add onions and peppers and cook until soft.  Add garlic for a couple of minutes, and then beans and other vegetables such as corn to heat up. 

Combine ricotta and egg and some pepper in a separate bowl.

Start layering the pan: 

• a layer of salsa/tomato sauce
•  layer of zucchini
• layer of half the ricotta mixture
•  half the meat/bean mixture
•  1/3 of cheese
• zucchini
• ricotta
• meat
• cheese
• zucchini
• salsa 
• cheese  

Cover with foil.  Bake at 375 for about 45 minutes.  Remove foil, bake another 10 minutes.  

 

salsa recipe from a farm nearby

 The farmstand near where I used to work just posted this recipe for salsa on their Facebook feed, and I'm interested in giving it a try.  

• 12 cups diced tomatoes, drained
• 2-4 large onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup jalapenos, chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 2 cups anaheims, chopped
• 3 T salt (that seems like a lot - will reduce to 3 tsp or less) 
• 1 cup cider vinegar  
• (I'll add spices such as cumin, oregano, cilantro) 

 Bring to a boil, simmer 30 minutes (or less if canning).  Eat fresh, freeze, can. 

If canning, water bath for 15 minutes in pints or smaller.  

pear muffins

 Have a lot of imperfect pears, and this pear muffin recipe is fine.  I actually like the muffins better when not fresh from the oven (when they've been frozen and reheated) - the flavor seems better then. 

Mix and let sit for at least 15 minutes.

• 1 cup old fashioned oats (90 grams)
• 1 cup milk (245 g)

Mix in different bowl: 

• 1 cup white whole wheat flour (110 g)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom

 

Add to oats once soaked: 

• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg beaten
• ¼ cup olive oil (or any neutral-tasting oil)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Then add in the dry ingredients, mixing lightly, then fold in: 

• 1½ cup fresh lightly diced pears

 

and put into 12 muffin tins  

 

400 degrees 18-20 minutes  

oven zucchini and sausage

 In my quest to eat a lot more zucchini since it's going gangbusters in my backyard, here's what I plan to make today:

• zucchini (I used about 6 small-medium), cut in chunky half-rounds
• olive oil (perhaps 1/2 T)
• spices (I used salt, onion powder, garlic powder, lemon pepper) 
• chicken sausage (I used 3 pre-cooked sausages cut diagonally)

Chop zucchini and mix in bowl with oil and spices.  Spread on sheet pan with sausages.

Roast at 400 degrees for 15 minutes and check for zucchini doneness.  (I like mine a bit firm, not mushy.)

braised white beans

 This was a nice hearty dish that goes very nicely on thin toasted whole wheat sourdough.   I didn't use greens this time but I will in the future.

• garlic, shallots, or other aromatics 
• rosemary or other herbs  
• white beans (I used Great Northern beans that I'd canned without any salt, so I just dumped the jar in) 
• kale or other green, large handful, chopped
• salt & pepper 

Saute aromatics in wide pan, then dump in beans, herbs, greens.  Cook on medium heat to cook down the liquid.  Add salt and pepper, other spices and herbs as desired.