green borscht

 I picked up some sorrel at the farmers market and what to make, what to make?  This recipe for green borscht popped up.  I made it vegetarian because I don't care for pork, and I didn't put the raw egg in because I don't care for egg drop soup and such, though I did put in hard boiled eggs.  

Ingredients

• 500 grams Young Potatoes cubed
• 200 grams Sorrel fresh
• 1 Onion
• 1 Carrot
• 4 hardboiled eggs
• 1 raw egg
  
• 1 tbsp Sour Cream or Smetana if you can find it
• 2 Bay Leaves
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp Oil

Instructions

1. Bring broth to boil; add in the potatoes and bring back up to a boil. Let cook for 10 minutes.

 2.  While the potatoes are cooking quickly fry some grated onion and carrot in a pan with a bit of oil. Add to the borscht and give everything a stir. Also chop up the hard boiled eggs and add that in. 3.  In a small bowl beat together an egg and the sour cream. Swirl the pot of boiling borscht and slowly pour in the egg mixture so it cooks immediately as it hits the soup. 4.  Turn off the heat and add in the chopped sorrel. Give everything a good stir and let sit for a few minutes before serving. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust as needed.

potato leek soup

 Taken from several sources, inspired by my friend's backyard overrun by leeks.

Ingredients

• 3 T butter (or less, or oil)
• 4-5 cups leeks (white and light green parts only, well-cleaned) (from 2-4 leeks)
• (onion if short on leeks)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 2 pounds potatoes, cut into 1/2" dice
• 2 bay leaves
• sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper (to taste)
• 1/2 cup half and half (or heavy cream or 1 cup)
  

Melt butter in pan, add leeks and garlic (and onion).  Cook until soft and wilted but not browned.

Add potatoes, broth, and seasoning.  Bring to a boil then reduce heat to simmer about 15 minutes.  Remove bay leaves and thyme (if using fresh).  

Add cream and bring to simmer.  Taste to check seasoning.

Use an immersion blender to smoothen soup if desired.  

 

roasted potatoes

 I'm quite tired of boiled potatoes (how we ate them in Germany), so I roasted them today to eat with cabbage and they were great.  I'm just putting this "recipe" here to remind myself of temperature and time.

Clean, chop potatoes.  Mix with oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and whatever else (like rosemary).  

Preheat oven to 425.  Roast approximately 30 minutes.  

greens (mizuna) with potatoes and ground turkey

 The greens in my garden are going gangbusters and I want a tasty meal with plenty of leftovers made from what I have around.

1. Boil whole potatoes (1.5#) for about 20 minutes.  Cool enough to cube.

2. Brown ground turkey (1/2#), remove from pan.  

3. Add oil to same pan and cook potato cubes until browned.  Remove from pan.

4.  In same pan, lightly saute garlic (2 large cloves or more) a few minutes until aromatic and softened.

5. Add in a bunch of chopped mizuna and lightly saute a couple of minutes to soften a little (let it keep texture).

6.  Add back in the turkey and potatoes (or serve them separately) to heat together. Add pepper.  I also salted it but it needed more something, so next time I would probably instead use oyster sauce and soy sauce. 

Serve with kimchi.  

Sausage or ground beef can substitute in for ground turkey, or can be omitted altogether. 

potatoes, greens, and black beans

 Having a bag of potatoes on sale, greens growing like crazy in my garden, and several jars of black beans, it was time to make this Potato Black Bean Skillet.  Issues are that I can never get diced potatoes nice and cooked and crispy, so I may try parboiling next time.  Or canning potatoes and using those.  That would be good and make it very easy. 

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 lbs red potatoes, diced
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 (6 oz) bag fresh spinach (I used mizuna)
  
• 1 (15 oz) can no-salt-added black beans, drained & rinsed
• 1 cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt (yeah, I used sour cream)
• I added some smoked paprika.  And a lot of pepper.  And some salt.  Would also be good with hot sauce
  

Preparation

1. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add potatoes, chili powder, garlic, onion & pepper. Cover & cook 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Add spinach & beans. Cook 3-5 minutes or until spinach is wilted, stirring gently.

3. Remove from heat, top with yogurt & serve.

Tips

Try using sweet potatoes next time with cinnamon & brown sugar instead of red potatoes & cayenne to change up the flavor.

Midwestern mashed potato holiday casserole

 When I was a child, every year we would gather together with other midwesterners for holiday potlucks.  My favorite part was always these potatoes.  I see now why, what with all this full-fat deliciousness.  I plan to take this to Thanksgiving this week and found an old recipe card, thank goodness.  

• 10+ potatoes, mashed with milk (we used russets but I got some creamers I'll try with skins; about 4 pounds?)
• 8 oz. cream cheese
• 1 c. sour cream
• 1/4 t. chives
• salt & pepper

Mix well, dot with butter, sprinkle with paprika.  Bake at 350 degrees until hot (about 45 minutes). 

sweet potato hash

This was a very tasty way to use up bits and bobs.

Ingredients

• sweet potatoes or white potatoes (I used 1 medium sweet and 2 smaller white)
• onion chopped
• kale or other vegetables (used about 2 c. worth)
• a meat that will render fat (had a lovely chorizo a friend gifted me)
• garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt, pepper

Dice potatoes and boil about 15 minutes. 

Cook meat and render fat; remove.

Cook potatoes in the fat for about 15 minutes, season.  Remove.

Saute onion and kale.  Then add back in the other ingredients.

Would be lovely with an avocado on top, but the one I had was not good.

sauerkraut potato pierogi

 This was a moderate amount of work for a few meals worth.  Definitely more of a weekend (Christmas) production than a weeknight.  Pretty tasty and I look forward to trying them reheated fried in butter.  

Start with the dough (from here). 

Heat together, not quite to boiling

• 280 mL (1 c. + 2.5 Tbsp) water
• 3 T butter 
  

Mix together:

• 4 cups (500 g. ) flour`
• 1 tsp. (4 g) salt

Add heated water/butter and stir it in, the knead it for at least five minutes.  Cover and let sit an hour.

Make filling:

• potatoes (I boiled three russets then mashed and added some butter and milk and pepper)
• 1 c. sauerkraut (drained)

When the dough has rested, divide into about four parts.  Roll one out 1/8-1/16" thick cut in about 3" rounds with a glass.  Add filling, press edge together and crimp/fold.  Set on floured towel, covered with another towel until finished.

Boil water, add pierogi (7-8 in saucepan, or more).  After pierogi float (after several minutes), let them cook another 2 minutes or so, then remove with slotted spoon to colander and put butter on to prevent stick. They can be eaten as such, or fried a few minutes in butter in a pan, topped with carmelized onions, bacon, sour cream, etc. 

Note: if there is dough leftover, they can be stuffed with jam and eaten with powdered sugar.

I've frozen some uncooked and some cooked, to do a taste test comparison.

lentil shepherd's pie

 Trying to recreate a dish I used to make decades ago, with ideas from here (which was way too much food, so scaling down).

potatoes

• about 1.5 pounds, peel (partially) and boil until soft, then mash and add
• butter, milk, sour cream, salt & pepper

filling

•  (optional: rehydrate a few shiitake 20-30 minutes, then toss stem and chop caps; hold onto the soaking water)
  
•  chop and cook an onion and some carrots and then garlic (or garlic powder) until soft
•  add about 3/4 cup of dry brown or green lentils 
  
•  add some tomato paste and Bragg's amino acids (plus 1/4-1/2 tsp marmite if desired)
  
•  add herbs de provence or thyme/rosemary/marjoram/whatever's good and pepper
•  add about 2 cups of stock (or mushroom soaking water)
  

Simmer about 30 minutes.  Then add in

• frozen vegetables such as green beans and let cook about 10 minutes.

Oil pan and put lentils in with potatoes on top.  Cook at 425 about 15 minutes.  

****

leftovers notes: I halved the recipe from the linked site because it makes quite a bit.  Making the larger amount works well to freeze the lentil filling in pint jars (approximately).  When I want three servings of the shepherd's pie, I make some mashed potatoes, thaw the filling and put it in a bread pan and top with potatoes.  Bake at 400 covered about 15 minutes, then uncovered another 10 or so.  Cheddar cheese on top is a special treat!

red flannel hash

From a Facebook group, which I plan to try:

Boiled potatoes, beets, and carrots leftovers from a boiled dinner perhaps. Just a bit of turnip if you please, and a diced raw onion.

Grease a cast iron skillet with several pieces of salt pork. Drop the vegetables into the hot pan and with a biscuit cutter or a soup can (top and bottom removed) cut, dice the vegetables until all that's left is this uniform rich red panful of tiny pieces of unidentifiable stuff.

Serve it like home fries with eggs and such. Or make a side dish for a meat and greens meal.

Spectacular, sweet and bold adventure.

fried potatoes with other stuff

I love potatoes, and I don't believe any negative hype.  When I worked in a stressful job in another country, on particularly difficult days friends and I would go to a hotel restaurant to eat. We would have the chocolate lava cake but I never felt better afterwards.  What did make me feel better?  A big plate of fried potatoes.  "Potatoes, not Prozac," a friend would say, quoting a book she liked.  I believe it. 

This is closer to what I'd like, though still not quite there.  Ideas from here.

- Steam some potatoes 10-20 minutes.
- Chop them into 1/2" pieces or so.
- Heat a skillet with butter and oil.  Cook onions, garlic, pepper, etc. if desired.
- Add potatoes and saute them. 
- Add sausage if desired.
- Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika.
- Let them cook until crispy on the outside.
- Turn off heat and add in mizuna or similar green.

ground turkey, potatoes, and broccoli

Using up things in my freezer/fridge/cupboard, and I came upon this recipe.  I especially like how it doesn't use a ton of dishes.  And it's tasty and satisfying.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp oil
• 7 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced & divided
• 4 cups broccolini or broccoli, cut into 2” long pieces
• 1/3 lemon, juice of
• 1/4 tsp salt
• Ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 lb ground turkey, lean
• 2 tbsp soy sauce (I used Bragg liquid aminos)
• 2 lbs (4-5 cups) baby potatoes, cut into even sizes
• 1 cup water, boiling (or stock)
• 2 green onion sprigs, chopped

Instructions

1. Preheat dutch oven, large deep skillet or heavy bottom stainless steel pot on medium-high heat. Add 1 tbsp oil, 5 garlic cloves and broccolini. Cook for 4 – 5 minutes, stirring every 45 seconds or until garlic and broccolini get a nice char on each side. Add lemon juice, salt and pepper; stir and transfer to a medium bowl. Set aside.
2. Return dutch oven to medium heat and add remaining 1 tbsp of oil. Add remaining 2 garlic cloves and onion; sauté for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add ground turkey and cook for 5 more minutes, breaking meat into pieces with a spatula.
3. Add soy sauce, potatoes, water and stir gently to combine. Bring to a boil, cover and cook on low-medium heat for 20 minutes. Check potatoes for readiness and if necessary cook a bit longer. Then add previously cooked broccolini and green onion. Stir gently and serve hot.

potato canned salmon dish

This is quite tasty!  The reviews on the post said it was bland, but I wonder if that depends upon the quality of the salmon - and what I have is great.  I did also have a heavy hand with the salt and pepper, and I don't know how it will be as leftovers.  But, it's very nice when from oven.

Ingredients

1 14.75-ounce can pink salmon (with bones), drained
2 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup milk
4 ounces soft fresh goat cheese (such as Montrachet)
3 tablespoons (packed) freshly grated Parmesan cheese (I used sharp cheddar)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup chopped green onions (1 bunch)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°F. Oil pan (pie plate or oval baking dish).  Separate salmon into chunks, leaving bones intact (bones are very soft and will blend into potato mixture). Remove black pieces of skin; feed to dog. Set salmon aside.

Cook potatoes in large pot of boiling salted water until very tender, about 20 minutes. Drain. Transfer potatoes to large bowl. Mash.  Add milk and cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in eggs. Stir in salmon and green onions. Transfer mixture to prepared dish.

Bake casserole until golden and heated through, about 30-45 minutes.

salmon potato hash

I'm trying to use up the food I already have, as I overspent my food budget this month.  (How?  I have no idea.  It's already generous. Oh right - I cooked for parties and guests.)

I have about 30 jars of canned salmon to use up, which is such amazing abundance and I feel so lucky.  And I had potatoes.  And a bag of little peppers.  So, I cooked up a big pan of salmon potato hash that will serve as leftovers for days to come.  Breakfast skillet with a duck egg?  Yes, please!  Ideas from here.

***
4-6 potatoes, in small cubes
1 T butter
2 T oil
1 onion, chopped
peppers (bell, sweet mini, etc.)
garlic powder
salt, pepper
1 jar of salmon (I pulled out skin and bones and fed to dog with the juice)


Heat oil in large cast iron pan over medium heat.  Add potatoes and let cook covered for about 10-15 minutes.

Add in onion and peppers and seasonings.  (I think some other herbs could be good, as well as vegetables.)  Cook about 15 minutes more, stirring occasionally.  Add in the jar of salmon and let it cook another 5 minutes or so. 

I ate it with some sour cream and hot sauce, of course.

easy canned salmon hash

I've looked some things up to figure it out, and I'll try to make this soon and will update accordingly.

Salmon hash

Boil potatoes whole for about 20 minutes.  Cool, then chop into chunks or slices.

Chop 1 onion and bell peppers if have them, and saute until translucent.  Add in the potatoes and fry until potatoes are browning. 

Stir in the salmon from one can (removing bones and skin) and heat through, adding salt, pepper, and chives. 

Cook an egg on top? 

chard and potatoes

My amazing and wonderful local farmers one week swapped out the lettuce in the box (because I had too much from my own garden) for chard (and because she is so considerate, she even noted that the stems are good for fermenting, which I'll also do).  Normally I always go for the rainbow chard, loving the bright colors.  This was the white one and ... it sat in my fridge for more than three weeks, but because the produce quality is so good it could have stayed longer but my fridge started freezing things so ... use it up. 

I came upon this recipe in several iterations for the Croatian dish blitva, which is chard and potatoes.  This is the version that I used, and ... the oil was too much for me.  It splattered and was kind of scary and makes me remember that I hardly ever use too much oil.  I think it would be ok with less oil.  It would be good with butter because what isn't?  Rancid sunflower oil would take me back to my time in Russia. 

Other than the averted grease fire, this is really good.  I put juice of half a lemon in it and I think some vinegar would be fine.  I love the potatoes and dark greens together, and the garlickyness of it takes it to the next level.  YUM.

Yield: serves 4-6 (as a side - as a main, probably 2-3 meals worth)

Ingredients

• 1 lb. Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1″ pieces
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• ¹⁄₃ cup olive oil
• 6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 lb. Swiss chard, tough stems removed, tender stems and leaves torn into 2″ pieces 

Instructions

Boil potatoes in a 4-qt. saucepan of salted water until tender, 5–7 minutes; drain and set aside.

Add oil to saucepan; place over medium-high heat.

Add garlic; cook until soft, 1–2 minutes.

Add potatoes; cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, 5–7 minutes.

Stir in Swiss chard; cook until wilted, about 5 minutes; season with salt and pepper.

good pot roast

I'm not a fan of cooking with wine in general, but this pot roast is good. From here.

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 (3-pound) boneless chuck roast, trimmed
• salt and pepper
• 1 large coarsely chopped onion
• 1 cup dry red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon worked well)
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 bay leaf
• thyme & rosemary 
• 4 large carrots, peeled and cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces
• 5-6 potatoes

How to Make It

Preheat oven to 350º.

Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sprinkle roast with salt and pepper. Add roast to pan; cook 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove roast from pan. Add onion to pan; sauté 8 minutes or until tender.

Return browned roast to pan. Add the red wine,  chopped garlic, beef broth, bay leaf, thyme, rosemary to pan; bring to a simmer. Cover pan and bake at 350° for 1 1/2 hours or until the roast is almost tender.

Add carrots and potatoes to pan. Cover and bake an additional 1 hour or until vegetables are tender. Remove bay leaf from pan; discard. Serve roast with vegetable mixture and cooking liquid. Garnish with thyme leaves, if desired.

shepherd's pie

Or is it cottage pie?  I'm not sure.  Anyway this shepherd's pie is good with leftover roast.  I made some last week or a couple weeks ago and froze it, and then made this from here. 

It took quite a while; next time I would consider just using frozen vegetables.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds cooked beef roast, chopped up
• 2 cups sliced, cooked carrots (I simmered them about 8 minutes)
• 2 cups green beans (I used my other recipe for green beans)
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 cups milk
• 1/3 cup flour
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 1/2 pounds of potatoes (about 3 to 4 large potatoes)
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup butter
• (1 cup shredded cheddar) - I don't use

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375F.
2. Grease a baking dish and add the beef in an even layer.
3. Cover with the carrots, then the green beans.
4. Set aside.
5. Melt the 1/4 cup butter in a heavy frying pan.
6. Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring constantly until it is a golden color, about 2 minutes.
7. Whisk in the milk and simmer until the gravy is smooth and thick.
8. Pour over the meat and vegetables.
9. Set aside.
10. Peel and cut the potatoes into chunks.
11. Boil them in salted water until they are very tender.
12. Mash them with the 3/4 cup milk and 1/4 cup butter.
13. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
14. Spoon over the meat and vegetables and sprinkle the cheddar over the top.
15. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until the cheese it bubbly and the dish is heated all the way through.

lovage and potato soup

I got some lovage at the farmers market and wasn't sure what to do with it.  I found this recipe and it is SO GOOD. 

Lovage and potato soup
2 T. unsalted butter
1 cup thinly sliced leeks, or two onions, chopped
2 lbs. potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
4 cups chicken stock
2 cups water
1 cup loosely packed lovage leaves, chopped (or less - I used about 1/2 c. because that's all the bunch was, and it was good
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste (a lot of both)

Melt the butter in a soup pot. Add the leeks or onion and saute at a fairly low heat until very soft and beginning to brown, which could take up to twenty minutes, probably less for leeks.

Add the potato slices and stock. Simmer the soup, uncovered, until the potatoes are very soft, 20 to 30 minutes. With a wire whisk, gently whisk the potatoes to break them up (how much is up to you). Now add the chopped lovage leaves and simmer until they are tender. Smaller, younger leaves take less time than larger, older leaves, so how long this will take is variable. Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

potato-sausage-spinach-okra soup

In a quest to empty my fridge and eat something light, this soup came on my menu evening.

Potato sausage spinach okra soup

Brown sausage (I had 2 links of chicken sausage in my freezer to use up)
with 1 chopped onion and 3 cloves of garlic

When the sausage is brown, add in
2 potatoes
4 c. stock (I used chicken stock I'd made)

Add salt and pepper
 Toss in about 20 pods of okra*

When the potatoes are tender, add in
3 c. chopped fresh spinach and cook for a few minutes more



*Fresh is best, and it needs to be dry.  I slice off the cap and then into 2" pieces or so and toss them in.