2 kinds of summer salads? Yes please!

Summer long weekends are the definition of perfection. With all the barbeques, picnics and friendly get-togethers, it's a perfect time for sharing food. We had our own little Canada Day celebration over the weekend and food (and beer) definitely played a large part of the fun. I whipped up this super quick and tasty potato salad for our bbq and it was pretty much gone by the end of the night.

creamy red, white and green potato salad
8 baby new potatoes
1 bunch radishes, sliced
1/2 english cucumber, quartered into chunks
1 bunch parsley, snipped
1 bunch dill, snipped
zest of 1 lemon
2 large dollops* mayo
1 large dollop* sour cream
salt & pepper

1. Boil the potatoes in their skins until tender. Cool and cut in half or quarters.

2. In a large bowl, gently mix together the potatoes, radishes, cucumbers, parsley, dill and lemon zest. In a seperate bowl, whip together the mayo and sour cream and pour over vegetables. Toss and season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour and serve.

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This afternoon I felt like eating salad for lunch and then I spied this tasty looking gem of a recipe over at Simply Recipes. I made a few additions/substitutions and came up with my own version of a tasty asian slaw. I usually don't like going with a mayo dressing, but I did like combining the creaminess the mayo with the rest of the dressing ingredients. It was super delicious and Cornelius and I ate it all up until there was nothing left in the bowl. It was seriously that good.

creamy asian slaw
1/2 head of purple cabbage, shredded
4 green onions, diced
1/2 red pepper, diced
1 bunch radishes, sliced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 T toasted sunflower seeds
2 T toasted almond slices
2 T dried cranberries
Dressing:
2 dollops* mayo
2 T cider vinegar
2 T soy sauce
1 t sugar
1 t freshly grated ginger
a few shakes of toasted sesame oil
a few shakes of sirracha or the hot sauce of your choice

Toss together the first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Set aside. Whisk together the dressing and pour over salad. Add almonds, cranberries and sunflower seeds and toss to combine. Serve.

Looking for more summer salads? Look no further than some of my favorite archived recipes:
Colourful Chopped Vegetable Salad
Incredible Lemony Potato Salad
Light n' Creamy Potato Salad
Mexican Black Bean & Tortilla Salad
Peanutty Coleslaw
Potato & Sausage Salad
Roasted Tomato Pasta Salad
Red, White & Green Barley Salad

* hmmmm, dollop...a heaping teaspoon or tablespoon. you can be the judge...more dressing or less. it's up to you!

meat and potatoes

Blogger must have been hungry too because it just ate my post! "Draft autosaved"? I don't think so. Grrrrrrr.....

This past weekend was a whirlwind of activity and meals out. We had friends from Portland visiting and we made sure to hit all the local fun spots which included a trek to Hastings Park, dinner at the Clubhouse for sushi, gelato at La Casa Gelato, breakfast at Crave and even a game of tennis! Fun times were had by all, but by Monday night I was itching to taste something homemade yet not spend the whole evening in the kitchen. When I looked at what I had in my fridge, my choice was made: potato salad. I've made potato salads before (a lemony one and a yogurt based one), but I decided try something new and a bit more substantial by adding in some leftover Ukranian farmer's sausage from our local sausage heaven, J,N, & Z Deli. The results where outstanding! A perfect dinner that is hearty enough on it's own but made even better accompanying a perfect little Ukranian weiner. You know what they say...double the sausage, double the fun! Indeed.


potato & sausage salad
10 baby potatoes in their skins
1/2 red onion, diced small
1/2 link of farmer's sausage, sliced
1 bunch parsley, torn
handful of chives & dill, snipped
1 lemon, juiced and zested
2 T of dill mustard (if you use dijon, try a bit less & taste)
1/4 c olive oil
1 t cider vinegar
1 t honey

1. Boil the potatoes whole and when tender, drain and quarter. Place in a bowl with the diced onion, sausage, lemon zest, parsley and chives.

2. Mix together the lemon juice, mustard, oil, vinegar and honey into a dressing and toss with the salad. Put the salad in the fridge to cool until ready to serve.

potatoes aren't very photogenic

There has been a distinct shift in the weather. The clouds and grey skies have rolled in leaving cooler temperature in its wake. It's disappointing, but I'll manage. I spent the long weekend redesigning my portfolio and then coding it into xhtml. Cornelius and I also launched our web design business website. Not the best way to spend a long weekend, but sometimes stuff just needs to get done. Today I will have to pick up my lcd screen for my camera at the post office and then trek it over to VanCam to get it replaced. Soon, photos will be back on this blog, I promise!!

You might be getting sick of all my salad postings of late, but I can't seem to help it. Something about quick and easy seems to spell salads for me at the moment and I'm not going to fight it. Plus, I might as save all the really pretty recipes for the moment I get my camera back! Frosted and decorated technicolour cupcakes dressed to the nines in photographic glory, I promise!

The other day I had made some european weiners for dinner and this potato salad turned out to be the perfect accompaniment. Instead of the traditional, artery-clogging potato salad of the past, this is a lighter and brighter tasting salad using a small bit of yoghurt for that traditional creaminess. So good!

I should note that I did make this a few days ago and while I'm pretty certain of the ingredients used, I'm just guessing at the amounts. I think this is correct, but you should taste before you serve and make any necessary adjustments!

light n' creamy potato salad
4 large potatos, left whole with skin on
2 eggs, hardboiled
1/2 c chopped dill pickles
2 T plain yogurt
juice of half a lemon
a drop of honey
2 T dijon mustard (I used a very mild dill mustard, so I used about 3 T)
2 T olive oil
1 t dried dill
salt & pepper

1. In a large pot, boil water and add the 4 potatos. Cover. When almost done, add the 2 eggs into the water. Remove eggs after about 4-5 minutes (they must be hard boiled) and dice. Drain potatoes and dice them into 1 inch cubes or so.

2. In a large bowl, add the diced potatoes, eggs and pickles and lightly mix.

3. To prepare the dressing, mix the yogurt, honey, lemon juice, mustard, oil, dill and salt and pepper until thick.

4. Pour dressing over salad and mix lightly to combine.

The salad can be eaten at room temperature or cold.