Salt & Vinegar Potato Salad

I'm not a fan of mayo-based potato salad, so when I saw this recipe on line, it spoke to me. So much so, that I bookmarked it and thought about it for over a year, keeping it to make for a summer day. It's a great dish to make to accompany a barbecue, or any other warm weather main.

Let's get started...

Start by marinating the onions in vinegar. I didn't have cider, so used red wine instead.

You can mix up the dressing while the potatoes cook. The secret ingredient here is Old Bay seasoning, which is commonly used in seafood dishes. It's salty blend of spices, and works well in this salad. I'm not sure if you can buy it in Canada. I managed to pick up a tin on my last trip to the U.S.

Put those asbestos fingers to use and peel the taters once they're boiled. Cooking them with the skin on helps keep the shape, and you probably could stip this step altogether if you really wanted.

Mix the still-warm potatoes in the dressing and add in the onions. The result is a spicy salad, with the creamy texture of the Yukon golds. Serve at room temperature, but keeps very well in the fridge for a few days.

Salt & Vinegar Potato Salad
Found on Shutterbean (adapted from Gourmet Magazine)

1 large red onion, cut lengthwise into 1/3 wide wedges and layers separated
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 teaspoons salt
4 lb. medium yellow fleshed potatoes such as Yukon Gold
2 1/2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Toss the onion & 2 tablespoons vinegar with 1/2 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Marinate at room temperature, tossing occasionally until slightly softened and pink. This should take about 45 minutes.

Cover the potatoes with salted cold water in a large pot, simmer, uncovered until just tender. Takes about 20 minutes.

While the potatoes are cooking, whisk together 2 1/2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and remained 1/2 cup vinegar in a bowl.

Drain potatoes in a colander, and peel off skins when they are cool enough to handle. Cut into 1/2 inch wedges. Toss the warm potatoes with the vinegar mixture in a larger bowl. Add the onion mixture & oil. Toss to combine. Add more Old Bay seasoning, if desired. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Ricotta cheese

What's the traditional way to celebrate Canada Day weekend, and the arrival of Will and Kate in Ottawa? Make homemade ricotta, of course!

Er, maybe not, but perhaps I invented a new tradition that will sweep the nation by this time next year. Yep, while the crowds were on the Hill, sweating and crammed in like sardines to see the royals, I boiled up some milk and got down to cheese making. Hard to say who had a more glamorous time -- me or Kate -- but I did don a fascinator for the occasion.

Anyway, the recipe's from the new Jamie Oliver magazine, and I thought it looked both interesting and relatively easy, so opted to give it a try. Funnily enough, it starts out by stating that ricotta's a good way to use up leftover milk. But who has two litres of milk just left over? And left over from what is a better question.

Start by bringing the milk to a boil in a large pot. Two litres is a lot of milk, let me tell you, and you'll be shocked at how little cheese it makes.

Once you add in the vinegar and let the mixture sit for a while, you spoon out the curds into a strainer. I didn't have any cheesecloth to line mine, so I used a (clean) linen tea towel.

This is what the cheese looks like after 15 minutes of resting in the strainer.

And this is what it looks like after it's all bundled up and the remaining whey is squeezed out. There's a lot of whey! (And a lot of blue veins on my wrist. I ought to have that checked out.)

And here's the finished product. The recipe says it produced 300g of cheese, and while I didn't weigh it, I'd estimate it at just over a cup or so. Honestly, I found the texture of this a little disappointing. I was hoping for something creamy and salty, but it was pretty dry and a little bland. I'd chalk this recipe up to more of a fun science experiment than a roaring success.

It tasted better on toast though, with some roasted asparagus and drizzled with some olive oil. Makes a great lunch!

Cheat's Ricotta
From Jamie Magazine, June 2011 edition

2 litres full-fat milk, cow or goat
1 tsp sea salt flakes
100 ml rice vinegar or white vinegar
A large piece of muslin or cheesecloth

1. Pour the milk into a large, deep saucepan and place over medium heat. Add the salt and stir to dissolve.

2. As the milk comes to a boil, you'll see small bubbles forming. Remove spoon and add in vinegar all at once. You'll see small lumps form and rise to the surface as the milk curdles.

3. Once the mixture starts to boil, turn off the heat. Cover pan and leave for 15 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, line a sieve or colander with the cheescloth and place over a large bowl.

5. Remove lid from pan and gently lift the separated curds into the sieve. Or, slowly pour mixture from pan into sieve. Allow curds to sit in strainer for 15 minutes.

5. Wrap the fabric around the cheese and squeeze gently to remove more liquid, until you reach desired consistency. Unwrap the ricotta to serve, or cool commpletely then store in fridge for two days.

Summer salads

Summer's officially here, and since I'm still without a/c, I need to find meal options that don't involve turning on the oven.

Salads are a natural choice, and I decided to take advantage of the strawberries in season for this first one.

There's no recipe per se, but first I washed and dried a handful of spinach leaves and piled them on a plate. Next I cut up a cucumber and some strawberries, while I quickly toasted some pecans on the stove. I crumbed some goat cheese over, and drizzled olive oil and balsamic vinegar over the whole thing. Tasty!

This quinoa recipe was adapted from an LCBO flyer I got in the paper a couple of weeks ago. I adapted it slightly from the original version, throwing in some asparagus and leftover tomoatoes (I didn't have a full pint), and didn't bother to toast the sunflower seeds -- but they're a great, crunchy addition anyway. I at this as is, without the spinach leaves. It makes a great lunch seved cold.

Quintissential Quinoa Salad

Prepare quinoa first

1 1/2 c uncooked quinoa (I had only one cup)
2 1/2 c salted boiling water

Bring water to boil, then add in quinoa. Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes until all water is absorbed. Set aside to cool.

Salad ingredients

1, 398ml can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
4 oz Feta cheese, crumbled
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1 small red onion, finely diced
1/2 yellow pepper, diced
1/2 orange pepper diced
6 cups baby spinach leaves
1 c toasted sunflower seeds

Dressing (I halved the amount)

2 big cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp brown sugar
1/4 balsamic or red wine vinegar
1 c extra virgin olive oil
pinch salt
crackled black pepper

Combine all ingredients, except oil, in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Shake vigorously, then add oil in two batches, shaking between each addition.

Combine all ingredients in large bowl, and drizzle with dressing to taste.

Potato Rosemary Pizza

Sometimes you just fancy a pizza with a twist.

The twist, in this case, is potatoes. On a pizza? Why not! They're rounded out with some onion and rosemary fresh from my garden. Oh, and paremsan cheese too.

I actually managed this pizza on a weeknight, if you can believe it. I put together the dough in the morning before work, and let it rest in the fridge all day. When I got home, all I had to do was slice the potatoes, and let the dough come to room temperature.

Let's begin, shall we?

Slice your taters really thin. This is best done on a mandoline, but if you're without one, as I am, then use your best knife skills to get them as paper thin as possible. Then, leave them to soak in some salt water for a while.

And if anyone from Farm Boy is reading this, please, PLEASE sell your Yukon Gold potatoes loose so I am not forced to by a 10lb bag of them! Thank you.

Next, spread them out on the dough, along with some onion and black pepper. The rosemary goes on top. (The dough's quite difficult to work on its own, but I found it easier to stretch out with the toppings on for some reason.)

And into a very, very hot oven it goes, until the potatoes get crispy and the crust gets crisp. Truthfully, I think the recipe is a bit too generous with the baking time, and I probably should have rescued this about five minutes earlier. Oh well, just had to chew around the burnt bits.

Aren't these slices just crying out for a nice, cold beer?

Potato Rosemary Pizza
(recipe found on Shutterbean, and originally adapted from My Bread, by Jim Lahey)

Makes One 13-by-18-inch pie

1 quart lukewarm water
4 teaspoons table salt
6 to 8 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled
1 cup sliced yellow onion
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 recipe No Knead Pizza Dough
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves
Parmesan cheese, grated
Preheat the oven to 500 F with a rack in the middle

In a medium bowl, combine the water and salt, stirring until the salt is dissolved. Use a knife or mandoline to slice the peeled potatoes very thin (1/16th inch thick), and put the slices directly into the salted water so they don’t oxidize and turn brown. Let soak in the brine for about an hour, until the slices are wilted and no longer crisp.

Drain the potatoes in a colander and use your hands to press out as much water as possible, then pat dry. In a medium bowl, toss together the potato slices, onion, pepper, and olive oil.

Spread the potato mixture evenly over the dough, going all the way to the edges of the pan; put a bit more of the topping around the edges of the pie, as the outside tends to cook more quickly. Sprinkle evenly with the rosemary.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the topping is starting to turn golden brown and the crust is pulling away from the sides of the pan. At the 20 minute mark, sprinkle Parmesan cheese on the pizza and continue baking. Serve the pizza hot or at room temperature.

No Knead Pizza Dough
(recipe from My Bread, by Jim Lahey)

Makes: enough dough for two pies baked in 13x18-inch rimmed baking sheets

3 3/4 cups bread flour
2 1/2 teaspoons instant or active dry yeast
3/4 teaspoon table salt
3/4 teaspoon sugar
1 1/3 cups water
extra virgin olive oil for pan

In a bowl, stir together the flour, yeast, salt and sugar. Add the water, and using a spoon, your hand, or a baker's plastic bench scraper, mix together until blended -- this should take a couple of minutes.

Cover the dough and let rise at room temperature for about 2 hours. (Or stick in the fridge and leave all day.)

Dump out the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut it in half. Use both pieces, or save one in the refrigerator (use a zip lock bag) for up to 1 day. Oil a 13x18 inch rimmed baking sheet liberally with good extra virgin olive oil. Then gently plop the dough on the pan and stretch and press it out to the edges. If it springs back wait five minutes and then proceed. The dough is very thin. If it tears, piece it back together.

Orchid in bloom

Thought I would post some orchid news. I bought this plant in February of 2010 and the blooms lasted quite a while, then dropped off. I'd read that orchids renew themselves, so I set to test that theory. I carefully watered the plant, placed it in a south-facing window, and watched as leaves dropped off, then grew again. About four months ago, I noticed a new plant spike emerging. Soon, it sported some buds. And last week, those buds began to bloom!

There are still about six flowers waiting to appear. Not a bad result from very little effort and a bit of patience.

Rhubarb cinnamon polenta cake

I am a huge fan of rhubarb and have been searching everywhere for a plant to root in my garden. (Okay, so I really haven't looked EVERYWHERE, but I have asked at both local farmers markets and no luck. What more can honestly be expected of me?)

Last weekend, my moaning and whining about my rhubarb-free existence finally paid off and I was lucky enough to received some free rhubarb. I couldn't wait to dig in (pardon the pun), so I immediately turned to my new Nigel Slater book, Tender Vol. II, for his take on the sour stuff. The Brits seem to love rhubarb almost as much as I do, and use it in both savoury and sweet dishes. Of course, theirs sprouts up in February, which would be a welcome sight in any garden.

Anyway, this recipe uses cornmeal, or polenta, which gives the cake a crunchy texture that's rather nice.

I used the wrong sized tin for this, so it came out more tart like than cakey, but it's still good. It keeps well several days after baking, and manages to retain its tenderness too.

Get chopping!

Chop up 500g of rhubarb and place in a baking dish. Sprinkle with some sugar and a splash of water.

While that's baking, you get started on the crust, which comes together quite easily in a food processor. Press into a pan that's actually 20cm and you'll have better results than I did.


When the rhubarb's done cooking, you let it drain and cool for a bit in a colander, then spread it out over the crust.

And top it off with the leftover third of the crust and a sprinkling of turbinado sugar.

The end result looks like this. Slighty more cobbler looking than cake, but again, this would likely be rectified in a smaller pan. Though a bit flat-ish, the cake was remarkably moist.

Serve it with the reserved juices, which thicken once refrigerated. I'll definitely be making this one again, and so should you.

Rhubarb cinnamon polenta cake

From Nigel Slater's Tender Vol. II

Ingredients

For the filling:

500g rhubarb
50g golden caster sugar
4 tbsp water

For the crust:
125g coarse polenta *Nigel explicitly states that you're not to use the fine, sand-like cornmeal, but a coarser variety. I've never seem more than one grind for sale in Canada, so I used some pretty fine stuff and it wasn't a problem.
200g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
a pinch of ground cinnamon
150g golden caster sugar
grated zest of a small orange
150g butter
1 large egg
2-4 tbsp milk
1 tbsp light muscovado sugar

Method

Preheat oven to 180C/gas mark 4.

1. Cut each rhubarb stem into two or three pieces and put them in a baking dish
2. Scatter over the sugar and water, and bake for 30-40 minutes until the rhubarb is soft but still retains its shape
3. Put the polenta, flour, baking powder, cinnamon and caster sugar in the bowl of a food processor. Add the grated zest and the butter, cut into smallish pieces, then blitz for a few seconds till you have something that resembles breadcrumbs
4. Beat egg and milk in a small bowl and add to the crumb mixture. Blitz until just combined
5. Press about two-thirds of the mixture into the cake tin, pushing it a couple of centimeters up the sides with a floured spoon
6. Place the rhubarb on top, leaving a small rim around the edge uncovered and cover with the remaining batter
7. Scatter over the light muscovado sugar
8. Bake on the hot baking sheet for 45 minutes
9. Leave to cool before removing from tin and serve with the juice left over from the rhubarb

Busy busy!

Where did that long weekend go? You'd think I would have plenty of time to update the old blog, what with three whole days off, but here it is on Sunday night and I'm scrambling to find something quick to post. I blame everything on the obscene number of dandelions I had to pull from my lawn.

More cooking and gardening stuff soon. In the meantime, here and here are two articles I recently wrote on girl power in the business world. Enjoy!