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Blue Potato Salad with Lemon Basil Vinaigrette Recipe

June 26, 2012

My favorite thing that I’ve grown in our garden is the Adirondack Blue Potato. These potatoes have a pleasant texture, and they add a pop of color to summer side dishes.

Blue Potato Salad with Lemon Basil Vinaigrette Recipe | Fake Food Free

In the spring I started a search for a variety of the blue potato. I didn’t want them to eat, but to plant in our garden this year. I finally learned about the Adirondack Blue, but every corner I turned I found that they were sold out.

Then I was surprised at Easter by my parents – Adirondack Blue potato seed from Wood Prairie Farm in Maine!

So we went from this:

To this (they look purple on the inside, but they go by the name blue):

Adirondack Blue Potatoes before planting

And then lots of excitement when we saw this:

Adirondack Blue Potatoes sprouted in the garden

Followed by this:

Adirondack Blue Potatoes bloom before harvest

And this week, we finally got this – almost 15 pounds!

With blue potatoes on my hands I’m now challenged to come up with a few recipes that show off their beautiful color. We’ll start with a potato salad.

The flavor of the blue potato doesn’t really stand out, but they do have a very smooth texture. When cooked until soft (but still firm enough to hold their shape) they are perfect for potato salad.

Now the question is – if you put this on your picnic table would people be adventurous enough to eat it?!

Blue Potato Salad with Lemon Basil Vinaigrette Recipe

Makes: 6 servings

Ingredients

~ 1 ¾ lbs. blue potatoes
1 small bell pepper, diced (I used a purple lilac pepper)
¼ large onion, chopped fine
Juice of one lemon
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
¼ cup olive oil
1 teasppon sugar
~15 fresh basil leaves
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

I cook the potatoes using a method taught by my mom. Place the whole potatoes in a pot, cover with water, cover the pot with a lid and bring to a boil. Once they boil, turn off the heat. Leave the lid on, and let them sit in the hot water until the potatoes are softened. For this recipe they sat about 15 – 20 minutes.

Drain the potatoes and let them cool, chop into bite-size pieces. Add the bell pepper and the onion.

In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, vinegar, olive oil and sugar. Chop the basil and stir into the dressing.

Pour the dressing over the potatoes and toss to coat. Salt and pepper to taste.

Refrigerate for about 15 minutes before serving. Serve soon after making because the potatoes do begin to lighten a bit as they sit.

Thanks for reading! All images and content are the property of Lori Rice and Fake Food Free unless otherwise stated. Please do not republish full recipes and images without written permission. What is okay? Feel free to Pin images, share links to my posts or share the photo with the title of this recipe and a link back to the post. Confused about copyright and food blogs? Here is some helpful information on Recipe Attribution. If you want to use a photo or full recipe, just ask. I’m sure we can work something out.

Gardens, Markets and Pure Beef

June 3, 2012

Happy June!

I was not a fan of summer until I started gardening and exploring Farmer’s Markets. Now summer rates as high on my list as autumn, at least until we get to the hot and humid Augusts we often experience in Kentucky. Until then I will be enjoying all the things of the season.

I thought I’d use this post to spread some of the beauty of June through garden and market photos, and to reveal the winner of the Pure Beef cookbook!

Our garden is coming along nicely except for the extra bugs that are around due to the mild winter. The Roma tomatoes are just now beginning to turn pink on their way to red. The blue potatoes are blooming, and although I’m sad that the strawberries are done, we have picked a few blueberries, and raspberries aren’t far behind!

Roma on its way to red!

Eggplant blooms

Blue potato blooms

Blackberries-to-be

Raspberries

Guard Pug – every garden should have one.

I stopped by our small (but sufficient) Farmer’s Market this weekend for onions and tomatoes. Some of our farmer’s here grow tomatoes in high tunnels so there are already some heirlooms ripe and ready.

All of this produce will go perfectly with some Pure Beef. By random draw, the winner of the cookbook is LouAnn at Oyster Food and Culture! Congratulations!

I’ve been reading LouAnn’s blog for a few years now, and had the opportunity to meet up with her for lunch a few years back when I was visiting California. Do stop by and check out her blog. It is full of so much information on food and culture. I learn something new with each post!

Thank you for your comments! I hope you’ll consider getting your own copy of Pure Beef. I’ve been enjoying it so much.

Strawberry Recipes

May 15, 2012

A past recap of some of my favorite strawberry recipes on Fake Food Free! As I read this, updating this post comes at a good time! Three years later I’m upgrading to another new camera in a few weeks!

You don’t know how dependent you are on something until it breaks down. For most people this is associated with a car or a washing machine, but for the past week and half, for me, it’s been my camera. I didn’t realize that it was possible to miss a camera, but I do now. I can’t count how many times I’ve seen something I want to photograph and then feel cranky when I remember I can’t do so.

Oh, and did I mention I have also realized how much of a photo snob I am now? I could, of course, use the point and shoot, but then I think – nah, it won’t give me the right depth of field or color. Yeah, it’s that bad.

The camera drama started a little over two weeks ago when my Canon Rebel Xsi body died. I made the decision to upgrade to the 60D so quickly, and the trade in went so smoothly that there was barely a hiccup in my posting. Then I started having problems with the autofocus with the new camera. I called Canon for tech help, and back went the camera for an exchange.

Now it’s been a week, and I’m still waiting…

Instead of keeping these pages blank for too long I thought I would recap some of my favorite recipes from the archives. Our strawberry season is coming to a close, but I know for many it is just starting. So here are a few ways we’ve used strawberries around the Fake Food Free kitchen.

Favorite Strawberry Recipes from Fake Food Free

Strawberry Pecan Pancakes

Whole Grain Rhubarb Waffles with Strawberry Butter

Strawberry Rhubarb Bread

Spring Garden Cobb Salad

Easy Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream

Strawberry Rosemary Shortbread

Thanks for reading! All images and content are the property of Fake Food Free unless otherwise stated. Please do not republish full recipes and images without written permission. What is okay? Feel free to Pin images, share links to my posts or share the photo in a round up post with the title of this recipe and a link back to the post. Confused about copyright and food blogs? Here is some helpful information on Recipe Attribution. If you want to use a photo or full recipe, just ask. I’m sure we can work something out.

Strawberry-Lime Salsa with Homemade Flour Tortillas

May 7, 2012

It’s strawberry season! For the second year in a row we’ve been blessed with plants that keep on giving. For the past two weeks we’ve been getting one or more boxes of berries like this almost everyday.

Kentucky Garden Strawberries and a Strawberry-Lime Salsa Recipe | Fake Food Free

While I may get overwhelmed with herbs and peppers throughout the summer, that never happens with strawberries. Any that aren’t going in my mouth are going in the freezer!

It’s difficult to eat them any way but straight out of the box, but I’ve managed to create a few things that aren’t berries in a bowl or berries in oatmeal. One is this salsa.

I’ve always liked a little fruit in my salsa, but I was introduced to strawberry salsa last year through a recipe program with the Kentucky Proud local food project we have here and Cooperative Extension.

I wasn’t sure how I’d like strawberries and tomatoes together, but one bite and I was sold. It’s so good.

This is my take on strawberry salsa. I decided to serve it up with some mini flour tortillas. I have been hooked on these tortillas from the Homesick Texan. I’ve made corn tortillas, but I just made these flour tortillas for the first time a couple weeks ago and I’ve made them two more times since! This time I made them much smaller to create an appetizer-sized serving plate for the salsa.

Strawberry-Lime Salsa with Flour Tortillas

Makes: 24 bite-size snacks

Ingredients

4 Roma tomatoes, de-seeded and chopped

1 cup diced strawberries

3 green onions, whites and greens sliced

¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Juice and zest of one lime

½ to 1 teaspoon fine ground sea salt

Plain Greek yogurt or sour cream for serving (optional)

Prep

Combine the tomatoes, strawberries and onions in a bowl. Add the cilantro, lime juice and lime zest. Stir to combine all ingredients. Stir in the salt to taste. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.

You can find the flour tortilla recipe at the Homesick Texan. When you are ready to cut the dough, cut it into 24 small pieces and follow the instructions provided there. Be sure to roll it very thin. It will puff up during cooking.

To serve, top each tortilla with a tablespoon of salsa. Garnish each with a ½ teaspoon of yogurt or sour cream, if using. Serve right away.

Mango Pecan Scones

April 23, 2012

I love Ataulfo mangos. The next best thing to eating them fresh is using them for baking. Try them in these mango pecan scones!

The best thing about April to October in Kentucky is the constant availability of in-season foods. Whether they are local, or specialty imports, once April comes the growing season starts moving along.

Each food has its time to shine, but it fades quickly. It is difficult to be too sad to see one go, though, as the next one is right around the corner.

For me this year it started with Ataulfo mangos. I took full advantage of their short season by purchasing a full case, something I rarely do. After some coconut sticky rice and fruit salad snacks, I froze a few to enjoy later this summer.

I decided to reserve the last one for some baking which resulted in Mango Pecan Scones! These whole grain scones were a great way to celebrate the short season for this fruit. I’m sad to see those mangos go, but strawberries are right around the corner!

Mango Pecan Scones

Makes: 8 scones

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour

2 ¼ tsp baking powder
3 tbsp raw sugar (I use Demerara)
¼ tsp salt
¼ cup raw pecans, chopped
¼ cup cold unsalted butter
1/3 cup mango, puree (about 1 Ataulfo mango)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
½ cup buttermilk
2 tbsp raw sugar, for topping

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, 3 tablespoons of sugar, and salt. Add the pecans, and stir to coat them with the flour.

Cut the butter into the flour, and use two knives or a pastry blender to mix until the butter is in pea-size pieces and distributed throughout the flour.

Stir in the mango, vanilla and buttermilk. Combine until a dough is formed. Turn the dough ball onto a floured surface and shape into a circle, about ½ inch in thickness.

Cut like a pie into 8 wedges. Place the scones on a lightly greased baking sheet, or on a baking sheet covered in a silicone mat. Sprinkle with the scones with the remaining raw sugar. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until the edges begin to brown. Remove from the baking sheet and cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Black Lentil Salad with Roasted Asparagus

March 30, 2012

This simple black lentil salad uses spring asparagus with sweet onions to create a delicious side dish for a seasonal meal.

Black Lentil Salad with Roasted Asparagus Recipe | Fake Food Free

So far we’ve been harvesting single servings of asparagus from the garden. My husband got the first serving, and I got the second. He’s a much bigger asparagus fan than me so I thought that was only fair.

It’s coming up slowly, but I’m not going to complain because it’s a bit early for asparagus anyway. I’ll take the slow arrival as a trade off for having it so early. It must have known how desperate I was to get the garden going this year. Despite the warm winter, I still felt like I’d been cooped up inside for way too long.

This week I did manage to collect enough asparagus to make a salad, and this got me thinking about some black lentils in the pantry. It goes without saying; we are still in clean out mode. It’s amazing how much you can stuff into a small pantry when you are as obsessed with grains and legumes as I am.

The tang of the balsamic vinegar in the dressing for this salad adds a good balance to the asparagus that has turned sweet from roasting. I rounded up all the asparagus I could, but if you have more, add it. It only makes this salad better.

Black Lentil Salad with Roasted Asparagus

2018-04-26 11:24:28

Serves 2-3 for a main, or 4 for a side

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Ingredients

¼ cup white onion, finely diced
1 cup dried black lentils
¼ cup chopped fresh chives
½ to 1 pound asparagus, roasted or grilled
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspon mascavo sugar
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Place the onion in a bowl of ice water and allow it to sit while you prepare the rest of the salad. This will draw some heat out of the onions. If your onions are already sweet, you can skip this step.
In a medium sauce pan, add the lentils and 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer partially covered for 20-25 minutes. You want the lentils to be slightly firm for a salad. Drain and rinse with cold water until cooled. Pour into a medium bowl.
Drain the onion. Add the chives and onion to the lentils. Chop the asparagus into ½ inch pieces and add to the lentils.
In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, olive oil, and sugar. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour the dressing over the lentils and toss to coat. Add more salt or pepper, if desired.

Notes

To roast the asparagus, spread in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees F for about 15 minutes, or until dark green, but still crisp.

By Lori Rice

Fake Food Free https://www.fakefoodfree.com/

Soon I’ll be looking for ideas to use up all our asparagus. What’s your favorite way to prepare it?

Vegetable Orzo Salad

March 12, 2012

Winter-warming comfort foods have left my mind completely. In their place, I see visions of grills, picnics, sandwiches, salads, and green gardens. It’s like the spring switch has been flipped and there is no going back.

Spring veggies haven’t emerged in the garden, but I had to make something that would indicate to my brain and stomach that it is just a matter of time. I don’t make pasta salad often, but every now and then it makes one delicious lunch, especially when you load it with as many vegetables as possible.

I love orzo in pasta salads because it feels like a lighter choice. Those small pieces don’t sit as heavy as macaroni or rigatoni. Any variety of vegetables can be added to this salad. I’m planning for some asparagus in a few weeks that will make a nice addition.

If you like your pasta salads with a little more dressing, you can double the dressing recipe. Only a small amount is used, but this is a mayo based dressing. If you aren’t into mayo, I have a feeling plain Greek yogurt would work too.

Vegetable Orzo Salad

3 cups orzo, cooked and cooled

1 cup broccoli florets, chopped

1 cup cauliflower florets, chopped

1/8 cup onion, finely chopped

15 black olives, halved

15 green olives, halved

2 generous tbsp mayo

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 ½ tsp mascavo sugar (or white)

Salt and pepper to taste

Place the orzo and veggies in a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the mayo, red wine vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper.

Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to coat. Best served cold. Makes 6 servings.

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Caribbean-style Pumpkin Soup

November 20, 2011

This creamy pumpkin soup uses scotch bonnet peppers for a subtle, pleasant heat.

Caribbean-style Pumpkin Soup | Fake Food Free

When we travel to Jamaica we always look forward to the pumpkin soup. Although the version I make at home uses a similar squash, I like the pumpkin soup of the Caribbean much better. It has taken me a long time to figure out what exactly makes the difference in the flavors.

First of all, there are the spices. Despite the fact I use pumpkin in all sorts of dishes, the temptation to put in a seasoning such as cinnamon or nutmeg is a force I can rarely overcome. After years of only eating pumpkin pie and bread it’s as if my brain says – there’s pumpkin, must add some variation of pumpkin pie spice – even when it’s a savory dish.

Second is the heat. I never added any type of hot peppers to my version, but I now believe that is what makes a pumpkin soup outstanding. It isn’t spicy; it’s just a mild, warming heat in the back of your throat after each bite. That’s accomplished with Scotch Bonnet peppers which I just happened to grow in our garden this year. They came on late, but I have a nice bag full in the freezer to pull from for occasions like this one.

On one of our recent trips I picked up the cookbook, Eat Caribbean by Virginia Burke. Inside is a recipe for Pumpkin Lobster Bisque. Now pumpkin I had, but lobster I did not, so I tried modifying the recipe hoping it would turn out like the pumpkin soups we’ve had while traveling.

It’s definitely the closest I’ve come and much better than my standard version of winter squash soup. In this case, I think it’s the closest I want to get. Sometimes you want to make sure that there is still plenty of reasons to travel for the real thing.

Caribbean-style Pumpkin Soup via @Lori_Rice

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Caribbean-style Pumpkin Soup

Adapted from Pumpkin Lobster Bisque from Eat Caribbean by Virginia Burke

Makes: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

2 tbsp butter
3 cloves garlic, minced

1 small onion, chopped

4 cups mashed roasted pumpkin

3 tbsp of tomato sauce (or 2 plum tomatoes, peeled and chopped)

1 sprig fresh thyme

1 whole scotch bonnet pepper

1 ½ cup chicken or vegetable stock

1/3 cup cream or half and half

1 tsp fine ground sea salt, or to taste

1/4 tsp ground black pepper, or to taste

Croutons for garnish

Prep

In a small soup pot over medium-high heat, melt the butter and add the garlic and onion. Cook for about 3 minutes, reduce the heat if necessary to prevent burning the garlic. Add the pumpkin and tomato sauce. Next, add the thyme and scotch bonnet pepper.

Pour in the stock, stir and bring to a simmer. Simmer over low to medium heat for 10-15 minutes, stir occasionally. If you want more heat, gently pierce the scotch bonnet pepper as it cooks.

Remove the thyme sprig and pepper and discard. Remove the soup from the heat. Using an immersion blender, puree all the ingredients. Or you can transfer the soup to a blender, blend until smooth and return it to the pot.

Stir in the cream. Add salt and pepper to taste. Return to low heat if necessary to heat the soup through. Garnish with croutons, if desired.

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Island Food – Jamaica

September 10, 2011

We always plan to take one vacation a year.

Now, if you are a regular reader you are likely wondering what I’m talking about considering posts about South Carolina and Ireland have already popped up this year. This requires that I share some definitions with you.

We travel a lot. I wouldn’t have my life any other way. In fact, since we returned from Brazil we haven’t traveled nearly enough for me. I have to have travel. I’ve been known to say I like the airports, the lengthy flights, the squeezing all my liquids into a little baggie. That’s because in return I get incredible food, gorgeous scenery and a glimpse into other cultures.

Those trips that require hotel hopping, scheduling sight-seeing, going so fast that you come back more exhausted than you left; that’s travel and I love it.

But I also love vacation.

Vacation is what we did over Labor Day weekend. We headed back to our favorite tropical location – Jamaica. We floated, ate, drank, read, watched sunsets. Aside from a couple squash matches and walks on the beach, we did absolutely nothing. That’s vacation.

To adequately achieve this definition of vacation, we go for all-inclusive resorts, specifically Sandals. Despite mixed feelings on this type of vacation from travelers, we have never been disappointed. Its true relaxation and every bit of the paradise we want.

So we headed back to Sandals Whitehouse which is tucked in on the southern coast of the country; secluded with no planes overhead, a gorgeous beach, big pools and peaceful sunsets. All this along with our favorite martini bar, a nearly 24-hour pastry café and the best you can get of actual Jamaican food in a resort setting.

So here’s the part you are waiting for. The food and drink! Enjoy and I’ll be back in the kitchen soon.

Our welcome Rum Punch in the lobby.

Appetizers and martinis every night before dinner at the martini bar. This one has smoked marlin.

Appetizer tasting with smoked salmon, squid and octopus.

Fried calamari with a Greek salad.

Seafood ravioli.

Seafood stew in a white sauce, one of our favorites.

Fresh juice in the mornings, this one with melon and pineapple.

Red Stripe on the beach, enough said.

Our favorite lunch, blackened red snapper sandwich on coco bread with jerk mayo.

It may not look all that good in the photo, but Jamaican Pepper Pot soup is our favorite.

Jerk chicken, not as good as what you’d find from a street vendor, but still tasty and spicy.

Curry goat was the special one day for lunch, again may not look great, but tasted amazing.

Did I mention that cafe?

Every afternoon was just like this, pastries and a cappuccino.

Pumpkin Cheesecake and that’s Carrot Cake behind it.

Crepes for our final breakfast before boarding the bus to the airport.

I also took the garden tour offered at the resort and was introduced to some wonderful flowers and trees. These are seagrapes and we did get to taste them, nice and sweet with a huge seed in the middle.

Indian Almond, only about 10 plants or trees were native to Jamaica the rest have washed up on the shore over the years.

Soursop, our guide was so surprised when I knew what this was. What can I say, we travel a lot.

Jamaican Ackee, not yet ripe, but we saw ripe ones all over on the drive to the resort. When it ripens the big black seeds will become exposed.

Noni, which I had not heard of before but apparently it goes for a pretty penny in the States as a remedy for cancer.

Poblano Cilantro Salsa

August 21, 2011

I enjoy canning salsa. What I don’t enjoy is spending hours chopping veggies into tiny pieces. Yes, I love to cook and one batch of salsa like this is fun, but six or seven? No thanks.

So this presented a bit of a problem. That was, until I started making Charred Tomato and Chile Salsa from Canning for a New Generation by Liana Krissoff which I reviewed last year.

First of all, it tastes awesome – slightly sweet, but spicy. Second, there is no chopping! Well, very minimal chopping. The blender does all the work. As a result, after cooking you end up with a thick, but somewhat smooth salsa.

I’ve been making a lot of salsa this summer so I’ve had ample opportunity to experiment with the recipe by substituting peppers or adding herbs, all while keeping the important acidity the same.

As I mentioned earlier this summer, we planted 19 varieties of pepper plants. Some were just for fun and out of curiosity. Others were to help us learn exactly what we want to grow in the future, based on what I use most in the kitchen.

Poblanos are a keeper. This is the first year we’ve grown them and I’ve learned they have the perfect spiciness and cook well whether baked, broiled or grilled. So of course they had to make it into the salsa.

One of my favorite varieties this summer has been poblano and cilantro. As for tomatoes I’ve used heirlooms and San Marzanos, even mixed them here and there and all work out well.

This is great for a big party. Just cook it up, cool and serve, or if no such occasion is coming up, can it for later use.

Poblano Cilantro Salsa

Adapted from Charred Tomato and Chile Salsa, Canning for a New Generation

What you’ll need:
5 lbs. tomatoes, cored and halved
8 oz. Poblano peppers, halved, stems and seeds removed
2 oz. garlic cloves, peeled
1 lb. 6 oz. candy onions (or any sweet variety), peeled and quartered
½ cup cider vinegar (5% acidity)
1 tablespoon canning salt
2 tablespoon sugar
1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped and loosely packed

How to make it:
Place the tomatoes cut side down on a baking sheet. With the broiler on high, broil for 10 minutes until the skins begin to blacken. Meanwhile on a separate baking sheet, place the peppers cut side down and spread out the garlic and onions into a single layer.

Remove the tomatoes from the broiler and set aside until cool enough to handle. Broil the peppers, garlic and onions for 10 minutes on high.

Remove the skins from the tomatoes and place in a blender. Add the peppers, garlic and onions. Work in batches if necessary, and pulse to finely chop all the veggies, but don’t puree completely. Pour the processed veggies into a large stock pot.

Add the vinegar, salt and sugar. Bring to a boil and boil, stirring often, for 5 minutes. Stir in the chopped cilantro. Remove from heat, cool and serve. Store in the fridge and use within 3 days.

If canning, process in pints with a ½ inch headspace in a boiling water bath covering the jars by at least one inch. Process for 40 minutes. Makes 4 pints, maybe a little to spare depending on the type of tomatoes.

If you have questions about home-based microprocessing, the best resource around is the National Center for Home Food Preservation at the University of Georgia. Their FAQ page will likely answer any question you come up with.

Thanks for reading! All images and content are the property of Lori Rice unless otherwise stated. Please do not republish full recipes and images without written permission. What is okay? Feel free to Pin images, share links to my posts or share the photo in a round up post with the title of this recipe and a link back to the post. Confused about copyright and food blogs? Here is some helpful information on Recipe Attribution. If you want to use a photo or full recipe, just ask. I’m sure we can work something out. This post contains affiliate links.

Older Posts

Newer Posts

Gardening

Blue Potato Salad with Lemon Basil Vinaigrette Recipe

Blue Potato Salad with Lemon Basil Vinaigrette Recipe

Gardens, Markets and Pure Beef

Strawberry Recipes

Strawberry Pecan Pancakes

Whole Grain Rhubarb Waffles with Strawberry Butter

Strawberry Rhubarb Bread

Spring Garden Cobb Salad

Easy Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream

Strawberry Rosemary Shortbread

Strawberry-Lime Salsa with Homemade Flour Tortillas

Mango Pecan Scones

Black Lentil Salad with Roasted Asparagus

Vegetable Orzo Salad

Caribbean-style Pumpkin Soup

Caribbean-style Pumpkin Soup

Island Food – Jamaica

Poblano Cilantro Salsa

Poblano Cilantro Salsa

Thanks so much for reading!

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