enjoy!

enjoy!

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Glorous Spring! Dill Potato Salad.



Now that my Dads birthday and St Party's day has come and gone,
 time to change my header and post a new blog.. The Spring one above  is from last year and as soon as I have time I will make a new one. Ive been pretty busy.. I served at Church Sunday, been cleaning up out side from Winter although I have been doing that the past couple of weeks, when I can in between our every day what ever we have lined up for the day.. Always something happening and that's OK glad I can do it..

Sharing a couple of pictures I took the past week with all the buds and blooms starting to develop.. In a few weeks it will be glorious around here after a very mild winter we are having beautiful Spring temperatures its been in the 80 very unusual for us here in the Mid West at this time we are usually in the 40s to 50s we all are enjoying the temperatures, we know it wont last.. We'll get our rainy crappy season and we could even get frost its happened before..

I took this photo the other day and our local news man Tom Skilling of WGN posted it on his weather report. Its always exciting when he does that..


My Recipe Share



Creamy Dill Potato Salad
vegan, makes 8 cups

If you don't want to use vegan mayo use regular


1 lb mini potatoes, halved/quartered
1 Tbsp garlic powder
2-3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
4 Tbsp vegan mayo,
2 Tbsp spicy/Dijon mustard
3/4 cup sweet onion OR scallions, chopped
1 1/2 cups fresh dill, chopped (stems and fronds)
1/4 tsp cayenne
fresh black pepper and sea salt to taste

garnish: fresh pepper, dill sprigs, a drizzle of good olive oil

Optional Fold-In's:
for extra crunch: 1 cup celery diced AND/OR 1 cup carrots, thinly sliced into rounds
cheesy flavor: 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
extra creamy: 1/3 cup vegan sour cream
extra rich: fold in 2 Tbsp olive oil
sweet/savory: 2 tsp agave syrup

Directions:

1. Prep all your ingredients. Scrub your potatoes well. Halve and quarter them. Smaller potato bits will cook faster.

2. Bring salted water to a boil and drop your potatoes. Cook until tender - do not over cook or you will end up with more of a "mashed" potato salad. I like to rinse my cooked potatoes in ice water to halt cooking.

3. There are two options now. You can chill your cooked potatoes first - then fold your ingredients directly into the potatoes and serve or chill. This prevents the vegan mayo and other creamy ingredients from 'melting' into the hot potatoes. The other option is to simply toss all the ingredients into the warm potatoes - and then chill until ready to serve. Doing this will allow the flavors to marinade nicely - but it may also wilt the "thickness" of your creamy potato salad sauce. The last option is to fold all the ingredients into the potatoes and serve warm. This is also delicious!

4. Chill your salad until ready to be served - or serve warm. Garnish with fresh dill sprigs and a drizzle of good olive oil and fresh black pepper over top.

Thanks For Looking
Time
 to get my work done around here
Until Next Time.






Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Happy Birthday Dad! Butterscotch Pie, Irish Potato Soup.

This Blogg is about our Dad.
He was "Buck" to everyone who knew him..
Today would have been his birthday..
One of his favorite holidays is coming up in three days
.
Happy St Patty Day To All.

He was such a tease! Sometimes it got him into such trouble with all of us kids, family and friends.
 He would just laugh when we got mad..
A fun memory.

He was very proud to be Irish and his favorite day of the year is coming in three more days.
I know he is are all cranked up about celebrating for St Patty's day.
 With all your buddies and you had many..

Sharing a recipe of your favorite Soup!
 Us kids hated it back then now we love it :) Also your favorite Pie..
 And of course your favorite song.


I remember Dad, Ma, and all their friends out in the backyard, around the brick fireplace you made..
It was beautiful and I was very proud of how it looked..

One year!
When I was just a kid it accidentally burnt down.
 You didn't even get mad..
 Maybe because your oldest daughter Dorothy had a party and I had mistakenly put the wood you cut up inside of it instead of behind it LOL
Sorry, Dad..

 I can remember us all sitting around it as well singing all your favorite songs.
Sharing two of my Dad's favorite Recipes.


OLD-FASHIONED BUTTERSCOTCH PIE



Read more about it at www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1832,154171-227197,00.html
Content Copyright © 2012 Cooks.com - All rights reserved.
4 tbsp. butter
1 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. flour
2 c. milk
3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1 + tsp. vanilla
Melt butter in saucepan; brown slightly. Add brown sugar and flour; stir until blended. Add milk and beaten egg yolks; cook over medium heat until mixture thickens. Remove from heat, add vanilla to taste. Pour into baked pie shell. Top with meringue or whipped cream.
Irish Potato Soup


4-6 TBSP butter or margarine
2 medium onions, peeled and sliced
2 lbs. potatoes, peeled and sliced
3 cups milk
5-1/2 cups (three 14-oz. cans) chicken broth
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
1/2 tsp. celery seeds
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1 cup light cream (I used Half & Half)
salt and pepper to taste

Roux:
2 TBSP butter or margarine
2 TBSP all-purpose flour

Garnishes:
1/2 cup chopped fresh chives
6 slices bacon, crisp and crumbled

Heat a 6- to 8-quart stockpot, add the butter and onion and cook gently. do not let the onion brown. Add the peeled and sliced potatoes, milk, and chicken broth. Add the herbs, cover and gently cook for about an hour.
Prepare a roux: Melt the butter in a small saucepan and whisk in the flour. Let the mixture bubble for 2 minutes on med-low heat, stirring constantly. Thicke the soup with the roux, whisking carefully to avoid lumps.
Cook for 5 to 10 minutes and then puree the soup (either in blender or food processor). Add the cream and gently reheat, but do not boil.
Season with salt and pepper. Serve with the garnishes.
Serves 8-10.
NOTE: This soup is fairly thin, but very tasty.

Happy Birthday Dad!



Love You Much!