For the past couple of weeks a cold has all but killed my sense of taste and smell. A problem when trying to ensure that the recipes I post are better than edible. With the heatwave we had, I was happy enough subsisting on iced tea and watermelon anyway. So while waiting for my cold to pass, my attention turned to other summer projects:
- the creation of two flower beds for the front of my house, which for all my inexperience at landscaping, turned out pretty well.
- weekends exploring the local bike trails when my husband was not too busy being sick with his own cold. Turns out we've moved to a mountain biking mecca here in Upstate New York - who knew! We'll be sticking to the paved path however.
- an excellent summer read called "Il Bel Centro: A Year in the Beautiful Center" - a real account by author Michelle Damiani as she and her family embarked on a year abroad in the small town of Spello, set within the Umbria region of Italy. A book geared towards foodies, this is a great read for anyone finding themselves this far within a food blog post:
Not that my kitchen sat collecting dust while I got over my summer cold. My husband still had to eat. Unfortunately, we recently watched a trending documentary called "What The Health" on Netflix, which turned my already extra finicky husband off meat and onto the idea of a plant-based diet.
He distrusts most vegetables, so how this works out remains to be seen.
From a financial standpoint, I'm happy. The cost of meat is ridiculous. But understand that this is a guy who lives on burgers, hot dogs and breaded chicken. Anything green is questioned and pushed around the plate repeatedly before cautiously arriving at his mouth.
My new challenge is to cook him healthy vegetarian dinners that do not taste, and I quote, "too vegetably." No need to look that one up - it isn't a word. If anyone has any suggestions or ideas on this topic - moms with picky children perhaps because that is essentially what I am dealing with - I am happy to hear them. Unlike him, I'm not content to let him live on pasta, peas and carrots for the rest of his life.
A vegetable my husband will definitely eat are purple potatoes. They taste just like any other potato and are more readily available in major supermarkets than ever before. Nutritionally, purple potatoes have a little more going on than their white counterparts with the presence of pigmented anthocyanins, which have been linked to disease prevention. They also make a wonderfully colorful potato salad.
Rather than mayonnaise, I use simple vinaigrettes to dress all of my salads. These are easy for even the most inexperienced cook to whisk up, and require only a handful of ingredients that most people already have: oil, an acid, salt and pepper. That's the base. Toss in herbs, flavored mustards, peaches, berries, avocados, or sweeteners such as local honey or agave to add other flavor profiles.
Most traditional potato salads include hardboiled eggs as I have here. Sometimes I swap avocado or white beans in their place. Or in the case of my husband, l just leave the eggs out all together.
This particular bowl of potato salad is all mine though. Lunch can't come fast enough!
He distrusts most vegetables, so how this works out remains to be seen.
From a financial standpoint, I'm happy. The cost of meat is ridiculous. But understand that this is a guy who lives on burgers, hot dogs and breaded chicken. Anything green is questioned and pushed around the plate repeatedly before cautiously arriving at his mouth.
My new challenge is to cook him healthy vegetarian dinners that do not taste, and I quote, "too vegetably." No need to look that one up - it isn't a word. If anyone has any suggestions or ideas on this topic - moms with picky children perhaps because that is essentially what I am dealing with - I am happy to hear them. Unlike him, I'm not content to let him live on pasta, peas and carrots for the rest of his life.
A vegetable my husband will definitely eat are purple potatoes. They taste just like any other potato and are more readily available in major supermarkets than ever before. Nutritionally, purple potatoes have a little more going on than their white counterparts with the presence of pigmented anthocyanins, which have been linked to disease prevention. They also make a wonderfully colorful potato salad.
Rather than mayonnaise, I use simple vinaigrettes to dress all of my salads. These are easy for even the most inexperienced cook to whisk up, and require only a handful of ingredients that most people already have: oil, an acid, salt and pepper. That's the base. Toss in herbs, flavored mustards, peaches, berries, avocados, or sweeteners such as local honey or agave to add other flavor profiles.
Most traditional potato salads include hardboiled eggs as I have here. Sometimes I swap avocado or white beans in their place. Or in the case of my husband, l just leave the eggs out all together.
This particular bowl of potato salad is all mine though. Lunch can't come fast enough!
Ingredients:
Lemon Vinaigrette:
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon honey
salt and pepper to taste
Salad:
1 pound purple potatoes, cubed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 medium red onion, sliced thin
1/3 cup frozen peas
salt and pepper to taste
2 hardboiled eggs, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
1/4 cup lemon vinaigrette
Directions:
In a bowl, whisk the oil, lemon juice, honey, salt and pepper. Set aside.
In a 3-4 quart pot, cover the potatoes with water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook until fork tender, about 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat and pour the potatoes into a strainer.
In the same pot, heat the oil and add the onions. Cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the peas to thaw, season with salt and pepper, then remove from heat. Gently fold in the potatoes, eggs and parsley. Transfer to a serving dish and drizzle with the reserved vinaigrette.
Yield: 4 servings
Lemon Vinaigrette:
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon honey
salt and pepper to taste
Salad:
1 pound purple potatoes, cubed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 medium red onion, sliced thin
1/3 cup frozen peas
salt and pepper to taste
2 hardboiled eggs, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
1/4 cup lemon vinaigrette
Directions:
In a bowl, whisk the oil, lemon juice, honey, salt and pepper. Set aside.
In a 3-4 quart pot, cover the potatoes with water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook until fork tender, about 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat and pour the potatoes into a strainer.
In the same pot, heat the oil and add the onions. Cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the peas to thaw, season with salt and pepper, then remove from heat. Gently fold in the potatoes, eggs and parsley. Transfer to a serving dish and drizzle with the reserved vinaigrette.
Yield: 4 servings
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